The new windlass arrived and was installed by a service tech who lives locally. (He owns a house on the water with a pool and dock in the neighbourhood.) Then we stowed the freshly painted chain with anchor attached. A short length of line ties the chain to the boat. This is a safety feature that allows for the anchor and rode to be jettisoned quickly in an emergency.
Once everything was put back together, we sat to wait for the weather to improve. We had paid for a month – it is the same price as 16 days so figured why not as we didn’t know how long the windlass replacement would take.
The next two stops are both along the intra-coastal waterway. Apalachicola is a seven hour cruise, then on to Carrabelle which is a 3 hour cruise. Then comes the famous crossing of the Gulf of Mexico.
There are several possible across the gulf. There is the Big Bend Route (~214 miles) which keeps you within 20 or 30 miles of shore, and the Gulf Crossing (~170 miles) which requires an open water crossing. For slower boats like Moon Dance, the open water Gulf Crossing is done overnight because it can take 18+ hours.
Whether we take the Big Bend Route or go straight from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs, the Gulf Crossing requires planning and good weather. The rule of thumb says, boats with drafts less than 4 feet and gross weights less than 16 tons should consider winds that don’t exceed 15 mph and wave heights less than 2 feet.
These conditions have occurred just twice since we returned to the boat in early January. We missed the last opportunity because the weather models flip-flopped. Given it takes two days to reach the jumping off point for the gulf crossing from Panama City, we decided to move closer and take our time exploring the two stops along the way.
We left Point South Marina on a rising tide and crossed the inlet with a slight push from the current. Once we reach the canal portion we encountered a counter-current that dropped our speed by 1.5 knots. We met very little traffic while traversing the “impenetrable forests” that lined much of the route.
We also passed through the area devastated by Hurricane Michael three years ago. The pine forest will be a long time recovering. As will the home owners along the way. The maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour destroyed almost every building in the community and 484 buildings at the nearby Tyndall Airforce Base.
Moon Dance IV 