We were rolling most of the night, so not everyone slept well. I didn’t have a problem with it as I was on the inside of the bed with the wall on one side and Lauren on the other, so I couldn’t roll too much. We woke up around 6am and it was still dark out. We got the coffee going and watched the sun start to rise. Sirius was pulling out of the anchorage before there was much light. We were ready to go as soon as we had some light, so we pulled our anchor and started off behind Sirius. Trinity was not far behind us. The crossing started out a little bumpy as we were taking the waves on the beam which would rock us back and forth. The thing about the Gulf, is it is very shallow. Our route had to go about 20 plus miles off shore to get around the reefs and shallow, or shoaled areas, to get to our destination of Steinhatchee.
Steinhatchee is “A small town in Florida’s Big Bend region, Steinhatchee is known for its Spanish moss, the egrets/ herons who seem in nearly permanent residence, and the abundant fishing opportunities. In addition, miles and miles of tranquil country roads and bike trails await the relaxation-driven visitor. Steinhatchee combines the ambience of the 19th century with the conveniences of the 21st century. Victorian waterfront homes line Steinhatchee shores, and footpaths and gardens decorate the surroundings. Steinhatchee is often referred to as “The Best Kept Secret in Florida.”” I love the way each city describes itself.
We all had reservations at the same marina, Sea Hag. We had heard the water is not potable and they do not have pump out facilities, but we were good on both so it wasn’t a concern for us. Besides, the price was a dollar a foot, so that was great. We only planned on staying one night anyway, and be moving on in the morning. The whole idea about jumping across the Gulf is the weather windows. You definitely need to exercise prudence and not put yourself in harms way. We obviously do not want to get caught in the ocean in a storm and/or large waves. We had signed up for a weather service which gives reports for the crossing via email. We would receive two emails a day from Marvs Weather Service giving us the current and expected weather for ‘the crossing’. This whole ‘crossing’ is quite built up, as it should be. This is a lot of peoples first big jump at night, or even far enough out you cannot see land like we were, and first time in the ocean. We were reading these emails daily, and we had left on the last of his ‘good’ crossing windows until possibly the following week.
The trip started at 7am and bumpy as mentioned, then a few hours into it, it started to settle down. We made our destination and tied up at the marina by 3pm. We made good speed, as I was throttled to the highest comfortable level and the seas eventually were giving us a little push. Once settled, I gave the boat a good wash down to get the salt off and get it generally back in good order as we had anchored out for a while and it was getting kind of grimy and looking unkempt. As I was doing this, the others started to arrive and I walked over to welcome them and assist with lines. Another boat, a houseboat, had pulled in and I recognized them from Birdsong Marina, where we experienced the severe high winds and I was worried that they had left in it. I introduced myself and passed out a boat card and we chatted for a bit. We were planning on leaving in the morning, and our friends were planning on staying for another day or two. I was worried we would miss the good crossing window and Lauren was in agreement- we would leave in the morning. Now I was hoping to travel with our houseboat friends and asked where they were going? They told me they were heading to the Suwanee River, which is about 35 miles away. Lauren and I had researched anchorages and saw this as an option, but the reviews were not favorable about it or the depths. We decided we would use this as a backup if the weather wasn’t good, and we decided we were going to try to get to Cedar Key, which is about 25 miles past Suwanee River. We had the night to think about it and decide.
We took the bikes around town for a short ride and to stretch our legs. We picked up a pizza form a local pizza shop and took it back to the boat. We wanted to relax and do more research on tomorrows trip. Lauren didn’t stay up too long as she had a rough night, and I did some more research and final planning. So tomorrow is up in the air as to where we will end up, but we do know we plan on leaving at first light, which is 7am around here…