November 15-16 / Day 178 - 179 / Port St. Joe to Carrabelle

Wednesday : Up and off the dock at 7:15 for a 60 mile push east to Carrabelle.  We arrived at C Quarters Marina about 2:15 and topped off our diesel.  This place is a little rickety but it will do.  We had dinner on board and viewed a great sunset.

Thursday: As a member of AGLCA we receive the optional "Eddie's Weather Wag" which gives daily reports on when we will have favorable conditions for a Gulf crossing.  Eddie does this as a volunteer and is a really great person.

This is the one we received today:

Ahoy Fellow Loopers!

The weather gods are still trying to keep that Friday-night / Saturday weather-window open.  Go-Fast Loopers who want to make a daylight-only Gulf crossing should plan to do so on Friday versus Saturday.  This weather-window will open and shut pretty quickly, leaving many Loopers to wander aimlessly along the northern Gulf coast in search of roast turkey and pumpkin pie next week.
Looking for something interesting to do in Carrabelle today?  Head over to the Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum, where they’ve put together a wonderful display of the effort that our nation put into that conflict.  Nearly a quarter of a million men trained for the invasion of Normandy along those beautiful beaches that you have been cruising past.                                         

Brain Clutter:  Phone booths are becoming so rare that one was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 
                                                                                                 
Be well, keep safe, and enjoy the journey!
Eddy J.   
aboard Spiritus, Grand Banks 36 Classic


These weather windows come once or week or so, if you are lucky.  

I got out and took the bike for a spin today.  On the way out of town, there was no shoulder on the road so I was a bit worried about being clipped by a car.  That is til I saw the "this is where bears eat people sign". Turned around right there and I can tell you the time on my return trip was that much better.

Also saw the Carrabelle Police Station.  This is a replica of the original phone booth that was used as the police station in the 1960s

The rest of the day was spent preparing Observer for the crossing.  We secured our gear in preparation of potential rough seas, prepared a ditch bag, stocked up on easy edibles for the long overnight watches, checked multiple weather reports and attended a meeting of "crossing vessels" at 4:00 outside the marina office.  It turns out that no one was there to run the meeting so Mike and Alice got things started.  We were able to identify who was going and based on boat speeds, who would "buddy boat" together.  We would be traveling the same speed as Golden & Veridian.  There were another nine boats that stated they were going and we know there are other leaving from towns further east of us.

  

We had a nice dinner with the crews of Lab Partners and Dixie at the "Fisherman's Wife". 

Millie resting up for a very long day and night tomorrow.