Dog Island and Carrabelle

Leaving Clearwater Beach was easy.  Deciding where to go next was hard.  Ordinarily Tarpon Springs 20 miles to the north would be the popular choice, but it was closed due to COVID. The coastal waters north of Tarpon Springs are incredibly shallow and there are no suitable stops until Dog Island about 100 nautical  miles north in the Florida Panhandle.  Also there is no intracoastal waterway between Tarpon Springs and Dog Island. 

                Leaving Clearwater Beach               

One crew member wanted to go straight across to Corpus Christi. However, with all of the gear failures I had lost confidence in the White Pepper.  Panama City looked like a perfect stop and was said to have the best harbor in the Panhandle. The problem was that from Clearwater we would likely arrive late on our second night offshore. So Dog Island it was.

We left Clearwater Beach on a lovey morning.  The wind was predicted to be 10-15 from the east promising lovely beam reach sailing.  However, the wind ended up being 5-10 from the north--another motor ride.  NOAA had forgotten to account for TS Bertha spinning off of the eastern shore of Florida.  Regardless it was a lovely ride.  As the White Pepper got further north into the shallow water (it was 30 feet deep 50 miles off shore) the wave action become much choppier than the mild wind would ordinarily cause.  This action is well known and the waters here should be avoided in any strong blow.

                Lovely sunset in mild conditions                               

Dog Island appeared in the early afternoon.  The entrance into St. George's Sound was straightforward.  Then a mile to the east was the anchorage for Dog Island.  The anchorage is large and protected.  We anchored in 7 feet of water with a sandy bottom.  We did not go ashore and passed a comfortable  night.

 Entrance into St. George's Sound

            

               Dog Island anchorage                   

The next morning brought another decision about where to go next.  I wanted to go to Panama City which was about 70 miles further west.  Jan wanted to push on to Pensacola which was 130 miles west.  Although Dog Island is the eastern terminus of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway there was no passage for the White Pepper because of several low bridges (50 foot clearance).  We would have to go offshore at lease until Pensacola.

In order to make Pensacola we would have to refuel.  The nearest fuel was in Carrabelle which is a fishing village about 3 miles inland on the Carrabelle River.  Carrabelle turned out to be a delight. The town is rural but well kept and very friendly.  If we had not been under time pressure, Jan and I would have gladly taken a slip and stayed for several days.

Carrabelle River

Refueling at C-Quarters Marina

It was about noon when White Pepper cleared the pass and headed west for Pensacola.  Some weather was coming but we hoped to be in before it hit.