Late to the Party

LATE...that's it in a nutshell.  We've been travelling for 5 days and due to circumstances we didn't control but might have we missed the window to make the direct overnight crossing to Tarpon Springs or possibly a little bit south to Dunedin.  We were fashionably late and that just doesn't cut it when you are talking a 24-26 hour time frame.  Let's just say we continue to learn from our experiences which I guess is what this is all about.

SO...last night we anchored southeast of Carabelle (we got there at 3:00 and it didn't make any sense to go to a marina from dusk to dawn) off of St. George Island the barrier island on the Gulf. It was a beautiful night, calm as can be. This morning it was just as calm and we were mad at ourselves for being such chickens!  Every excuse....it's too late, we won't have a buddy boat, we've been up since 6am can we stay awake until 3pm tomorrow, and yada, yada, yada.  Let's just say it was a huge decision making error and I'm not ashamed to say it...."we screwed up"!

There are so many decisions and so many factors when doing the loop.  After almost 11 months we are just plain TIRED of making decisions, hence here we sit at C Quarters Marina in Carabelle and probably will sit for at least a week while riding out the unsettled conditions and winds that are supposed to start tonight with the approaching cold front  (jeez, again already)!

X marks our anchor spot last night

We did get time to go for a quick hop to the beach. Our first time off the boat since Monday morning and Bob really had to tinkle! He heard "shore time" and he was in the dink in a flash.

And was rewarded with an "aaahhh" moment...  dirt beneath my paws at last!

The beautiful deserted beach of St. George Island

We ended up with only a decent sunset, those low lying clouds were again the culprit.  You think it's going to be spectacular and then they start showing up on the horizon but the colors of the clouds after are a show in themselves.

Twelve boats left yesterday at between 12 and 2 pm. Alas, the next crossing window is nowhere in sight.  Usually it is within 4-5 days but with the current weather forecast there doesn't look to be a possibility for the next 7-10 days. Hopefully that will change over the week. There are two other looper boats at C Quarters, both of whom we've met at other marinas. Chuck on  'Luv n Life' whom we started this journey with in Albany last July and crossed paths again in Petoskey and Daniel and Angela who are from Brazil and are doing the loop on their sailboat and, like us, missed yesterday's crossing. Chuck has been here for a week already with mechanical issues.

I guess those of us at C Quarters will be spending Thanksgiving being thankful we've all made it this far and were blessed with the opportunity to do this trip.  It will surely be one to remember.

 C Quarters Marina Carabelle