The
Gulf Crossing - part 1 - We read Eddy's blog and he indicated "it's a
go," so we verified this with several weather sources, stowed gear that might move around
in sloppy seas and checked everything we could think of to ensure a safe, successful
trip. There is probably no known greater challenge on the Loop than the
Gulf Crossing. We will be out of range of Boat US (towing service) and
out of cell phone range.
- part 2 - We left the dock at 1:50 pm and ventured out the channel to the Gulf. Winds were about 10 knots on the quarter bow with 1-2 seas. If these conditions hold, we will be in great shape. There are about eight boats within a couple miles of each other traveling similar speeds. Golden is checking in with everyone on the hour at on the VHF radio. The sky is clear and we witnessed a beautiful sunset and hoped for a Green Flash but no luck there. Alice and I switched off steering initially by the hour.
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| Looking back at the last sight of land we will have for the next 20+ hours |
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| One of our buddy boats, Dixie, off to our starboard as the sun set |
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- part 3 - It's dark without a moon but the stars are bright. Alice took the 9-12 watch. Tim took the 12-3 watch when we potentially might see some heavier wind - fortunatley, the winds and waves stayed very manageable. Alice took the 3-5 and Tim the 5-7 watch.
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| Photo of our radar screen. We are the boat in the middle and then red dots our buddy boats. An eighth boat is just off the screen ahead of us |
part 4 - It's light / now we have to watch those crab pots which can foul the running gear. We saw a lot of them and dodged them like crazy.
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| Sunrise |
part 5 - Arrived at our marina dock space - Turtle Cove Marina in Tarpon Springs at 10:27 am.
part 6 - Took Millie to shore - she was pretty happy about that. All of us - Jubilation / then nap.
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