It's cloudy, foggy, grey, humid, and cool in the Panhandle. Not the typical weather you expect if you are in Florida. One storm after another is marching across the Gulf bringing fog ahead of it, rain as it passes overhead, and high gale force winds after it departs. Not so good for boating on the Gulf of Mexico and making open ocean crossings from the panhandle to Tampa Bay.
So we have made several small jumps from Panama City Beach to Appalachicola and now Carrabelle. Our buddy boat, "Cruisin Cat" with Bob and Merrilee Peterson, are moving with us. They are perfect buddies, as they too are on an Endeavour 44 Trawlercat, so we go the same speed. Bob is a former Air Force pilot and flew for UPS for 25 years, so he is a good boater and an experienced navigator. They also have another couple on board who is there long time friends from the Air Force. So we have lots of folks helping us make good decisions on where we go and when.
However, I was in the lead yesterday as we moved the 25 miles from Appalachicola to Carrabelle. The forecast was to get windy and ugly late in the afternoon, so we left early to beat the weather. It was dead flat, until we hit the fog. It was thick, soupy, see maybe 100 ft. type fog. So with my new chartplotter and radar, I lead the way from marker to marker to find our way into the narrow entrance of the Carrabelle River.
We could barely see the shoreline, and again had to rely on the chartplotter to find the marina. The staff there were waiting on us, and worried. But we made it safely. Glad to be in, but we made it. Forecast has us staying in Carrabelle for maybe a week. Yikes! The key now is patience, patience, patience. Damn that is hard. Marc
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