We cross the Gulf - Day 69 - Apalachicola to Tarpon Springs, FL

Crossing the Gulf of Mexico is the big right of passage for Great Loopers.  This 180 mile journey over open water while approximately 60 miles offshore is second only to crossing Lake Michigan. Diana and I have crossed Lake Michigan 44 times according to our most recent calculations.  Our crossing have ranged from as low as 90 miles from Chicago to South Haven to as high as 150 miles for Port Washington to Charlevoix.  Our secret, wait for good weather, which we define as seas less than two feet along with a favorable forecast for the next day.  This eliminates any risk of a surprise.

Lake Michigan is 350 miles long and approximately 100 miles wide.  The Gulf measures 995 miles from east to west and 560 miles from north to south.  This simple fact translates into the potential for wave heights to reach over 40 feet as compared to lake Michigan's 20 feet.  Wave height is simply a function of wind speed over distance.  The higher the wind and the greater the distance the higher the waves.  It also appears that it takes more time for a larger body of water to calm down when the winds abate.

Starting on Wednesday we began following the weather reports looking for a favorable weather window.  At this time of year, the potential for a flat Gulf is very low.  The optimum winds for us would be out of the northwest, which would result in a following sea. 

By Thursday we had such a forecast.  According to NOAA:

• FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY..NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS.  SEAS 1 TO 2 FEET. 
• SATURDAY NIGHT...SOUTH WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS.  SEAS 1 TO 2 BUILDING 2 TO 4 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT. 
• SUNDAY... SOUTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING NORTHWEST 25 TO 30 KNOTS WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET...BUILDING TO 7 TO 9 FEET.

We need a six to 10 hour window to cover 180 miles.  On waves up to 3 feet we can make 30 miles per hour without pounding (except with in a head sea).  The boat can cut through waves 4 to 5 feet if we reduce speed to 20 miles per hour.  Therefore, the Friday through Saturday forecast was almost perfect.  The only "minor" hitch was the winds from the northeast, which could, depending on their direction in relation to our course, hit us from the port bow or hit us broadside. 

The other consideration is daylight.  It is not good practice to venture into unfamiliar waters after dark.  That said, Guided Discovery is equipped for running in zero visibility fog and I hold an instrument rating from my flying days.  We have, at times, used these capabilities to enter harbors in greatly reduced visibility.  Still, I prefer daylight.  Sunset on Friday was scheduled for 5:41 PM.

We awoke early Friday morning, checked the weather and found the forecast essentially unchanged.  The only concern was the four foot reported wave height at the ocean buoy 60 miles off shore at approximately the mid-point of our course line.  When viewed in context with the forecast the reasonable interpretation is that the Gulf would "lay down" (i.e., wave heights would diminish) as time progressed.  This ultimately proved to be the case.

Guided Discovery at sunrise

Our strategy was to take Kodi for a long walk and give her 1/2 of an Ativan before leaving to keep her calm.  So we took an hour walk through Apalachicola.  We had the place to ourselves on this lovely morning.  We also considered that leaving a little later would allow the "lake" to lay down.  This proved a bit optimistic.

We departed at 8:28 AM and headed to the Government Cut on Little St George Island.  Running at speed we reached the cut 22 minutes later and entered the Gulf.  The later stages of our journey across the bay where we encountered 3 foot waves proved to be a harbinger of things to come.

Calm waters in the cut

We encountered 4 foot waves on the port bow, with an occasional rouge wave (5 to 6) upon entering the Gulf.  I ran the engines at 1,990 RPMs, which gave us a speed of 19.0 MPH and we began the crossing.  Unfortunately, we were a bit busy and it was not a good idea to walk around and take photos.  Besides all you would see is a lot of spray.  Fortunately, Guided Discovery is fully enclosed with a hardtop to the windshield at the bridge and the camper canvas over the cockpit.  We took a lot of spray but stayed completely dry.  The boat was on autopilot in track mode which means that the computer compensated for wind and current.   This was an entirely hands off operation.

Kodi (who completely recovered from yesterday's chocolate donut) was not happy.  This was the first time she had been from her viewpoint in "heavy" seas.  She got very nervous despite the Ativan.  I solved the problem by having her sit across my lap and holding her tight for the next three hours.  You might say we had a bit of a bonding experience.  After that she spent the rest of the trip in her crate.  She had calmed down considerably, which may have been due to the second 1/2 of an Ativan. 

I was not 100% happy either.  Running at 20 MPH would put us into Tarpon Springs at 5:00 PM, which leaves only 41 minutes to sunset.  Not a good margin of error.

By noon the waves had decreased to 2 to 3s and were now on the beam.  We increased RPMs to 2240, which resulted in 26.5 MPH and fuel consumption of 35 GPH.  Our estimated time to destination shorted increasing our time margin of error.  This was a good thing as was the smoother ride.

Guided Discovery slightly past mid-point (red boat shaped icon)

By 2:15 PM  seas had dropped to two feet and had moved to the port quarter.  This allowed me to increase speed to 28.2 (2,320 RPMs at 40 GPH).  We were flying and the time to target shorted accordingly.  Noteworthy is that we could see cloud cover to the east and south and their was a 20% chance of showers at Tarpon Springs.

By 3:10 PM we had land in sight (i.e., the highest objects - but still land).  At that point, however, we began encountering crab traps.  For the next 30 minutes I dodged crab traps at 28 miles an hour.  This requires intense concentration but is great fun.  We missed them all.  Note: We have cutters on the shafts that were specifically installed for this trip.  Still, it's better to have them and not use them.  Note: We were now in 15 feet of water, which is why we encountered the crab pots.  During most of the trip we were in deep water up to 90 feet.  As you get closer to shore the depths begin to diminish.

At 3:41 PM we reached our target, red buoy number 4 (R4) and 10 minutes later entered the main channel for Tarpon Springs.  As we proceeded to the marina we passed fishing boats tied to the wharfs.  Tarpon Springs is the sponge capital of the US and a major fishing village.  We arrived to a gray afternoon.

Fishing boats lining the Anclote River

28 minutes later we were tied up at the Tarpon Springs Municipal Marina.  Take a close look at the photo below and you will notice that we were stern to the dock.  Look closer and you will notice that the "dock" such as it is) is only about 10 feet long.  What you don't see is that the pilings on either side of the bow are only 15 feet apart.  The 48 Sundancer has a beam of 14.8 (14 feet and 8 inches).  This gave us 2 inches on either side.  The 48 weighs 34,500 pounds.  The swim platform can be damaged by coming in contact with a solid object.  Diana got a bit worried.  She said you'll never be able to back it in without hitting the swim platform.  Given the low winds, I said we would give it a try and with her coaching we guided the boat it without touching the pilings.  Diana also rose to the occasion and secured the bow to the pilings, something she had never done before.  She did it perfectly.

Guided Discovery at Tarpon Springs Municipal Marina

Diana took Kodi for a well earned walk while I hosed off the salt that we picked up from the Gulf.

Our day ended with dinner at a Greek restaurant overlooking the marina with a view of the boat (just as you see it in the photo above).

The end of a great day and the biggest challenge on the Great Loop safely behind us. 

As of today we have covered exactly 1,800 miles.  Below is the data for this segment:

• Miles Traveled Today: 177.5
• Fuel Used Today: 252.7 Gallons
• Average MPG: 0.70
• Average Speed: 22.1 MPH
• Engine Hours Today: 8:00
• Slip Fee: $81.86 per day

Written by Les (one day after events).