Ship's Logs and Trip Diaries 

Detailed information on provisioning, checking in, marinas/anchorages, etc. is available at our SaltySailors.com website.

New Orleans, Louisiana to Bradenton, Florida

May 16, 2004:  New Orleans to Oak Harbor Marina

We sailed on Lake Pontchartrain!  It's the first day we've been able to sail since we left.  Lake was nice, but way too many crab pots to dodge.

We got to Oak Harbor Marina and they were closed.  They are only open on Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays.  We tied up to a bulkhead that said "No Overnight Docking" and spent the night. 

This is our last day of cell phone service so we called all our friends and family.  I can't remember the last time we didn't have a phone.

May 17 - 18, 2004:  Oak Harbor Marina to Gulfport, Mississippi

We had planned on leaving the next day, but it was raining again.  We walked into Gulfport and went to the Copa Casino.  They were running a special where they gave you $10 to gamble with if you signed up for their card.  We both signed up and promptly lost our $10 ea.  We then headed over to the Grand Casino.  Lost a little more money then headed back to the marina.   DJ drove us into town for propane & groceries. 

A very nice town with very nice people.

May 19, 2004:  Gulfport, Mississippi to Dauphin Island, Alabama

A normal day of motoring into the wind.  Don't believe what the guidebooks say out anchoring in this area.  We were going to anchor at Dauphin Island anchorage, but could not find a spot outside of the channel that wasn't too shallow.  We saw another sailboat going in as we were leaving and they said they drew 3' and ran aground last time they anchored there.

We left and went around to the other side of Dauphin Island to Billy Goat Hole.  The guides say the channel is 5' and we draw 4'.  We are tired and ready to stop so we give it a try.  As we entered we saw a Hunter aground.  We proceeded anyway and ran aground at the entry to Confederate Pass.  We are tired and cranky and yelling at each other so we just threw the anchor out and went to sleep.  About 1:00 am Thane checked and said we were off.

We pulled up the anchor and headed out at dawn.  We then ran aground in the middle of the channel.  Thane put the motor on the dingy and pushed the front of the boat around until we got off.  I have very little experience at the helm and I was unhappy that I was on the boat and Thane was in the dinghy and I didn't know exactly where to go to not run aground again.  He finally boarded the boat and we got out of there.

Several fishing & pleasure boats passed us while we were aground.  No one offered help any help except one man who yelled at us that it was too shallow...a little late! 

May 20, 2004:  Dauphin Island to Robert's Bayou

A very nice, quiet anchorage.  We got the dinghy ready and headed over the the marina where they are suppose to have the best hamburgers in the world.  We had a couple and they were pretty good.

May 21, 2004:  Robert's Bayou to Manatee Point, Florida

The highlight of the day is that I got to take a real shower with lots of hot water and wash my hair.  We stopped at Santa Rosa Yacht Club to get fuel and they offered showers for $1.50. 

We anchored at Manatee Point.  The anchorage is a bit rolly and we kept hearing loud booms.  Several large military planes pass overhead and their are radar domes on the barrier island.  The booms didn't stop all night.  We think it was probably artillery training of some kind. 

May 22, 2004:  Manatee Point to Redfish Point in Panama City, Florida

We left Manatee Point and followed the ICW thru Ft. Walton Beach.  We had a tag-along with us for about 30 minutes.  A dolphin rested his tail on the front of the boat and let us push him along.  When he needed air he surfaced beside the boat and then went back to the bow.  He left when we had to change course to avoid a motorboats wake.

In the water at Ft. Walton Beach, we saw what looked to be 100s of little fins sticking up out of the water.  Upon closer inspection, we could see that they were the tips of stingray wings.  We saw several groups of them swim by.  Cool.

We anchored at Redfish Point and went to sleep.  We awoke that night to the sounds of what must have been 1,000s of birds.  Must have been a rookery on the island.

May 23, 2004:  Redfish Point to Scipio Creek Marina in Apalachicola

We smell paper mills.  After a long, dull trip down the ICW with nothing to see, we arrive in Apalachicola.  The marina here charged $42.50.  This was our first experience with Florida fees (ha, ha the joke is still on us).  We walked into town to get something to eat.  Everyplace was pretty expensive so we settled on a Chinese food place that was okay.

There are several pretty B&Bs in town and lots of antique stores.  It was Sunday afternoon so almost everything was closed. 

May 24 - 25, 2004:  Apalachicola to Carabelle

Uneventful trip to The Moorings Marina in Carabelle.  Very nice marina that has a chart room with a pool table, a game table, seating arrangements, large screen TV and a computer to check your email.  They have a very nice pool and they also have bikes available.  We checked out a couple of bikes and took off to see the town.  They are putting in a river walk and there are several interesting shops.  The town looks a little run down, but I think that will change eventually.

Thane has a habit of getting somewhere looking around for 1 afternoon and being ready to leave the next day.  He has always been this way.  We once drove about 2 hours out of our way to drive thru New Orleans on the freeway so he could show me the French Quarter from the freeway!  He's going to try and slow down and enjoy where he is at the time. (I can tell you that this still has not changed.  He has the wandering feet.)

I am nervous about my first overnight passage.  The ICW ends at Carabelle and we must do an overnight to get to Tampa.

May 26 - 27, 2004:  Carabelle to Egmont Key

Left Carabelle about 1:00 pm.  We are out to sea and believe it or not, we are sailing!  I think it is pretty bumpy, but Thane says it's about as smooth as offshore sailing gets.  I'm feeling a bit queasy so I took a 1/2 a Sturgeron that our friends gave us before we left Port A.  It's not available in the US, but you can get it in Mexico.  I use it often when we go offshore and have had great results...stops the seasick feeling and doesn't make you sleepy.

We are on 3 hour watches.  My first nightfall at sea and I am apprehensive.  My first night watch is from 9:00 - 12:00 pm.  There is a half moon so it's not too dark.  I listened to music to pass the time and it wasn't too bad.  When Thane came out at midnight, I went down below, but cannot sleep.  The wind died during Thane's watch so we are now motoring.  4:00 am came fast and this is a hard watch as I'm having trouble staying awake.  The moon has set and it's very dark, but the stars are incredible.  Thane came up at 6:30 am, I immediately went below and fell asleep.

We motored all day.  We are in 30' of water and 3 miles offshore and still having to dodge crab pots.  I hate crab pots, but I do love crab.  We anchored at Egmont Key right after sunset.  We anchored too far from shore and it was a very rolly night.  

May 28, 2004:  Egmont Key to the Manatee River in Bradenton, Florida

It was just a short hop over to Bradenton.  We anchored out rather than going into one of the marinas.  This is our first experience with no place to dock the dinghy.  We went into Twin Dolphins Municipal Marina for a couple of days and they let us leave the dinghy at the restaurant dock if we bought a beer.  First time we have had to pay to dock, but the price was right.  However, the river is getting choppy and it's a long trip over to Twin Dolphins so we went into Regatta Pointe Marina.  They made us pay $10 to dock for the day; even though we purchased fuel.

We stayed in Bradenton for 5 days while we continued to shop.  We bought a new, bigger rebuilt alternator for the boat. 

Ate out a lot.  Shopped for more boat stuff and spent too much money. 

We were able to go and visit my Uncle Ronn who lives in St. Petersburg.  He fixed us a great lunch.  Then Thane and I went to visit my dad's gravesite at Bay Pines Veteran's Cemetery.  It was the first time I had been back since the funeral in 1987.  It was sad, but I was glad I got to go.

Provisioned yet again and we are ready to make our gulf crossing to Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

View ICW Photo Gallery