Crossing the Gulf of Mexico from Treasure Is. to Crooked Is.
Ambler Isle
V and S
Tue 16 Jun 2009 16:23
June 12, 2009But the weatherman lied. The winds were 15K, the seas 4-5' and on our beam,
We awoke wanting to move on. Today would be a good Gulf of Mexico crossing day. Valt
brewed the first coffee in our new pot. It was surprisingly good. We
checked the NOAA weather forecast, did a few minor chores, paid our bill,
and pulled out of our slip at about 7:30am We'd plan to arrive in
Crooked Island about 5:00pm Sat. afternoon. We'd take naps off and on
today, then go to 6 hours watches overnight. We called Dave with our
float
plan and were off. The forecast was fo 2' seas out of the WNW for the
next
4 days. Although 2' on land is high, on sea it is calm.
making a constant roll. We settled into the motion and were ok.
There was little traffic, and the trip uneventful. We could stop at
Appalachicola at 10:00am if needed, but when we got htere, we were still
fresh and the seas had calmed. Approaching the inlet to Crooked Island, we
wer again amazed at how this cut changes from year to year. We have GPS
coordinants programmed into our electronic charts, but often have to make
changes as we go. Turning into the anchorage, we saw about 8 boats there
ahead of us. One of them was "Alexandra", the 61' Tollycraft we'd seen in
Venice Beach! We got a second chance to meet the owner. They were on the
VHF radio immediately, and we planned to watch sunset aboard their boat.
Beth and Robert Ramsey just bought this boat and were taking it to New
Orleans. This was the same boat Larry and Ulla had made an offer on last
year. What a small world. Next day we went ashore and walked the
magnificient beach with them and collected seashells.
At 3:00pm we began preparations to continue on to Panama City, some 15 miles
to the west.