Friday, March 28, 2014

Southern Skies Rene


So if we can do one overnite ... why not TWO??!! Bill is a very focused captain this trip ... focused on getting to the Bahamas!  As he told a friend "I have been planning a trip to the Bahamas since I was born."  So after one day's rest, off we sailed from Panama City to Tampa Bay ... that = 237 miles ... 36 hours!! liteblue  More watches ... not too much sleep. liteblue But we had SUN ... and dolphins to entertain us!!
So as we were sailing along on the first part of our overnite, the sun was setting, the wind was light, the water was calm, there was not a cloud in the sky ... we were looking back over the stern of the boat ... I do LOVE sunsets and this one was going to be beautiful!!  Just as the sun dipped into nothing-ness into the water ... a green flash appeared ... a thunderbolt of green spiked where the sun once was ... WE SAW THE GREEN FLASH!!!  ( I wish I could tell you we captured it on camera ... but we were too excited seeing it to take a picture!!)
The night wore on ... we had these swells from previous higher winds in the Gulf ... later the next day Bill read in a Marine Weather Advisory liteblue that the Gulf of Mexico was still plagued by "stubborn southerly swells"!! Yes!! That's just what we had ... those stubborn southerly swells!! Such a defining meteorlogical description!! Never say NEVER!!  I told myself I was NOT going to go very far offshore ... just a few miles ... not more than 12 ... yes, that's a good number ... 12.  Well, it seems if you want to go from Panama City to Tampa, overnite, prepare to be a bit further offshore liteblue ... 75 miles!!  It seems that the land after leaving Panama City just dips back in and if you look at a map or chart theres a perfect straight line from Panama City to Tampa ... putting you 75 miles offshore!!  And so, that's how I got that far offshore without even realizing it!!
Finally 30+ hours after our start we entered the channel at Eggmont Key, our entry point into Tampa Bay, and of course we had to share the channel liteblue with another boat ... the Brilliance on the Seas ... !
Bill radioed the Captain to tell him we were entering liteblue the Channel and would pass him "starboard to starboard" ... his reply? "Ok, just don't hit us!"  Really? The last thing we want to do is hit YOU!! Another sunset ... no green flash but this one melted into the water and gave a warm glow!  Speaking of warm glows ... I am now in shorts!! YEA!!!
It was choppy enough to give us a last bit of energy to motor across Tampa Bay and into the ICW for protection. We dropped the anchor in Cortez where friends liteblue of Bill's live. In the morning we woke up, looked out the companionway and realized in our sleep-deprived state we had anchored pretty close to the "Slow Wake" sign ... no problem, we are making no wake at all!!
▼  2014 (6) ▼  March (6) The final push ... on to the Keys! Marina people!! On to Tampa ... another overnite! A long trip to Panama City ... We have left the slip! Tic Toc ... Time to go cruisin' again! ►  2013 (19) ►  June (9) ►  May (5) ►  April (5) ►  2012 (27) ►  November (4) ►  October (1) ►  September (2) ►  liteblue August (1) ►  July (12) ►  June (1) ►  May (6) ►  2011 (48) ►  November (2) ►  October (3) ►  September (12) ►  August (7) ►  July (7) ►  June (11) ►  May (2) ►  March (4) ►  2010 (25) ►  September (13) ►  August (1) ►  June (8) ►  May (3) ►  liteblue 2009 (44) ►  liteblue November (1) ►  October (4) ►  June (9) ►  May (9) ►  April (15) ►  March (6)
Southern Skies Rene & Bill both grew up on the east coast, VA and NC, so our dream of returning by sea seemed most appropriate. Daysailing and taking "cruising vacations" allowed us to be ready for our retired life ... We have cruised the east coast, leaving Louisiana and traveling as far north as Bar Harbor, Maine, returning to Louisiana and now heading out in 2014 to the Bahamas! View my complete profile


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