Pensacola to Apalachicola Passage

Early Friday morning we set out on a 97 mile offshore passage from Pensacola to Port Saint Joe, FL. Almost 22 hours later, we arrived at the channel entrance a few hours ahead of schedule. Feeling motivated and with favorable conditions, we decided to press on past Port Saint Joe for another 25 miles through the ICW to Apalachicola. There’s a harsh cold front forecast to blow through the area this weekend so we wanted to get as far down the line as possible before being held up by the weather. We’re now tied up to a city dock that’s a little rolly, but coming off the past day’s adventure, we’ll probably sleep though just about anything.

Kaleo cutting through the Gulf

• It took almost 13 hours to cover just the first 50 miles from Pensacola to Destin because of 17-19 knot winds right on the nose (coming at us) and 3 to 4 foot seas.
• Just after nightfall, the winds settled to about 12 knots and the seas were nearly flat, helping us to cruise along at 6.5 knots.
• We enjoyed the most spectacular night sky scattered with dazzling stars burning brighter than we’d ever seen. To top it off, seven shooting stars blazed above us throughout the night.
• At the farthest, we were about 20 miles offshore.
• Other than those twinkling stars, the only company we had along the way was one offshore fishing boat and an unidentified object that our hull hit in the night, giving us quite the jolt. (We couldn’t see what it was and there didn’t seem to be any damage but we’ll check it out more thoroughly when we can dive under in clear water.)
• We took shifts checking the engine’s vitals, the bilge, wind conditions, sail trim and our course while the auto-pilot did most of the steering.
• If there was a theme for the night, it would be set to the Garden State soundtrack. (Which we both listened to throughout our shifts.)
• Other than being pretty cold, our first overnight passage of 122 nautical miles was less intimidating than we had imagined and we are grateful for being blessed with a safe trip.

Peaceful seas and a beautiful sunset

We’re off to get some rest and we’ll see what the weather brings in the morning to decide when and where we’ll head next. Ideally, we’d like to make another offshore jump to Clearwater/St. Petersburg/Tampa area once the weather clears. We’re looking forward to possibly catching up with some dear friends there.

N 29° 43.72 / W 84° 58.96