The Crossing

Yes INDEED it was a great day as we headed into the Blue Yonder.  Somehow we were able to Negotiate 26 hours of travel into one day.  At times we realized that Life Made Simple isn't always easy.  Thankfully, it was a Warm One and as Craig was playing pirate he said Wood Ya have a Distinctive Time and he tried to get me to Surrender the Booty in the middle of Gulf of Mexico.  I said to him, are you Semi Crazy and have a bad case of Ititeous or Maybe Later  go find Whatz'er-Name.  I would've agreed if he was a little more Clean Cut at the time.  One thing's for sure we live The Goode Life.  
(Craig's contribution to the blog)!

It made for a long few days as we made the 200 mile crossing through the Gulf of Mexico.  When the sun set the night before, we just knew it was going to be a good day.

 Planning was an easy thing for Mr. Safety (Craig) as he looked at worse case scenario and was prepared for anything.  As our friend Pete said, "it's nothing to shake a stick at"!  This trip is to be taken very seriously and our planning proved that to be true.

 We studied charts, talked to locals and Loopers that had crossed, and watched weather forecasts.  Ten days later we left Apalachicola to venture out for the long cruise. 

 We were fortunate enough to travel with The Old Grouch, High Spirits, Dream Fever and Kim Jo III.  Our seas were perfect and flat, skis were blue and warm. Around 4:00 pm we heard a loud BOOM BOOM and we all rose to our feet stunned by the loud noise that we could feel through the hull of the boat.  It was alarming to say the least.  Just as Craig asked me to take the helm (so he could check the bilge for damage), a fellow boater came over the VHF and said he hit something....another hailed to say he felt/heard the same thing.  All five boats were shaken (literally).  We were in a marked "Danger Area" in the Gulf....we're thinking maybe a target practice of some sort took place.  FYI it was at:  LAT: 29.35.9 LON: 84.09.2 area. 

 Ryann ate dinner with her life jacket on and said that she just liked it so much and didn't want to take it off!  That's Mr. Safety's daughter..hahaha.

I wish I had a visual picture to show of how truly dark it is in the middle of the night on the water.  It's hard to explain the feeling of being so far away from shore with only your navigational lights and electronics illuminating.  It was wonderful to have the other boaters to keep you company in the middle of the night.  As soon as the dark skis were upon us, Dream Fever did a roll call on the top of every hour. It was a spark in my night watch and gave me a burst of energy.  Someone was out there keeping an eye on us and us on them.  It was so comforting just like the stars in the sky.


Sunrise was perfect with Clearwater, Florida on the horizon.  After a long night of keeping watch on the boat, there were a million crab pots to traverse.  This is not to be taken lightly at all.  Friends of ours, Dream Catcher, took in a crab pot with their shaft a few weeks ago and after two weeks and $7,000 they were finally back in the water....not good.  Another boat, this past spring caught a crab pot attached to a 20 lb. cement slab (as most of them are) and ripped out the back of his boat...sinking the entire vessel in less than 10 minutes. 

 Apalachicola, the night before we left, was a great stop. We stayed at Water Street Marina and Hotel.  It was very nice and the town was fun.  We went to the local Maritime Museum, biked around town, talked with fellow Loopers, ran some errands and enjoyed the day.  

 Our small little crew made the most of the day.  They slept in the salon, which made for a fun little camp out.  Morgan was up bright and early and was so helpful finding crab pots in the water.  She was quick to spot them, helped with cleaning and watching the little ones....I'm so lucky that she cares so much. 

On Sat. morning after running the boat for over 26 hours, we made our way to Treasure Island Yacht Club.  We were greeted by fellow loopers and given the grand tour by Les, the Dockmaster.  Made some lunch and took the bikes into town for site-seeing.  The time will fly by here as there's so much to do.  Olympic sized heated pool, free arcade and other kids to hang with is just the start. 

We're tired and ready for a good night sleep.  Thank you all for your continued support, phone calls and prayers.  We really appreciate it and love you all very much!