Most people will do almost anything to avoid being bored, especially for a long period of time. We have found that after making two Gulf crossings in Viridian we will take boring over excitement anytime. The 21-hour passage from Carrabelle, FL to Tarpon Springs, FL was wonderfully boring. I mean that it could not have been better; well, maybe if we had an autopilot doing the steering we wouldn't have looked so zombie-like after we docked at Tarpon Springs. People were moving to the other side of the sidewalk as we searched for our first taste of the Greek dessert, baklava, after docking. More on that later. A weather window opened and closed ahead of the cold front pushing southeast. This "calm before the storm" provided the perfect conditions for a comfortable Gulf crossing for the 10 or so Loopers heading south. The plan was to leave Carrabelle at 2 PM and pass the "R2" RED buoy in East Pass at 3 PM. This all happened like clockwork, and at 3 PM we found ourselves headed on a bearing of 137 deg SW with 6 companion boats to the "R4" RED channel marker buoy just north of where the ICW picks up in the Tampa area. The companion boats were: Golden, Observer, Dixie, Thistle, Manatee and Chemistry. Golden took the lead, and we configured ourselves in a line, keeping a quarter mile separation and a speed of 8.5ish mph/gps. All boats were equipped with radar; some had AIS send and receive or receive only, and these devices were used to maintain safe separation at night. Every hour on the hour, Golden would announce, with his great radio voice, "Hello Tarpon-bound Loopers; it is 2 AM and this is our hourly check-in. This time we will start with Dixie. How are things onboard Dixie?" and the captain of Golden, or his wife, would work down the list until all boats had reported back. This parade of cruisers stayed in formation until we got to "R4", then it was every man for himself. Most of us were headed to Turtle Cove Marina, but others chose different locations.
That's the news and here's the views:
We are here
Today's route from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs, FL
C-Quarters Marina in Carrabelle, FL
Heading towards East Past through St. George Bay
The chore of steering a straight path down our rumline was greatly simplified by the fact that we were following two boats that were going to the same place we were, "R4". All we had to do was glance at our chartplotter every how and then to check on heading and position. Meg and I would take turns steering on the hour, then on every 2 hours. While one steered the other slept on a mattress in the middle of the floor on the flybridge. When laying on our pallet, we were looking out of the back of the open bimini. I can't describe the night sky other than to say there seemed to be 10 times more stars than we are used to seeing at home. The Milky Way arched from east to west over our boat, and could be seen clear down to the horizon. Viridian moved gently over the small rollers coming on the bow and gave the effect of being in a rocking chair. The sound of spray from the bow slicing through the rollers kept time with the rocking motion as the low notes pounded out by the diesel engine rumbled underneath. The red and green lights of Thistle behind us was a comforting reminder that we were not alone. I don't remember falling asleep but it was soon my time to steer again, so we swapped places like this till sunrise the next day.
Viridian following Observer as we formed our line out in the Gulf
So, boring is good when crossing the Gulf at night. We now know what good looks like!
The Gulf doesn't get much smoother that this
The day almost gone
Day's end and heading into an all-nighter as we cross the Gulf of Mexico
Next Morning we are looking for crab traps as we approach Tarpon Springs, FL
This is the best post yet out of a syring of great ones. Wish I was doing that.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, well told. I'm sure you're enjoying a well earned rest.
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