Apalachicola, FL to Dog Island, FL

October 29, 2015

Apalachicola is a great place to wait for a good weather window for the Gulf Crossing, so we enjoyed the 4 days we spent there.  Even the windy, rainy day was okay, because it gave us an excuse to rest.

High water and debris on the dock behind us due to the stormy day

There was a community ball field 2 blocks away, so Sasha had a place where there was plenty of room for long Frisbee throws.  Although the Piggly Wiggly grocery store was only 14 blocks away – well within walking distance – we used the marina’s golf cart since we wanted to also get gasoline for the dinghy and ice from Twice the Ice.

Oyster shell pile - oysters are one of the main industries in Apalachicola

Oysters shells are used in landscaping and in place of gravel, among other uses

Rob took advantage of the wait time to finish up the plumbing for the watermaker.  We haven’t put the reverse osmosis membranes in yet, however, because it is better to be in clearer deeper water when making drinking water.  We also straightened up the boat and secured things both outside and inside in preparation for the Gulf Crossing.

The rest of the time, we relaxed, walked around town, and visited with other cruisers.  Discussions of wind and wave forecasts and possible weather windows dominated conversations.  Most people look at multiple sources when trying to make decisions about when to travel and when to stay put, and the most common ones used are:  Passageweather.com, Windfinder app, NOAA marine forecasts, Eddy’s Weather Wag, and www.marvsweather.com.

Lovely flowers were everywhere

Live music at the Bowery - remind us of our niece, Jaki

Spooky cool moon with Halloween not too far away

Since The Bar B and Second Noelle had done the Gulf Crossing multiple times going both ways, we had decided to do the Crossing with them since they didn’t mind us tagging along.  They were looking at the same sources we were and agreed that either Thursday, Oct 29, or Friday, Oct 30, looked like decent conditions.  Like all forecasts, our sources were frequently being updated and changing somewhat, so we finally decided to leave Thursday to anchor at Dog Island and then start across on Friday.

Since it is only about 3 hrs from Apalachicola to Dog Island, we had the morning to tie up some loose ends and then left around 1 p.m.  The wind was from the southwest at 10-15 mph, so we had the wind and waves on our stern mostly as we traveled, with a light to moderate chop.

Shortly after we passed under the second bridge near Apalachicola, we could see workers on small boats harvesting the local oysters which we had eaten at “The Hole in the Wall Raw and Seafood Bar” the night before.  Yes, even Rob tried a baked parmesan oyster and said it wasn’t bad.

Bryant Patton Bridge - goes between Eastpoint, FL and St George Island

Oysters are harvested by people with rakes in small boats like this

Even as we were going along there was still some discussion about possibly just heading out once we got to the inlet if the conditions looked good.  There was a NOAA update around 3:30-4 p.m. which coincided with our arrival at the inlet.  After reviewing it, we decided to stick with original plan.

We got anchored at Dog Island in the cove just east of the inlet.  It was still a little windy as we anchored, so we put out 150 ft  of rode for a depth of 21 ft.  We just have a 2-3 ft section of chain right at the anchor and then the rest is ¾” rope, so we always put out plenty.  Our PO’s never had any trouble with getting the anchor set, and so far we haven’t either as long as we put out enough scope.  None of us had any trouble getting good holding and eventually both the wind and small waves died down.

The Bar B at Dog Island

Second Noelle at Dog Island

There was lots of sandy beach on Dog Island, but since we had already taken our 20 hp Honda motor off of our dinghy for the Crossing, we didn’t go to shore.  Sasha has been on the boat for 2 days straight before, so she should be okay – not particularly happy probably, but okay.

Beach homes on Dog Island

The Gulf of Mexico is just beyond the house and small strip of sand!