Ok, so the part came and Michael, with the help of a generous FWYC club member, repaired the problem and “auto” is back ready to help Michael with the driving. Manager Tom came down to see us off. After lots of thank you’s and hugs we were off. Today is a long day to Pearl Bayou. We headed out across the Choctawhatchee Bay – the sun was shining and seas were flat. After about three hours on the open water we entered what is commonly referred to as the “ditch” and I can see why, it literally is a ditch. We were monitoring a tug on AIS that was around a bend ahead and waiting for his call.  He finally hailed us, told us was pushing a two barge double-wide and asked us to pass on “one whistle” (and we did) but it was tight. We were on the outside of him on the bend and ended up with only about a boat width (ours) apart. Whew! As we came into Panama City the waters opened up again and we met a BIG very fast approaching Navy research vessel who hailed us on the VHF and asked us us to pass him on the two whistle, even though he had to cross our bow and the channel to do so but. He said he would give us a slow bell which was a greatly appreciated because he was producing quite a wake. Aha – one whistle, two whistle, slow bell language and we understand it all now.  This is the area where Hurricane Michael came through recently and we saw lots of downed and uprooted trees but thankfully no debris in our path.

Today we had a couple of firsts: We are now towing the dinghy since we don’t have to worry about locks. That’s great so we can have easy access to her when we get someplace where we can actually scout-about. AND we navigated from the fly bridge which was really pleasant. It’s much quieter, very protected and has a better area view. So we cranked up the tunes and enjoyed our eight hour journey.

We arrived at Pearl Bayou about 4:00 pm this afternoon and anchored in the lovely, protected anchorage. There were already three sailboats in this rather large anchorage but upon further inspection we noticed they were not occupied and looked as if they had been abandoned for some time. There were also two boats that had been washed up on shore and abandoned. It was a little erie feeling but calm and peaceful so we had a nice steak dinner and celebrated Valentine’s Day.

Friday 2/15/19 – Pulled up anchor about 8:00 this morning heading for Apalachicola. It was a calm day and the sun started to shine on us just as we left. We saw several pods of Dolphin and birds following them trying to pick up their leftovers. It was a beautiful morning.

As we continued on we saw much more of the devastation caused by Hurricane Michael that came ashore back in early October. Not only did we see lots and lots of trees uprooted or broken in two, we saw numerous boats washed ashore and abandoned and miles and miles of blue tarp covered roofs, plus at least one house that was flattened. There was lots of devastation everywhere. As we left the housing area the fallen trees encroached on the already narrow channel we were in so we had to slow our speed and dodge debris. Really quite a sad site and a visual reminder of what Mother Nature can do.

We arrived in Apalachicola at 4:00 this afternoon and tied to the 120 ft. dock just off the ICW. We are the only boat here. Once we tied up we hopped off the boat and did a little scout about. It’s a very charming old historic town all within walking distance. Yeah! So now we wait for the weather window and decide which route to take. Will keep you posted.

Sorry, I had a camera melt-down so having to use I-pad for photos….