Cruising to Panama City

Some really fine properties along the GIWW

We left Gulf Shores, AL and headed via the GIWW (Gulf Intercoastal Waterway) for familiar surroundings at Fort Walton Beach, FL. The GIWW in this part of the gulf is basically a sound or lagoon type of water way that runs between gulf-side barrier islands and the mainland. Commercial tow traffic frequents this waterway, so it is maintained at a project depth of 12 feet, but shallower depths of up to 7 feet were frequently seen mid-channel. Get outside the channel and chances are you will run aground. An the channel is relatively narrow, particularly if one has to pass the wide commercial tows. Our first run in the GIWW found us facing or passing several tows on the edge of the channel. You never really know whether to just watch you depth meter decrease or watch the traffic. And one has to pay attention to changes in the marked channel or you will quickly be aground. Even though we didn't encounter any problems, Jane was still on pins and needles the entire time. We arrived at the Florida State line and started to enter Perdido Bay when we ran across another Mardi Gras boat parade.

Shoals can pop up anywhere

Watching the parade from the helm,

Welcome to Florida!

Capt. Larry forgot to watch the markers and soon started catching hell from fellow boaters when he entered a no-wake zone throwing a rather large wake. Fortunately, there were no law enforcement officers around, or we may have received a fine. We also didn't catch any beads, so it was a double bummer. We crossed the rather large Perdido and Pensacola Bays in 2-3 foot seas and was happy to settle into the calmer waters of Santa Rosa Sound, which we followed to the Navarre Bridge. From there to Fort Walton Beach we passed landmarks that we regularly see from the road when we travel to our home, but it was a totally different experience to see them from the water. We tied up in a marina on Okaloosa Island about one-half mile from our house. It was a long day. We ate at a mexican restaurant on the island and went to bed around 8:30 p.m. We never realized how exhausting cruising on a boat can be!

Throw me somethin', Mista!

Capt. Larry & Bill at the helm

We had planned to stay in Fort Walton around 3 days. The next day we walked to the house and picked up "Ol' Blue," our semi-retired mini-van and went the the air force base to re-provision. Jane's friend, Ellena, from Panama City Beach dropped by in the afternoon and we grilled some pork chops for supper. We did some laundry and final yard work at the house the next day and then closed it down until we return. Our last day in FWB, we awoke to fogbound conditions which lasted until noon. We invited our neighbor, Bill, onboard for a spaghetti dinner and gave him the grand tour of the boat. We will miss seeing him, but promised that we would bring the boat back and take him out fishing.

The weather forecast called for a cold front to move through the area that night, so we were pretty sure that we would not be fogbound when we attempted to make our way to Panama City the next day. While we were correct in our assumptions, we found 15-20 knot wind, small craft advisories (incidently, there is no

Pretty scenery in the "ditch"

official definition as to what a small craft is!) and 3 foot seas across Choctawhatchee Bay. Conditions were forecast to improve throughout the day, so we started out. After about an hour, when we hit the Mid-Bay Bridge, the seas settled down and we were able to bring the boat up on plane and run to the "ditch," or as the

A tight squeeze!

tow captains refer to it, the "canyon". This part of the GIWW is a man-made cut from Choctawhatchee Bay to West Bay in Bay County. While the water way has plenty of depth, the horizontal clearance can be a little tight when tows are encountered. And we encountered several. We met one at a bridge, hailed him, and while waiting for him to clear the bridge, almost ran aground.

We finally arrived at Panama City and made our way to the home of AGLCA Harbor Hosts Carl & Greg Vernon. We had previously met the Vernons at AGLCA Mini-Rendezvous in Port St. Joe, FL. There are not enough adjectives to describe their generosity and hospitality. We no sooner got the boat tied up in their spare slip when the party began. Soon other loopers from Bay Point Marina started arriving and happy hour extended itself until dinner time. After a great dinner, we said goodnight and retired to the boat where we crashed for the evening. If this is typical of the hospitality, camaraderie, and fun times we have heard described by other loopers, we are in for a great trip.

Bavarian Cream snug in her slip

Discussing boat business

AGLCA "LL" Club

Geez! We Survive our First Week (Barely)

Well kids, we are 10 days out, about $5,000 poorer, and we've made all of 236 miles to Gulf Shores, AL. Can only wonder what the next 6000+ miles will do to us and our bank account. Turns out that the overheating problem with the engines resolved itself and we were left bewildered and stupidly staring at the mechanic when the problem would not reproduce itself. But, being the good mechanic that he was, he found another serious problem that needed to be fixed. So, there goes $3,800 and we are about 60 miles from home port. There is a silver lining though, the marina felt so sorry for use that they gave us the weekly rate instead of the daily rate when we hit the limit. And there are still issues that we are trying to resolve. We really wish that we had had the time for a shake-down cruise.

Jane navigates GIWW with sign painted by granddaugher Madison

We left Slidell, LA, after frying our super deluxe DC/AC inverter, and started to head for the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Jane voted that we go into Biloxi, MS and the admiral vote counts the most. Got to Biloxi and into a slip next to the Hard Rock Casino. Biloxi Small Yacht Harbor is a nice and accommodating facility.

Fogbound in Biloxi

We decided that since we pissed so much money away on the boat already, that a few more dollars lost to the casino couldn't possibly make make us feel any worse. However, mother nature fulfilled that feeling by socking us in with fog the entire next day, causing us to spend an additional night in Biloxi. Biloxi is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina that hit 5 years ago, so near the water the options are limited. The upside is that Jane could not find places to shop and spend more money.

Oil Rig in Mobile Bay

Motoring on the Intracoastal

Bridge to Dauphin Islan

Today the weather cleared and we decided to hightail it across the Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay before we got a predicted nasty change in the weather. We are feeling confident. Nothing major happened and the gulf was calm and a pleasure to cross. And, the boat didn't break! That was the longest run we've had at higher speed and we only hope that we have those conditions when we make the run from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs. At 12:23 p.m. we entered the Mobile Bay ship channel and officially started the Great Loop. We arrived in Gulf Shores, AL at Homeport Marina, and since we hadn't spent any money on the boat in the last 48 hours, we decided to top off the tanks with diesel fuel. Well, 200 gallons at $3.55 a gallon made up for that hollow feeling to the tune of $676. And that was with the Boat U.S. discount. Thank god for Boat U.S.

A meeting place fort Parrotheads

Homeport Marina is really very fine, and of course is known for Lucy Buffet's (Jimmy's sister) restaurant LuLu's. We went there tonight and gorged ourselves on green fried tomatoes, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and the biggest fried seafood platter you can imagine. And they had a gift shop that called Jane's name. You can't imagine what this one stop cost us, but we are on a roll!

Having fun!

Going to LuLu's

Hmmmmmmmm! Mullet Smoothies!

Can only wait to see what the 40+ mile run to Fort Walton Beach will bring.

We Almost Got Out of Our Back Yard!

The next morning we started to head out and make our way through the Rigolets to the gulf and Mississippi Sound. However, while we were getting ready to take off, the temperature alarm on the starboard engine went off. Capt. Lar went down and found the raw water strainer empty, indicating a blocked seacock. When the cover of the strainer was removed and the seacock was opened, the blockage was removed, the engines were restarted, and the temperature gauge returned to normal. We headed out for a railroad bridge and requested an opening. Since there were trains coming we had to wait for 40 minutes for the first train to pass, and while the second train was approaching the bridge, the temperature alarm went off again. Capt. Lar quickly determined that no raw water was passing through the engine. Since we were fighting a 3-4 knot current and the bridge would be opened after the second train passed, we made a split decision to radio the bridge tender that we were having difficulties and returned to our anchorage to further assess the situation. We couldn't determine what the problem was, but decided we needed to have it checked out by a mechanic before heading into the gulf. So we made our way back on one engine to a marina in Slidell and called a mechanic to have it checked out. That wouldn't be until Monday.

Getting Ready to Roll!

During the weekend we became familiar with marina life. When we went to hook up our shore power we were tripping breakers for some unknown reason. We quickly assembled a committee of 6 guys with 6 different approaches and opinions as to what the problem was. Our boat uses twin 30A power, but we ended up with a single 30A source for the night. The next day we further troubleshot the situation and came to the conclusion that we needed to replace our shorepower cords. But all was not for naught, because on Saturday we got to watch a Mardi Gras boat parade. However, it paled in comparison to the boat parades we used to have on the Tickfaw. On Sunday Tracy and Milana brought us our main computer that we left at the house, and we went out for lunch and shopping to pick up some things. They were great to help us out.

Well, the mechanic finally made it to our boat today, Monday, and went to check everything out. Low and behold there didn't seem to be a problem with the cooling system in the slip, so we took the boat out on the lake and put her up on plane. The engines never move above their normal operating temperature, and the situation we experienced on Friday couldn't be reproduced. However, he did discover a crack in our starboard exhaust that was leaking the exhaust into the engine room. So, we decided to have that repaired and will be in Slidell until Wednesday or Thursday. Weather permitting, we will chase across the northern gulf coast then and head for our home in Fort Walton Beach and on to Panama City to meet up with friends.

Love Birds Next to Our Slip

We Start Our Journey

We spent the last weekend before our departure visiting with our children and grandchildren and saying last minute farewells. It was good to see everyone one last time. We also celebrated Capt Larry's birthday with the little ones.

Capt Lar's Special Girls Give Him a Salute!

Fortunately, they didn't put ALL the candles on the ca

 So we are off and underway. We left our home port and made our way over to Madisonville, LA where we tied up on the wall for the night. We sure wish we had enough time for a shake down cruise as we had issues with the configuration of the radios, GPS, and autopilot while underway.

We did make it to Madisonville where Larry's 60th birthday and the start of our trip brought 12 friends and relatives to our boat for a happy hour that lasted longer than an hour and culminated in dinner at a local restaurant. Everyone seemed to have a good time and our phones rang all night long wishing us congratulations.

Showing the Burgee

Great to Have the Neighbors Drop By

The next day we left Madisonville and entered previously untraveled waters on Lake Ponchartrain and the Rigolets leading to the gulf. This was a new experience for us but everything seemed to be going 

Anchored in the West Pearl

Cruisin' Across Lake Ponchartrain

well. Underway we were able to sort out some of the issues with the boat. Instead of going into a marina at Slidell, we continued to a recommended anchorage in the west Pearl River off of the Rigolets. The weather was great and using the anchorage meant that the next day's run to Biloxi would be about two hours shorter and more leisurely. But we had problems going into the anchorage. We entered at low spring tides and the water depths were significantly less than what was charted. We wanted to anchor in 8-10 feet of water just past a 30 foot charted hole which only registered 22 feet on the sounder. It didn't take much headway beyond the hole before we almost ran aground. Capt Larry backed us out of there and we found some depth and put the hook down out for the night. We grilled some steaks and settled down for the evening. It turned out to be an excellent and peaceful anchorage.

Cooking Supper

Getting Close to Starting Our Great Loop Adventure

We certainly have been remiss in keeping up this blog! Yeah, we've been really busy this past summer and fall getting ready to start our loop adventure, but we are just a week away from taking off and felt we must let everyone know we are still alive and kicking and intend to do regular postings about our trip. We have been handing out boat cards and encouraging everyone to follow us here, so we are going to do a quick recap of what we've been up to the past 7 months. We are just going to provide the highlights and present them in reverse chronological order.

We had a "Bon Voyage" party at our house on the river this past weekend with friends, family, neighbors. We had to clean house and made a few appetizers, but our kids (actually the daughters) handled most of the preparation. There was an open house on the boat and we set up a powerpoint presentation about the loop along with all of our charts and cruising guides for everyone to peruse and learn about the trip.
 

Jane with Madison, our oldest grandaughter

Granddaughters Hannah & Sadie

Hannah & Sadie bake Opa a cake for his birthday!

Do you think grandson, Brennan will get much taller while we are gone?

PSJ Gathering

PSJ Looper Hens

 The first part of January we went to our second looper gathering in Port St. Joe, FL. We were able to meet up with friends we had met last year and had a really great time. Although the program covered the same topics as last year, we were able to pick up a few new tidbits and talk to some loopers who were just a few weeks ahead of us. And the social agenda at this meeting is absolutely fantastic! We look forward to meeting up with some of these folks somewhere along the route.

Bavarian Cream high and dry

Jane works on her rowing technique

We had expected to have Bavarian Cream hauled out during the summer, but between the boat yard's schedule and various projects we had going, this was delayed until the end of October. While we are very happy with our yard, there were a number of things that delayed the boat's return. For example, we had the props scanned and just as they were ready to be installed, a crack in the port shaft was discovered. It took 3 weeks to have a new shaft milled and installed. We also ordered a new set of spare props which took 6 weeks to arrive from Italy. So on it went until we finally got the boat back around the middle of January.

Boy, does she have a nice set or what?

Now we really had to scramble to do most of the basic maintenance, configuring, and provisioning to get her ready to go.

Larry tools up the river

We each had long lists of things to try and get done before we launched, but now are finding ourselves sorting the list in "must do" and "will do underway" so we can meet our goal of leaving on February 16. While the boat was in the yard, we continued to work on route planning, ordering parts and accessories, reading all of those user manuals and getting familiar with our dinghy, Cream Puff. We had purchased a new outboard motor for the dinghy and spent the nice fall days breaking it in. So all was not lost with the delay.


Just about the entire summer months were devoted to getting the boat ready. There were a lot of systems to install and update, and of course, general maintenance was necessary on just about everything else. We needed a new VHF radio in the lower helm and really wanted an autopilot to help on many of the legs we would be cruising. Larry easily installed the radio, but the autopilot took him about a month (shortened workdays due to extended happy hours!). Then there was new cabling for each helm's computers, a backup GPS, a new stereo system, and a satellite radio installation. He fashioned new stands for each helm's laptop and is still fooling with the DC/AC inverter he installed. These were in addition to general maintenance items such as repairing a fresh water line leak that drained the tank (and yes, it was located under the head requiring complete removal of the toilet), replacing 3 banks of house, genset, and engine batteries, learning to replace clogged fuel filters (and how air in the fuel lines doesn't help a diesel run), unraveling the mysteries of an anchor windlass, and hours of sanding and varnishing.

Jane & Tracy enjoy a swim in Lake Maurepas

Tied up in Madisonville

But all of that work doesn't mean we didn't have some fun. We managed to take the boat out at least once a week for a short trip up and down the river, and went to the Tchefuncte River with Tracy and Milana for a Labor Day end-of-summer bash. Although we arrived too late to tie up to the dock, we were able to anchor nearby and still listen to the band while relaxing on the boat. After pulling anchor we headed to a local restaurant for dinner then they went home while we tied up at the Madisonville wall and stayed overnight. The next morning we headed back home and hailed and passed through our first swing bridge by ourselves. We're starting to think we know how to do this! In between these events we squeezed in several trips to Florida and the beach, a trip to Ohio for Larry's nephew's wedding and a visit (and stamp!) to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (scratch off another one). We also had everyone out for a cookout and day on the river, and attended the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show in November to pick up some things we needed and look at things we think we needed.

Can you name this hitch?

So here are we now just just one week from the start of our trip. We plan to post our adventures here regularly and hope everyone visits this site frequently. However, since we need reliable internet access to maintain the blog, the posts will likely come in batches when we are in a marina somewhere waiting for good weather or just taking a break. We hope everyone can have a few vicarious experiences through this blog. It should be a hoot!

Fourth of July Near the Oil Spill

We had not had Bavarian Cream out for a while, because she was partially dismantled as we performed a number of updates, repairs, installs, and routine maintenance over the past couple of months (more on these tasks later). With the 4th of July falling on a Sunday this year, we decided that we should put the boat back together, get a crew together, and take the boat down the river to Lake Maurepas for some swimming and relaxing on the water. We did not expect to encounter any oil from the gulf oil spill, but oil was reported in Lake Pontchartrain which is separated from Lake Maurepas by a six mile canal, so one never knows. We invited some of the kids, but only Milana and Tracy showed up.

We had the boat ready to go and cast off shortly after they arrived. It was a sweltering day, but very windy, so we fired up the genset and started the air conditioning and some fans so we could duck out of the heat when it became too uncomfortable (oh, how nice it is to have a bigger boat with all of the systems when you're older!). As we cruised down the river, Larry got to demonstrate all of the new toys and gadgets that we recently installed and play some more with the gps and navigation software. We went past the Prop Stop which was in full swing and then headed on out to the lake. With 10-15 knot ESE winds kicking up whitecaps, conditions on the lake were not the most comfortable. We rolled our way over to the shallow water where everyone anchors and swims in waist high water, but stayed in a little deeper water because of the waves and the fear of dragging the anchor and becoming grounded. As expected, we had trouble setting the anchor, but finally succeeded on the fourth try after paying out 60' of chain rode for the 3 feet of water we were in!

With the boat holding OK, we went swimming. And no oil! The wave action made swimming difficult, so we tethered inflatables to the boat and just relaxed in the water and drank beer, ate snacks, listened to music, and had some great conversations. After a couple of hours in the water, it was time to eat. Because it was windy and we were grilling, we decided to pull anchor and go into the calmer waters opposite the Prop Stop. We anchored with about 30 other boats and proceed to make dinner. We decided to eat inside in air conditioned comfort. We dined, consumed several rounds of drinks, and conversed until someone noticed there was not much light outside. When we went out we were surprised to find that the sun was setting and we were the last boat in the anchorage. The anchor was hauled and we proceeded at nearly full speed back to the house. After all, it was the 4th of July and our neighbors have great fireworks displays. We put the boat in the slip and invited Milana and Tracy to watch the fireworks, but they felt they needed to head home, so Jane and Larry watched the fireworks from their deck and then walked down to a neighbor's 4th of July party before calling it a day.

Going to Indy- Again!

It's that time of year again with Memorial Day arriving and us making our now annual pilgrimage to Indianapolis for the Indianapolis 500 Indycar race. This is one of our short vacations that we look forward to every year, and this year we were particularly excited. The race had a new qualifying format that glued us to the TV for two straight days the week before the race. Pole day produced an exciting duel between the top teams, Team Penske and Target-Ganassi. Interestingly though, the top nine positions also included some drivers from the smaller teams which are always darkhorse favorites. After the new pole shootout session was over though, Helio Castronoves (Jane's favorite because of his stint on Dancing with the Stars) and Will Power (one of Larry's upcoming favorites) from Team Penske and Dario Franchitti (who Jane will tell you is married to Ashley Judd!) from Target-Ganassi filled out the front row. So some of the qualifying was business as usual, but some of the top drivers really had a difficult time qualifying (Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, and Paul Tracy). The results would provide for an interesting race.

One of the highlights we have enjoyed the past few years is the Miller Lite Carb Day which is held on the Friday before the Sunday (May 30) race. This meant that we had to leave Louisiana on Thursday. So up we get at 3 a.m. to leave by 4 a.m. to drive the 854 miles to our motel. It's really not as grueling as it sounds, though. We put on some good music from the satellite radio, take turns driving stretches, and pack a gallon of Larry's Bloody Marys. Before we know it we're in Indy! We arrived at our parking lot on Carb Day around 10 a.m. And the weather, unlike the rain we experienced last year, was perfect. The race field practice began at 11 a.m. and it was interesting to see the times the drivers posted with their race setups. Some of the very fast qualifiers were considerably slower and vice versa. It proved that the race should be a lot tighter and interesting than the qualifying times would indicate. After the practice session was over we got to watch the Indy Lites Firestone Freedom 100 race. For the very first time a woman was on the pole, but she was unfortunately knocked out of the race on the second lap. Since they only go 100 miles, it only takes about 45 minutes to complete the entire race, including yellow flags. After the race we watched the Pit Competition. For a while it looked like a couple of the smaller teams would prevail, but eventually the competition was won by Helio Castronoves and Team Penske (again!). After the Pit Competition we walked over to the Miller Lite Stage to see this year's band, ZZ Top. It took us almost 20 minutes to get into the gate, it was so packed. To make matters worse, cars were trying to get out of the gate and an ambulance with lights flashing was trying to get in. On top of everything, everyone was drunk!

The state troopers had their hands full. When we finally made it in we started walking over the golf course to get to a spot where we could see the band. When we finally got to the top of the levee that borders the concert area, we found that we were almost behind the stage! We couldn't see the band and the speakers were directed toward the main crowd and away from us, so the audio was poor. After about 45 minutes in the grueling sun, 3 beers, and watching everyone around us deteriorate in drunken stupors, we decided to leave. We absolutely did not want to engage this crowd at the exits or on the highway. We made it back to our room and cleaned up, then we went out to a great little Mexican restaurant we found last year and enjoyed a great meal.

On Saturday we made our way south of Indianapolis to visit our friends, Sherrie and Danny Johnson. We met Sherry and Danny when they visited Milana and Tracy over the past couple of years, and had them and Danny's parents over to our place in Ft. Walton Beach when Danny graduated from school in Pensacola last year. They have a lovely house, very well off the beaten path, and after we got caught up on recent events they suggested we take a short drive to the French Lick resort area for lunch. We were in for a real treat because the focal point of the area is two, very old grand hotels that have undergone extensive restoration. The first hotel was called West Baden Springs Hotel (http://www.frenchlick.com/hotels/westBaden/index.jsp) and featured the largest, single-spanned domed roof in the world. It was awesome. After lunch we roamed the interior taking in the magnificent artwork and period pieces. The photo gallery of this beautiful resort can be viewed at the link above. We left and toured the grounds and then ducked into a rival hotel, The French Lick Springs Hotel that has also been restored to its former grandeur (http://www.frenchlick.com/hotels/frenchLick/index.jsp). The decoration and restoration were just awesome. We were shown the general resort village and then made a stop at the French Lick Winery where free samples were freely flowing (http://www.frenchlickwinery.com/). We don't know if they can ship their goods, but if you get a chance to visit, stock up on the "French Lick Red" which is particularly good. Sherrie and Danny took us back to their place where we said goodbye, then we headed back to our motel. It was a really great day and visit.

Sunday, race day! We wait all year for the excitement of this day. We arrived early at the track to avoid the aggravation of race day traffic, and set up our chairs by the car and read newspapers and people watched until it was time to go to our seats. The pre-race festivities don't really begin until around 11:00 a.m. so we have about 3 hours to kill. We walked over to some vendor stands and purchased some souvenir t-shirts for the kids and grand kids, then went back to the car to load everything up that we would be taking into the race. We enjoyed again the festivities with Indiana natives Florence Henderson's rendition of "God Bless America" and Jim Nabors singing "Back Home Again in Indiana." These annual performances always gets the crowd excited. The national anthem and flyover didn't work out so well this year. The singer's (Jewel) microphone didn't work until half way through the anthem, and we guess the air force jets couldn't hear her either, because they came roaring over the track about 30 seconds after the singing was over. Anyway the "most famous words in all of racing" got the engines started and the field was off with a Jack Nicholson waving the green flag a couple of warmup laps later. The race was exciting with the usual crashes and pit action, but no more so than previous years, with the exception of the final portion of the race where fuel strategy produced a lot of position changes. Dario Franchitti (and Ashley!) finally won (his second) with some surprising performances in the top 10 positions.

We headed back to Louisiana on Memorial Day and made it home in the early evening. We will miss the race next year, because we will be on our looper cruise somewhere between the Chesapeake Bay and New York Harbor. Life's tough...