Day 15 Philly to New Orleans




This Blog Record is again brought to you by Captain Shirl (SEGII)

Remember when you were a kid, and you went to the amusement park and rode the roller coaster, or maybe the Wild Mouse coaster, you spent a few minutes going up and down, being jerked right and left, and coming to a sudden stop, well, everything but “a few minutes” and the “sudden stop” was what we went through today.

We arose at 5:00am, and by 6:30am we had washed-up, dressed, started the Eagle up, untied her, and were on our way, with fond memories of Tarpon Springs, FL. We spent approximately 15 minutes retracing our route back down the Anclote River from Tarpon Springs, and arrived at the mouth of the open water known as the Gulf of Mexico. From the very beginning we were in two to three foot sea swells, which quickly grew to five to six foot sea swells, with periodic waves which seemed to be more than ten feet, raising the Eagle above the surface of the Gulf, and slamming her back down with a bang.

Everything else that happened today was a repeat of the last sentence above. We saw no beautiful homes, no beautiful boats, no docks or marinas, no birds, or dolphins, or manatees, the only thing we saw for twelve hours (save a quick fuel stop at Steinhatchee, FL) was WATER, WATER, WATER as far as the eye could see. This was the most challenging day of the trip so far. The Eagle was tossed and turned by the sea, we were beat-up as we secured ourselves inside the Eagle against Mother Natures wrath. Things inside the Eagle which weren’t in locked cabinets or tied down with bungee cords or elastic nets, were thrown around the vessel, requiring our attention to re-secure and/or store them.

For many of the twelve hours there was dead silence while the Captains were focused on navigating though this soup, and trying to stay on course. Despite the treacherous conditions, the rocking and rolling of the surf and everything in it, we maintained our course and after twelve long and tough hours of cruising, we arrived in Carrabelle, FL, after dark (the only time we have allowed the daylight to leave us on the water since we began the trip), we just did catch the Harbor Master for the Moorings Marina, who was closing the office when we radioed, gassed up, docked, and tied down the Eagle for the night.



We ate a real meal on the Eagle tonight of Roncini (spiral spaghetti) and meat balls and spaghetti sauce, which Joyce and Jonn Morlin gave us as we left her beautiful home in Rockledge, FL last week. I did most of the cooking, after a quick trip to the grocery store across the street from the marina, but John and Will assisted. Will poured off the water (and half the Roncini) into the sink, John warmed the meatballs and sauce, and sliced and toasted the Italian Bread loaf and prepared, with Will’s help, drinks for the meal (Lemonade for Will, Pepsi for John, and Diet Coke for SEGII). We thanked theLlord for the safe traverse of the Gulf of Mexico and for the food we were about to devour, and chowed-down !!!!



We ended this most difficult day of the trip, planning for tomorrow (the entire remainder of the trip will be in calm inside protected waters, we never have to go back into open water), preparing this Blog Report, watching the Atlanta/Boston NBA game, and winding down in preparation for bed.



Even when the waters are rough and the wind is high, and the boat is rocking back and forth in the surf, a day on a boat is ten times better than a day anywhere else.


Tomorrow we head for Pensacola, FL and with good weather on our side, should make it to New Orleans Sunday - stay tuned.
LIFE IS GOOD !!!!