Tarpon Springs

Our favorite breakfast on Osprey, fresh blueberry pancakes!

Sunrise as we head toward Tarpon Springs

Ben rests in the beautiful sunshine

If you ever get a chance, visit T.S.. A wonderful town of Greek heritage, yummy Greek food, good bicycling, and a wonderful place to see manatee. You will learn all about the sponge industry and how natural sponges are harvested all over the Gulf of Mexico.  The winds picked up while we were there so we hunkered down for a week and had a sweet, quiet Osprey Thanksgiving.

 Finally, a weather window opened. What a way to plan life-by nature. Nature helps us to slow down, relax, observe, and get in touch with our own biorhythms. Next, we were off to Caladesci Island State Park. So many beautiful places to see in western Florida. Mainlanders can  only get to this island by ferry or other boaters. One hundred boat slips await people, but as per usual, the weather turned rainy when we arrived!  We had the park to ourselves and I got a personalized tour by the ranger! Armadillo, Palmetto trees, owls, snakes and island history. Geoff and I took a DARK midnight hike to find owls and only found them when we returned to the boat!

Then it was on to Boca Ciega Bay and Clearwater, Madeira Beach and St. Petersburg.  We anchored near Al and Charli's (Always 5 o'Clock) home. They are now the Harbor Hosts for this area. We had a wonderful visit, walk in town, and even an unexpected dinner/meeting at the St. Pete Yacht Club! Al and Charli completed their Loop the same day as The Crossing.

THE CROSSING

Dear Friends,
Geoff and I didn't want to leave you hanging about the rest of our journey, for those who are wondering.  So, I will try to let you in on some of the final highlights.

A part of The Loop that is discussed a lot by "Loopers" is called the crossing.  Many boats draw 4ft or more which is how deep a boat sits in the water.  The "Big Bend" of Florida is very shallow for many miles off the coast and so boats cross from Carrabelle  to Tarpon Springs or Clearwater where the water is deeper.  For a boat of our speed, it takes about 24-28 hours.  We don't normally travel at night...the boat doesn't have headlights, so I was a little nervous! I felt very grateful that Ben was with us for an extra set of hands and eyes since it would have been hard for Geoff and I to both stay up for 24 hours. The weather also must be just right because waves can really build on the Gulf of Mexico. I like the weather Calm and Kind, because waves over 1-3 feet, for me, is not pleasant. Loopers wait it out at Carrabelle and cross in pods, or groupings, so that everyone crosses safely. 

As per usual, the Dawsons decided to anchor out behind a beautiful island, Dog Island, right near Carrabelle, instead of going into the marina. We dinghied over to the island and had a wonderful hike. The next day, the Osprey left around noon, November 22cd, trying to get a head start on our friends that were in slightly faster boats. The first part was a bit bouncy with 1-3 ft waves but we were taking them on the bow which wasn't bad.  After a few hours, the waters calmed, Geoff and Ben fished while I piloted the boat. It was gorgeous, warm and sunny. It felt so good to be back in Florida.

We enjoyed listening to the radio chatter of others deciding when to pull out and which direction to take and how to maintain their pods. I estimated there were 18 boats crossing that day.  It was a gorgeous sunset and moonrise. We decided on shifts, watched for other boat running lights in the distance, and tried again to learn some constellations.  We checked in every few hours with our friends to let them know that all was well. It was thankfully an uneventful accomplishment and we were ever grateful for Ben's help. One Looper played Richie Haven's "Here Comes The Sun" at sunrise over the radio while we made our way closer to Tarpon Springs and the next challenge, crab pot floats.