April 10th and 11th

Explanation: Normally, one crew member writes the Blog for a set period of time or leg of the cruise. However, because our individual experiences during "the CROSSING" were significantly different we chose to provide first-hand accounts- all but Sara who effectively medicated herself into a semi-comatose state.

The Little Engine that Could (RKS). The decision to cross the Gulf on Monday the 10th may have been ill advised because the marine forecast from the National Weather Service for the eastern Gulf was for 15-20 kt winds from the east or southeast and 4-6 ft seas. So why cross? Maybe two reasons- our already delayed start of the cruise and essentially no change in the marine forecast for the eastern Gulf for the entire week of the 10th...and certainly it won't be that bad- wrong!

Gerry had laid out alternate courses to Clearwater Pass- one via Government Cut and one via the George-Dog Island Pass. While slightly different in distance and heading, both were approximately 150 nm in length and had a heading of about 140 deg magnetic. If we could average 5 kts, the trip would take about 30 hours thus we would arrive at about 230 pm Tuesday.

After a smooth departure from our mooring at the Water Street Hotel in Apalachicola, we proceeded through the ICW in Apalachee Bay to the Gulf pass between George and Dog Islands. We had contemplated using Government Cut to the Gulf which allowed for a somewhat more direct and shorter route to Clearwater Beach Pass. However, due to the narrowness of the Cut, we were concerned that the water and tidal states would make the transit very difficult so we decided to proceed to the previously described pass at the east end of George Island.

Fast forward to the beginning of the military style 4 hr watches at 8 pm. I agreed to take the first watch. Our progress had been steady and relatively smooth under power (wind direction not conducive to sail) to that point in time and conditions actually improved until the latter stages of my watch at which time conditions started to deteriorate- winds in the 15-20 kt range and seas in the 4'-6' range just as forecast. Since Gerry was standing watch during the midnight to 4 am, refer to his portion of the blog for an account of the conditions and our progress during that period- suffice to say it wasn't pretty. I relieved Gerry at 4 am and was on watch (meaning at the helm) for the next 4 hrs. The chaotic and 4'-6' (very possibility greater seas had not abated, so the boat was pitching and rolling sometimes separately and sometimes in combination. Boat speed varied between 3 and 4 kts and the need for course heading corrections was continuous. We might have been scared if we could have seen the actual state of the sea but while there was a bright moon it virtually impossible to see anything but blackness. Of course, the sea state was not consistent, sometimes resulting in comparatively smooth trips up and down the waves while at other times abrupt drops and rises. The latter would cause the entire standing rigging to shutter. That's when you pray you have sound boat under you. Fortunately, we found that we did have a solid boat. Thankfully, during the latter stages of my watch, conditions began to improve- less wind and calmer seas- so our speed and progress similarly improved.

With improved sailing, actually motoring, conditions we now faced a possible new "threat"- low fuel. Fuel consumption on Seahawk is about one gallon per hour at our normal running rpm of 2900-3000. Our fuel tanks have a rated capacity of 18 gallons but it's difficult to actually fill them to capacity plus it's never a good idea nor is it practical to run them dry. So maybe the effective available amount per tank is a little as 15 gallons. We carried an extra 10 gallons of fuel in two containers. Thus, a total possible amount of 40 gallons meaning possibly 40 hours of motoring for our now projected 36 hour journey- but was our fuel consumption greater under the sea conditions we were experiencing? You see our concern! But our concerns were unfounded because the "little engine that could" (a 27 hp Westerbeeke diesel) performed admirably and economically well within the expected fuel consumption rate and brought us safely and reliably to our mooring at the Clearwater Beach Marina. While I wouldn't classify our experience as harrowing, it certainly was uncomfortable and one to be avoided in the future. The moral- trust your National Weather Service marine forecaster!

Mal de Mer (JGR). The guys reported 4 - 6 ft. seas and winds higher than we like to think about for the next few days. Jean and Sara would have been content to poke around Apalachicola for a day or two more and then go to Carrabelle for a day or two, if necessary, to get better seas and wind, but the guys decided that we needed to go. So, off we went.
Since both Jean and Sara are subject to mal de mer, they took their meds: Jean took Dramamine and Sara took one-half of a Bonine. As soon as we got though the cut into the Gulf the boat started rocking and rolling. The rough ride was definitely not fun. After one game of "13" Sara took a quarter of a Bonine and retired to her berth, the best one in the boat for rough conditions. About that time Gerry advised Jean that we were taking water over the bow and she better check their berth. Too late! The berth was wet (a lot wet) from a leaking window. Jean sopped it up as well as she could and deployed their "rig for rough seas" set-up, and that was no easy task.
The "rig for rough seas" set-up for the forward berth consists of a shower curtain laid out on the berth with a towel on it to keep the water from rolling off of the shower curtain onto the berth. To properly deploy the shower curtain, Jean had to climb up on the berth with nothing to hold on to. This is usually not a problem, but the boat was jumping around so much that it was very challenging to do without getting flung off of the berth. Jean did get banged around and it actually scared her. In the future Jean will rig for rough seas before leaving the pier anytime they plan to go outside. It was so rough that the hinges holding the toilet lid actually shattered and we had to store the lid until we could get new hinges for it.
Jean had been taking her Dramamine every 4 - 6 hours, and Sara took the last quarter of her Bonine tablet by early afternoon. After that Sara was mostly in her berth asleep. By bedtime things seemed to have calmed down a bit and Jean decided to try to sleep in her berth despite the wet spot. She put a towel over it and went to bed. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
At some point during the night Roger and Gerry started shouting at each other. Roger was in the salon and Gerry at the wheel; it was the only way they could hear one another. That awakened Jean and she noticed that it had gotten very rough again. She reached out her hand to see whether we were taking water over the bow and water splashed in her hand. She decided that sleeping in Roger's berth was the better idea. (When the guys are on watch during the night the off-duty partner sleeps in the salon.) Although Jean did not sleep well, she did sleep with no concern about being flooded out or being bounced out of the berth.
The seas were still "lumpy" the next morning, but it was an average Dramamine kind of ride, which eventually smoothed out into a nice afternoon. Due to some sort of navigation problem, it took 36 hours to make the crossing instead of the expected 30 hours. The guys were beat when we landed in Clearwater and decided that they deserved a nice drink as soon as Seahawk was made fast to the pier.
You know Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong. True, how true. Because we were not going to make Clearwater before the Dockmaster closed for the day, we called ahead and got our slip assignment. When we arrived someone was in it. We motored slowly along until we found one we could fit in and took it. As it turned out, it was the same slip we were in when we brought Seahawk home from Key Largo. It is not an easy slip to tie up in and we were all tired. Luckily, sailors are a friendly and helpful community. Men came swarming out of nearby boats to help us tie up. When we were tied up and had electricity the guys fixed stiff drinks for all. We were happy to be made fast to the pier. This crossing was not as bad as the one from Pumpkin Key to Bimini had been, but it was bad enough. Don't want to do it that way again.

Man plans and God laughs (GLR). Try as we may to pick a good time to cross the Gulf the marine forecasts indicated unfavorable conditions for the next week and a half with 4 o 6 foot seas and 20 to 30 knot winds. So we decided to go and hope for the best but hope is not a method. We were to be chastised for the remainder of the trip, nay probably for the rest of our lives for this forced choice.
But it was a beautiful day, sunny and cool so we started off in fine spirits and decided to go inside to St George Island (SGI) East Pass before entering the Gulf. This would cut about 10 nautical miles (nm) off the open water crossing from our originally planned departure through Government Cut on the West side of SGI.
On entering the pass it got a little bumpy but not bad, 2 to 4 foot seas and all was reasonably well. These conditions remained constant throughout the day.
About 50nm down our PIM (Planned and Intended Movement) and 40nm offshore we were visited by a pretty and apparently very tired little bird who seemed very happy to see us, hopping all around, perching on my finger then Roger's belly then in the cabin on Jean's head before returning to the cockpit. We could see right away that we needed to keep it out of the cabin to minimize mischief but with the chartplotter extended through the starboard cockpit window we were stymied. Alas our fears were realized when it flew into the cabin and into the back of one of the fans in the main salon. It was obviously injured but we hoped it would survive with our tender loving care. It made it through the night but succumbed the next morning and Jean led a very moving Episcopal burial at sea. Sailor rest your oars!
Meanwhile Roger and I had decided to stand standard four hour watches so Roger took the 8 to 12 and I took the mid (midnight to four in the morning ). About 2300 ( 11 PM ) Roger hit the bad road, winds built to a steady 30 kts with gusts to 40 and seas built to 6 to 8 feet, a little worse than forecast and we knew we were in trouble with the gulls. It remained bumpy for the next 24 hours but the day was gorgeous and conditions settled down as we approached Clearwater. The entrance and landing were uneventful so we tied up, ran shore power, lit off the A/C, spliced the mainbrace, and toasted survival of another experience on the high seas.
Respectfully submitted,
G L Ray, CDR, SS, USNR- Ret

Note: We are currently moored at the Legacy Harbour Marina on the Caloosahatchee River just north of Ft Myers. We decided to temporarily bypass Tween Waters Marina on Captiva Island. Friday we move to Naples for 4 nights after which we'll begin our return north to Tween Waters for three nights to begin our homeward leg.