Thinking about the Gulf - Day 68 - Panama City to Apalachicola, FL

Thursday morning we awoke to clear skies, 37 degrees and winds out of the north, which was consistent with the past week.  The weather conditions motivated us to move on.  Further, our check of the forecast suggested that Friday would be a good day to cross the Gulf of Mexico.  This dictated that Apalachicola, 62 miles east, would be our destination as it is one of the two logical ports for starting the Gulf crossing.

A beautiful cold morning

Prior to departure we gave Kodi a workout chasing a Frisbee, which she loves.  Our goal was to wear her out for the six hour journey ahead.  Prior to starting the Frisbee game Diana reported that earlier, while off leash, Kodi, also know as the Dickens, ate half of a chocolate covered donut (the kind with frosting and sprinkles).  Diana was concerned as chocolate can be deadly for dogs.  I suggested that she hadn't eaten enough to be a problem.

So, at 8:49 AM we were on our way.  Today's journey involved crossing 22 miles of East Bay, then 23 miles of canals between East Bay and Lake Wimoco and finally 19 miles of the Apalachicola River.  Within 30 minutes of departure Kodi started to whine and shake.  We were concerned.  The question we pondered was to return to Panama City and possibly lose the favorable weather window for the Gulf crossing or continue.  Based on the facts, we decided to continue based on the fact that the risk was small.

That said, we also decided to speed it up.  Needless to say, running the intracoastal at 30 MPH on flat water is great fun but does require intense concentration to avoid running aground in the shallow water that borders the channel markers.

While we were running down East Bay Diana called our veterinarian in Chicago and talked about Kodi's ingestion of the chocolate donut.  The vet advised us that 1/2 a donut was not a problem.  We gave Kodi 1/2 of an Ativan and she very quickly relaxed.  Interestingly, Kodi usually is quite comfortable on the water so her extreme nervousness was cause for alarm.

View of the canal (ditch) from astern

The rest of the cruise was uneventful and we arrived in Apalachicola at 2:30 PM, docking at the Apalachicola Marina.  We took on 67.3 gallons of diesel (at $3.05 per gallon) giving us full tanks for the crossing.  We also chatted with the marina folks about our proposed Gulf crossing.  They advised that Friday would be a good day.

Calm waters on the intracoastal waterway

 Apalachicola turned out to be a charming town with a rich history.  A few photos tell the story.

During our early morning walk on Friday we stopped at the US Post Office to mail some letters.  What surprised us was the fact the the Post Office is opened 24/7.

Written by Les.