Crossing the Big Bend of Florida

Friday November 7th - Saturday November 8th

The Big Bend

After fueling in Apalachicola yesterday afternoon, Brett and Colin received a weather report that showed favorable travel conditions for the 180 mile, 18 hour traverse of the Gulf of Mexico to Clearwater which is bit farther south than illustrated by this map. They could have taken the coastal route but that consumes 3 days or more if the weather does not cooperate.

At 3:15 PM, they headed at 5 knots to what is described as the Big Bend of Florida Government Cut. The weather services said the 3-6 foot seas would diminish to 1-2 foot by 7 PM.  

At 4:16 PM, they proceeded out into the Gulf and experienced some rolling waves. They set the autopilot for Clearwater and the speed to 10 mph.  For the first 12 hours of the trip, they enjoyed hit good weather and 1-2 foot seas.  Around 3 AM however, they ran into the "back" of the rough seas.  In hindsight, they said they would have had better fortune if they had waited until 7 PM to leave for Clearwater.  

As you can see, there was a very beautiful moon and it gave them plenty of light which was part of the plan so at least one aspect worked out very well. 


They fueled up again in Clearwater upon arrival there on Saturday morning. The sunrise was gorgeous!

Saturday evening's port was Twin Dolphin Marina. Colin was able to visit with long time friends, Paul and Marni.

Florida’s Panhandle to Apalachicola and then across the Gulf of Mexico to Clearwater

Brett and Colin started early Wednesday morning Nov 5 after arriving at the Palafox Pier Marina on Tuesday afternoon. They were on the water at 6:45 am, filling the fuel tanks and refreshing familiarity with the boat after 35 days away from cruising.  

To begin with, they slowly navigated out to the intercoastal waterway.  When they found the buoy markers, they brought Late Date up on plane and cruised into a westbound 10 mph wind.  They stayed on plane most of the 110 mile trip - except the narrow 20 mile channel between Destin and Panama City.  

Their day ended with docking at the Panama City Marina, where they filled the fuel tanks and washed the salt water off the exterior.  They also flushed the salt water from the engines.

To everyone's delight, the reworked propellers delivered identical fuel consumption for the first time -.  85 gallons port and 85 gallons starboard!  As an added bonus, the Mercury Smartcraft systems also showed that Late Date used 171 total gallons of fuel.  At long last, Smartcraft's fuel numbers can be trusted.

Thursday, the crew plans to head to Apalachicola pending a favorable weather report.  On Wednesday, there were 4-6 foot seas on the gulf between Apalachicola and Clearwater.  Similar results tomorrow may cause us to postpone the gulf crossing until Friday.

Well the day is here!  Late Date is finally going to get to her new home. 

She is currently at the Palafox Pier in Pensacola, FL. Another gorgeous picture courtesy of Colin. 

Here is the current plan:

Brett and Colin arrive in Pensacola on Tuesday afternoon and prepare the boat for an early Wednesday trip from Palafox to Panama City, a distance of 100 miles.  They will stay at a marina there to refresh and refuel.  On Nov 6, they will head to Apalachicola which is 55 miles on the intercostal.  They will refuel mid-afternoon -  including those extra gas cans - before heading out to outside of the Goverment Cut. Noting that high tides occur Nov 6th at 4:40 pm and Nov 7th at 2:12 am, they intend to begin the trip to Clearwater under full moon and hopefully good weather. From Clearwater, they intend to anchor in Bradenton Beach to visit good friends Paul and Marni.  On Sunday Nov 9, they will leave for Fort Myers, then push on to Lake Okeechobee and Indian Town Marina. This will take 2 days. On Nov 12, they intend to be in New Smyrna Beach and travel on to Fernandina Beach to arrive late on Nov 12.  This may get delayed by a day but they pretty confident unless weather intervenes.  At some point in this trip - maybe at Ft Myers - friend Mike plans to hop on so there will be a trio bringing Late Date home.  

Can't wait for the pictures!