We woke to a nice heavy drizzle. This area has not had rain for almost 2 months. We hadn't seen rain since we were on the Illinois River. We have come a long way since then.
Today, we crossed Apalachicola Bay to stage ourselves at Carrabelle for a planned crossing of the Gulf of Mexico. It was a little choppy but there were pods of dolphin everywhere. When it is choppy it can be hard to see them but they were jumping and crossing in front of the boat.
We arrived early afternoon at the Moorings Marina. We fueled up before we went to our dock. The current here made docking difficult. Once we were all tied up, we walked up to the main street to the Fisherman's Wife restaurant for lunch. It was one last opportunity for a fried oyster sandwich. The IGA was next door so John and I got a few last minute items for the crossing.
The crossing for slow boats like ours is done by starting in the afternoon and traveling overnight. One does not want to arrive in Tarpon Springs until the sun is up fairly high because there are lots of crab pots to run into. If you run into a crab pot, it can wrap around your propeller and you will be dead in the water.
For safety's sake, we filed a float plan with my sister. When we called the Coast Guard to ask which was the best station phone number to leave with her, the Coast Guard was thanking John for filing a plan and making sure the numbers were correct.
Tomorrow will be a day for final preparations. We will make a go/no go decision after Eddie's Weather Wag in the morning. We are only going if Eddie says yes. His predictions come out at 0400. The Moorings offers a free breakfast. After breakfast, we will pump up the dinghy, clean the windows, etc. We will leave about 2 or 3 p.m. I plan to sleep late in the morning too.
Lat 29 degrees 51.12 North
Long 84 degrees 40.51 West
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