Light at the end....

One bit of advice we’ve heard time and time again by experienced Loopers is:  Never cruise in darkness.  Crossing the Gulf for us slow-moving trawlers requires a daylight departure, and overnight cruise and daylight arrival.  Getting back into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway needs to happen after sunrise, in light.  At 6:00 am we spotted flashing buoy lights from the coast--Dog Island and Carrabelle. Sunrise would happen at 7:41 am.  We slowed our engine’s rpms down to adjust our speed to a slower 5.5 mph, made a pot of coffee, and watched the sun come up before getting back to cruising speed through East Pass.  We made the crossing!

The Gulf crossing went very well.  Because we had “Velsignet” on auto pilot and didn’t see another light on the horizon or blip on the radar between 10:30 pm and 6:00 am, we were able to keep watch and relax with the rolls.  Each of us took a turn sleeping for an hour or two at a time.   We competed in a couple of games of King’s Cribbage (Lucky Mike won both games!).  We viewed the second season of “Downton Abby.”  We ate snacks and admired the (almost) full moon over the water. 

The temp is 86 degrees.  The humidity is relentless.  There's no wind.  The tide is falling.  By 10 am, we were back on the GICW.  After Appalachicola, cruising against a river current slowed us down just a bit.  However, the waterway was well marked, the water plenty deep, and we appreciated the change of pace and scenery.  We mt very few other watercraft along a river lined with scrubby-like brush with pine and cedar trees.  I expected (and read that it's possible) to see alligators.  We kept moving as far as our energy took us—until 4 p.m. or so, and anchored between White City and Panama City. 

The weekend of August 10-13, we are looking forward to spending time as a family with our daughters and their husbands and our grandchildren:  Allison & Brent, Iris and Rose from Arvada, CO; and Jordan & Jared, Claudia, Killian, Owen and Astri from Stillwater, MN.  With the crossing behind us, we have much more confidence that we will reach our Demopolis, AL destination, prepare to leave the boat at the marina, and return to Saint Paul with our car and trailer in due time.

Sunrise to the east coming up over the Gulf of Mexico.

An old railroad swing bridge on the Jackson River, just after Appalachicola.  

An impressive vacation home.

This was a common site:  a nest built atop a waterway marker.

From the Jackson River to the calm Searcy River towards Panama City.

The captain on the fly bridge.

A closer look at the trees and shrubbery that line the rivers.