Weeks 39 and 40 - Carrabelle, Florida to St. Petersburg, Florida

We wound up spending another couple of weeks in Carrabelle, including a trip back home to visit the family over Christmas. We returned to Carrabelle the 26^th of December, and by the 28^th there was a decent weather window to cross the Gulf and get back on the loop. Our stops on this leg were Steinhatchee (marina), Crystal River (marina one night and anchor 2 nights), Tarpon Springs (marina), Caladesi Island (marina, 3 nights), Gulfport (marina), and finally St. Pete, where the boat will stay for a couple of weeks at a boatyard to get the motor mounts replaced and a bunch of other minor projects done so we can be all set for the Bahamas.

 The other looper boats that left from Carrabelle on the direct route crossing to Clearwater all reported a long stressful butt-kicking, which made us feel better about our shorter 80-mile trip to Stienhatchee. We left Carrabelle in the pitch black at 6:00 am to make sure we would finish the crossing before dark. The first couple of hours were a little choppy, but the afternoon was glassy flat and a real treat. We pulled into Sea Hag Marina in Stienhatchee by 4:00 pm and watched the fleet of fishing boats come in, just about all with a limit of gag grouper on board – they were cleaning fish well into the night. It was a short walk to a nice dinner at Roy’s and then early to bed, because we had an even longer trip planned for the morning.

Following our bread crumbs out of Carrabelle on the chart plotter

By the time we reached the red sea buoy it was day break

Bella ready for sea

Enjoying the gorgeous conditions in the Gulf while the autopilot keeps us on course

Conditions just kept getting better and better. Still about 30 miles from Steinhatchee

Saturday afternoon on the Steinhatchee river is hopping when the weather is favorable

Panoramic of Sea Hag marina at sunset

Broiled flounder and hush puppies for me and fried chicken for Jonathan at Roy's http://www.roys-restaurant.com/ They provide rides to marina guests!

Ladies room at the Sea Hag. Heated seat and mood lighting in the head head 😎

Another 6:00 am departure, this time 87 miles to Crystal River. We had light winds on the bow all the way and basically just followed the 10 foot depth contour right along the coast (this part of the gulf is really shallow though, so that 10 foot depth contour was like 6-8 miles offshore). Along the way we passed the Suwanee River and Cedar Key and by early afternoon the power plant stacks at Crystal River were coming into view. We spent our first night at Twin Rivers Marina, about 4 or 5 miles up the river from the gulf, because it was hot, muggy, and drizzly so we definitely wanted to plug in and have AC. Other than electricity it was not a great stop, and the next morning we went up the rest of the way to Kings Bay and anchored out, as the weather had turned cooler with an approaching cold front. The big attraction at Crystal River in the winter is manatees. When the water turns cold they move up into the warmer and sparkling clear waters of the local springs, and a sizable industry of tour boats has grown up around taking tourists out to snorkel with the manatees. We got up early and took the dinghy out to search around for a little herd that was not already claimed by the tour boats, and way up a little residential canal we found a friendly group who let us hang around in the water with them for an hour, until we were just about chilled to the bone despite our wet suits. It was really awesome, and a definite highlight of our trip so far. Not so much of a highlight was that evening when we ran the boat’s fresh water tank dry and realized we had no emergency backup supply. So Bella and I took a late night dinghy ride into town to pick up a few gallons of bottled water to tide us over. It was a long walk to and from the store, and water is heavy.

Getting ready to depart for Crystal river

The dawn's early light as we head out the Steinhatchee river

Beautiful sunrise as we head out into the Gulf

Another gorgeous run along the coast in about 10  feet of water. Bella is on high alert for dolphins.

So happy to be back in salt water. Honestly, I think it runs in our veins

Shell island at the mouth of Crystal river

Twin Rivers marina. Yes. When we said 15 foot beam, we meant 15 foot beam!

We were literally wedged into our slip!

I love the iconic salt marshes of this part of Florida

BellaGatto at anchor

Hello you beautiful creatures!

Getting ready to slip into the water

Beautiful mackerel sky. Weather change is coming

Success! Heading back to the boat

View from our anchorage at sunset

A herd of tour boat guests following some manatees

There are tour boats, kayaks, and a variety of other watercraft all over kings bay in search of manatees

The next day it was about 68 miles to Tarpon Springs, again cruising along the coast in shallow water, but still out of sight of land. It was so glassy flat we could see pods of dolphins surfacing a mile away, and Bella made sure she barked at each and every one of them. It had been a long time since we had been to Tarpon Springs, but the ride up the Anclote River and the downtown sponge docks along Dodecanese Boulevard were familiar territory. Lots of new marinas had been built since our last visit, and the city marina had undergone a facelift as well. The ratty old wooden fixed docks have been replaced by brand new floating aluminum ones, but they are built in such an odd way they were pretty difficult to get secured to. Tarpon Springs is a very close-knit Greek enclave, and we happily immersed ourselves in the food and culture (including blowing the budget on decadent Greek desserts at the Hellas Bakery). Opa!

Departing Crystal river to Tarpon Springs

Heading out into the Gulf

A nice escort into to Tarpon Srpings

View from our slip at Tarpon Springs City Marina

Dodecanece street AKA the sponge dock district,  Tarpon Springs

Hella's bakery https://www.hellasbakery.com/ YUMMY!

 The next day was a short 15-mile trip to an old favorite spot, the state park marina at Caladesi Island. It’s a bit tricky and shallow to get to, but when you do you are rewarded with a perfectly sheltered little marina (dockage with electric is just a buck a foot) on an island with nature trails and beaches that are commonly voted in the top 10 in the country. Other than by private boat, the only access to the island is by the state park ferry, so when the last ferry leaves at sunset, you have this whole paradise all to yourself. We wound up staying there for three days, and for the last two days we were joined by our friends Dave and Patty, who ran up from St. Pete in their 30 foot Boston Whaler, the Don’t Panic. The next day the wind was blowing so hard the ferry service was cancelled, but we barely noticed in our little hurricane hole. And again, we had the whole place to ourselves, with long beach walks and great meals from our two galleys.

Bella spots another dolphin

Warning signs at the trail head

Sunset at Caladesi State Park are amazing

Oyster catchers in the surf

Not your typical crowded Florida marina especially this time of year

On the trail

No dogs allowed on the beach

One of 2 17 foot wide slips in the marina

Enjoying sunset

We are about to be hammered

After the storm

On Sunday morning, we got up for a departure at high tide at 8:00 am for the 30 miles to the Gulfport Municipal Marina. Although it was high tide, the strong winds yesterday and the night before had blown a lot of the water right out of the bay and the actual water level was pretty low, so low that BellaGatto had to plow some mud in one spot to get back into the main intracoastal channel (we are a lightweight boat with shallow draft and fully protected running gear so we got away with it….this time). The rest of the trip to Gulfport was uneventful, and we got tied up in time for a late lunch in the very cute and friendly little town. We had not had a chance to do any laundry since way back in Carrabelle, so the evening was spent plugging quarters into the machines and humping clothes back and forth to the boat. Ahhh, the romance of cruising.

Yikes! A bit of a mud trail...

Bella is on high alert for dolphins

Love the vibe in Gulfport. A local described it as Key West for seniors 😂

Clam Bayou nature park adjacent to the marina

We had made an appointment at a boatyard in St. Pete to get new motor mounts and other work done in preparation for the Bahamas and from Gulfport it was just around the tip of the peninsula and then up the bay to Weedon Island and the yard. Along the way we gave the engines a full throttle running test to make sure all was well and that we didn’t have any consequences from our shallow water adventure yesterday. The girls ran right up to full rated rpm and got us up on plane at 17.5 statute mph with no vibration or overheating. It was fun running that speed, as long as you don’t look at the Floscan gauges and see the fuel burn. We got tied up at the yard and began the process of stripping just about all our stuff off the boat so we could provide clear access to both engines (which are under the bunks in the two aft staterooms) and the area under the salon seating where the fresh water plumbing access is.

OMG we're up on a plane going 17+ mph

Tampa Bay

Tampa bay

Bella loves the boat especially on a calm day

Our view from the slip at Coastal Marine Yacht Center where BellaGatto will get some love

The crew got right to work on re-bedding the hatches

So, we are back on land again for the next couple of weeks while the yard dogs have the boat, and then we will head to Ft. Myers and the Okeechobee Waterway and to Stuart, where we will do provisioning and planning for two months in the Bahamas.