On Hold in Steinhatchee

2/24-25/07 – Following my worst day ever arriving in Steinhatchee has been a blessing. We could have left again yesterday, but I seriously needed a breather from ocean travel. Besides the folks here are the nicest I’ve met in a long time, real down-home friendly – they make you want to stick around for a while. Saturday, Captain Bill of TowBoatUS drove us over 30 miles (to Cross City) to get a prescription renewed and since the wait would be over an hour we went out to eat at a real comfy little place called Cypress Inn with home style cook’n, it was simple and very good. We spent a good part of the afternoon walking around Steinhatchee and taking pictures. It’s not a big town, again only one grocery store, but it appears to be adequate for just about anything you’d need.
Apparently scallops are a big thing here; the season being July-Sept and most locals anchor out and go a-scalloping. Two fans of scallops are Norma & Joe, live close by and have two boats docked here; one being a houseboat, and they spend lots of time at the marina. Cap’t Bill runs the TowBoatUS service here at River Haven and boy does he have a gazillion stories to tell about his adventures. (He should write a book) Everyone we’ve met here is very knowledgeable about marine mechanics and boats in general; they all share their expertise and equipment without hesitation. There is a sense of giving and karma, "what goes around comes around" kinda stuff. The five of us had an enjoyable BBQ on Joe’s house boat Sat. night. The other folks that populate the marina are; Thomas - a young man (19) who works here and does just about anything and everything that needs doing, under the watchful eye of Bill – who actually does live here and Toni - the gal that works in the office/marina/store for Sheri the owner. There are also various dogs that come and go, which everyone knows, as well as two parrots that spend their days perched during business hours. Our weather watch told us that Sunday would not be a good day for the gulf, seas around 4-6’. Luckily for me its one more day docked in a safe harbor and one more day to settle my head and stomach before venturing back out. The only good weather window looks to be Monday for our last little jaunt across the gulf so we’ll be off tomorrow. I’m not sure if we’ll be anchored out or docked close to internet, but I will keep ya’ll posted when I can. On our last night here we took Bill out to dinner at one of the local restaurants "Roys". Bill has so many life experiences; we listened to interesting stories all night. Turns out another of Bill's talents is wine-making. He gave us a bottle of persimmon wine which we intend to keep chilled until we can celebrate our arrival at our home port.

To Steinhatchee

2/23/07 - Our day started out with a beautiful sunrise and departure, but once out in the gulf the seas rose to 2-4' winds out of the northeast and I became a green-eyed monster. My worst seasick day ever - even though Tom did a magnificent job of driving through the rough waters. We radioed ahead to the River Haven Marina in Steinhatchee for dockage and were met at the docks by Captain Bill of TowBoatUS, who guided us in around 7pm after 12 dreadful hours at sea. The only good thing I can say about this day is that it's over!

To Crystal River

2/22/07 – (Happy Birthday Alex) We awoke around 2am to a much muted engine sound and looked out to see a very strange vessel pass by only to turn around and go back to where it came. We both figured it was a ferry by the shape, just didn’t understand what it was doing out at 2am. We learned later this morning, after seeing what we think is the same boat, it was a floating gambling casino. That explains the 2am cruising lit up like a Christmas tree. We’ve reached the point of our journey where the Florida intercoastal waterway ends and a decision must be made – which way to go from here. We can either cruise up and around ‘the bend’ or cut straight across the gulf. Easy choice actually, without radar we’re not about to go out THAT FAR in open water. We were out over 3 miles today and lost sight of land altogether, and that was far enough for me. However, this person I’m traveling with thought it was pretty awesome. Who is this person anyway? Hey, we were pulled over today – in the middle of the ocean - can you believe it?!?! The US Customs and Boarder Patrol pulled up along side and boarded us. Out in the middle of nowhere! I guess we do look suspicious after all; strange looking boat with no name on the stern. We spent over 45 minutes bobbing around like a cork while they went through our documentation and drawers. After they confirmed everything we told them, they left just as stealthy as they appeared. But the worse thing is (and I could kick myself) I forgot to take any pictures!!! After that the rest of our day was pretty normal. We cruised up over 3 miles on the Crystal River only to find the marina closed. So we docked at their fueling station and then walked into town (about 1 mile) for dinner at a nice little Mexican restaurant and did a little grocery store shopping. Sorry to say the Crystal River is not very clear. We had read you could see the bottom, and that the water was generally 72 deg- which attracted lots of manatees, we never saw either. I did see –what I think is- lots of manatee poop, not sure what else it could be – judge for yourself by the photo. Anyway Crystal River was very tropical looking as you approached, (even with the water towers) but once into the lake area it lost its charm (especially with lots of poop floating in the water).

To Anclote Key

2/21/07 - We awoke in the early hours to get a jump on the day but as we were leaving got grounded (briefly). Fortunately with a sandy bottom we were able to wiggle ourselves off. Our passageway crossed the Tampa Bay main approach channel for commercial vessels and we were hoping to get through early. Still, we found ourselves playing chicken with a massive tanker upon his approach – he won. The best part watching this tanker stream by was the dolphins’ flying out of the water as they played in the bow wave. Those dolphins do know how to have fun! We skirted the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for a few miles then cut westward towards more narrow channels and condos. Five miles in we discovered the only short bridge we needed to be opened would be out of commission until 3pm. The gods must be shinning on Tom today, so we backtracked to first next gulf opening. As we entered the channel to the gulf a US Custom Boat pulled up along side and ‘checked us out’, but then took off as quickly as they appeared. Guess we don’t look TOO suspicious. The winds were at our back for the most part so the passage was relatively smooth. Without having to worry about our depth it was very enjoyable. We opted to skip by Clearwater and headed straight for Anclote Key, just west of Tarpon Springs. I’ve seen my first lighthouse this trip located on the key, which is also a nature preserve. I did get a little green during the last hour or so of our gulf journey, but it passed quickly once we anchored for the night tucked in behind the key.

To Longboat Key

2/20/07 – The water was a mirror this morning as we left our anchorage at Cape Haze; so smooth and green. There were no other boats out yet and it was so serene and still. We skirted a number of small islands some inhabited and some not, maneuvered our way through shallow waters and shoals. As in Charlotte Harbor yesterday, we entered San Carlos Bay and found ourselves again tempted by the Gulf of Mexico. We were rewarded today by more dolphins playing. It was amazing to watch them swim in our wake, along side the boat and the bow wave. I also spotted two bald eagles today, but was unable to snap their picture. Just seeing them in the wild was awesome. It was a very unique narrow channel as we approached Venus, FL. There are walkways on each side of the channel, each busy with walkers, bikers, runners, strollers and folks just fishing. I waved to so many people along that route I felt like I was on a float in the Rose Parade. Roberts Bay and Sarasota Bay were just vast bodies of water, too far from the shores to see anything of interest. We’ve anchored tonight just south Cortez Bridge in Longboat Keys with about 6 other boats. We set two anchors tonight so we would not swing - and we never moved. From the stern we could see the city lights of Sarasota, as well as an immeasurable ceiling of stars.

To Cape Haze

2/19/07 - What a splendid uneventful day this was. Throughout our travels on the ICW we’ve transitioned from river to canal and back to river but the waters’ color seldom changed; for the most part it remained a grimy russet shade. I noticed it changed as we entered into the San Carlos Bay and said good-bye to the Okeechobee waterway. The waters became green and for the first time I could actually smell the ocean in the air. We began to see dolphins (real ones) swimming around the bow of the boat and seaweed was very prevalent, probably kicked up by the storm yesterday. We passed by Fort Myers (downtown) and dozens of little islands before entering Charlotte Harbor, where we saw the gulf for the first time. We considered taking a sharp left and heading out across the gulf for a straight shot to Texas, but thought better of it and decided to stay our course of inland waterways. We anchored in a nice little cove (Cape Haze) surrounded by terrific little homes with about 4 other boats. The sunset was soft tonight as we enjoyed a cup of tea and coffee on our aft deck. We sat and watched as an Osprey attempted to catch his dinner, a couple of times, unsuccessfully. Think they eat bread?

It's a No-Go Today

2/18/07 – We awoke to a frightfully wet and windy storm this morning and being the prudent mariners that we are we listened to the NOAA weather forecast on VHF. It’s a no-go today; seas in the bay at 4-6 feet and winds up to 30 knots, so we stay one more day at the Sweetwater Landing just outside Fort Myers. It’s a good thing to know when to go and when to stay. The rain stopped and even though the skies are clear, the winds intensified to gale force this afternoon. We managed to get out and take a little stroll and were very surprised to find white caps on the canal. The winds finally settled down and we had a good nights sleep.