s/v Kaleo

The past few days have been spent waiting out a cold front at C-Quarters Marina in Carrabelle, FL. We spent most of the time staying warm, doing some housecleaning, running  few errands and checking the weather to plan our next long offshore crossing. A highlight one evening was getting to catch up with our good friends, The Powers.

It looks calm here but coming in to C-Quarters Marina it took eight people, each with a line, and three tries to wrangle Kaleo into the slip as we fought against 35 mph winds and 2 knots of river currentSkyping with the Powers

Our Spot Tracker route from Carrabelle to Clearwater

The forecast was iffy and the weather window short but after a talk with some cruising mentors, and knowing the next window was over a week away, we decided to go for it. While most of the time was spent motoring as the wind was on our nose, it turned out to be a relatively calm and easy passage.

• 150 – nautical miles traveled in 30 hours
• 35 – miles offshore at the farthest
• 10 – average knots of wind with 1 to 2 foot seas
• 2 – distinctively inspiring books absorbed, Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi and The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
• 2 – movies watched on our iPhones, Letters to God and Bobby
• 0 – land in sight at 360° around us
• 1 – powerful bible verse shared with us by friends and fellow cruisers, The Claytons, that brought a great amount of security and peace, Numbers 6:24-26. Thank you!

We were reminded that being out at sea is actually more peaceful than sailing near shore or in channels like the ICW. When offshore, the boat basically handles itself and we each take turns on watch, routinely checking the horizon, course and instruments. When closer to land, we have to be constantly vigilant for hazards such as other boaters, floating debris, shoaling, crab traps, and missing or incorrectly marked navigation aids.

One of two magnificent sunsets on this passage

Open waters of the Gulf as we neared Clearwater

Tonight we’re anchored in Clearwater where will spend a few days before moving the boat to Tampa and flying to Texas to spend Christmas with family and friends.

N 27°58.54 / W 82°49.30

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