Clearwater to Cedar Key
15 April 2011 | Cedar Key
Warren
This is what cruising is about. Good weather, good boat and good sailing.
Left Clearwater Pass in the dark at 6 am. No problem in the dark except for decorative lights on the bridge that ruin night vision. Then trying to see fish pots in the dark was fun for an hour until the sun came up.
Had a nice East wind to start with and quickly shut down the engine to enjoy sailing and not worrying about wrapping a fish pot around a spinning prop. But the wind kept shifting and dropped off for a few hours which meant motoring again. Had to average at least 5 knots to get to Cedar Key in the light.
Winds picked up again after 2 pm and we were sailing again. At one point we had a pod of dolphins with us. About 4, 3 large and one child that played in the bow wave for about an hour. Don't know if they were teaching the child how to ride the wave or what.
Cedar Key entrance up the "main ship channel" is a series of S curves that would make Dolly Parton look flat. Luckily, I have good guides and maps and made it without difficulty. I won't go ashore here since I don't need anything. Tomorrow I'll go to Steinhatchee, about 35 miles, to fuel up and get ready to cross to the panhandle. Probably won't have wifi there to update the blog.
Good night.