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.

Clearwater Beach

Clearwater Beach is the beach town to Clearwater.  It also serves Tampa Bay and is ordinarily quite busy.  However, we arrived just as Florida was emerging from its long COVID19 lockdown.  Jan and I watched as streets and beaches went from empty to mobbed.  Restaurants went from barely open to packed.  The waterfront concessions such as fishing charters, sunset cruises, and (my favorite) the floating tiki bar went from closed to barely open on a reduced schedule.  But at least they were out on the water.

We were shocked to see such crowds on the beach 

The trip from Egmont Key to Clearwater Beach was only 40 miles.  It was a lovely day and sailing would have been nice.  But as I mentioned in the previous post while we were still in the Tampa Bay ship channel when the engines control panel failed.  A big surprise was that the motor kept running.  I need to make a technical point here.  Older diesel motors, such as my old 3GM, do not need electricity to keep running.  I would stop the 3GM by closing the choke.  The newer Yanmar diesel engines such as the  3JH require continuous 12 volt power to maintain fuel flow.  The stop switch on the control panel works by interrupting the circuit to the fuel pump. I knew immediately that this mystery would be a problem to remedy.  Indeed it took 11 days to satisfactorily diagnose and fix the problem.  In the meantime I was afraid to stop the motor fearing that it would not start again.  We made it into the municipal marina without incident.  By the way the motor restarted easily which was another surprise.

Control panel died on the way to Clearwater Beach

I checked the fuse and all of the electrical connections.  Everything was intact. The motor had originally come by way of Mastry Marine of St. Petersburg.  I called them and they recommended Sea Farer Marine. Tom, the owner of Sea Farer, came out.  He worked on the panel and harness for about a week including twice taking the panel and harness to Mastry Marine where diagnostic equipment was available.  Eventually the problem was determined to be a short in the start switch caused by an extra wire that had been added to the original wiring harness when it was installed 5 years ago.  Unanswered questions are why was the extra wire added in the first place and why did it take 5 years to fail?  And why did the switch start the motor when it could not power the control panel?  While I am very grateful to Tom for his diligence, my recommendation to the reader is that if this ever happens to you--please just buy a new panel and wiring harness.

Tom from Sea Farer Marine works on the control panel

Starting switch was the culprit

While waiting for Tom to fix the motor Jan and I spent most of the days exploring Clearwater Beach on foot.  The beaches are broad and sandy,  There are numerous restaurants all reasonably priced.  The expensive restaurants remained closed due to COVID. Walgeen’s sold liquor as well as ice cream bars.  Publix was a long albeit scenic walk away. We were pleased to see how many sea birds frequented the docks. 

Pizza for Mother's Day lunch was a treat after lockdown ended

The beaches reminded us of Padre Island with whiter sand

Herron on a dock line

By now the season was getting quite late.  Already we were into May which is the tropical storm season in the Gulf of Mexico.  Tropical storm Bertha had just formed off of the eastern coast of Florida.  It was time to leave.  So White Pepper cast off lines from Clearwater Beach and headed north towards Dog Island and Caribelle, Florida.

Key West to Clearwater

Leaving Stock Island Marina

Florida Bay must be a lonely place. White Pepper saw only one vessel, a large sailboat coming in as we were exiting the Northwest Channel to enter the Florida Bay.  That was the only sighting for the entire afternoon and night as we crossed from Key West to the Florida mainland.  The Florida Bay is a round shaped body of water about 50 miles across and uniformly 10-15 feet deep. There is not much fishing and sailors avoid it because it gets rough in any kind of breeze.  Fortunately we had ideal conditions.

Sailing conditions were ideal all afternoon with flat water, steady wind and fast speed.  At sunset the wind died so we motored.  I prefer to motor at night when the wind is light anyway.  There was a new moon which set quickly.  The very dark night passed quickly without sighting a single light.

 Flag waves in gentle breeze

Jan starts the dawn watch

 The original plan was to stop at Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Beach.  Both of these resort towns were closed due to COVID and transients were not allowed. The next plan was to anchor behind Estero Island and recover from the overnighter. However, by dawn we had made such good time and the weather was so nice that we decided to continue up the west coast of Florida. By late afternoon Tampa Bay was coming into view.  Friend, Tammy Swart, made a great suggestion via Facebook that we stop at Egmont Key.

Duck flies by with ranger station on Egmont Key

Egmont Key is sort of a barrier island but positioned right in the mouth of Tampa Bay.  Because of its ideal location Egmont Key has a storied history, but currently it is a bird sanctuary. Visiting is discouraged. We passed a quiet night at anchor.

Control panel died

The next morning we set out again passing through the Tampa Bay ship channel  in mild weather.  Again the original plan was to spend some time at the resort town of Tarpon Springs, but the entire town and the marinas were still in lockdown. We had called ahead and learned that Clearwater Beach Marina was accepting transients. As has happened all too frequently this trip another breakdown occurred just offshore.  The engine control panel quit working.  Fortunately the engine kept running.  We made a quick passage to Clearwater Pass and tied up by 2 pm.  Little did we realize that White Pepper would spend 11 days there trying to have the control panel repaired.

Moonrise over Clearwater Beach

Heron inspects boat

Key West in the Time of the Covid

White Pepper's stay at Stock Island Marina and Resort, Key West, FL in March and April of 2020 was greatly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as it was for everyone. We arrived three days before the lock down with reservations for a month. We had planned to restock, rest, and party. We would fly in guests and make a trip out to the Dry Tortugas. Covid wrecked all of these plans. The marina shut down on March 18, 2020. Anyone with less than a 28 day lease was asked to leave. As we had a 30 day lease we could stay. This was so fortunate as we had nowhere else to go!

All of the amenities were closed including the two pools. The hotel was shut down and were the three restaurants on site. We could walk to the liquor store, a small convenience store, West Marine, Car Quest, CVS and the fish store—that was it. We never got to visit Duval St., Mallory Square, South Point, or Smathers Beach. They were closed. We ate every meal on the boat and never visited a restaurant. However, we were very safe. Monroe County quickly closed the Overseas Highway at Key Largo and would not allow any visitors into the Keys. Covid was stopped cold. Only 3 deaths were recorded in the Keys and one was 101 years old.

There was a time in Florida when walking into a liquor store with a mask on would get you shot.

Where did all of the toilet paper go?  Our first trip to Publix.

Unlike so many stuck at home, we were stuck on the boat. The boat provides endless opportunities for chores. I greased all of the winches. I coated the exterior wood with 3 coats of Cetol. We replaced the parted main halyard. Jan repaired the torn genoa. The oil and all of the filters were replaced. A new friend, Chris, cleaned the bottom. It was so hot the extra insulation had to be added to the freezer/refrigerator. Most of all, extraordinary effort was spent replacing the linear drive component of the autopilot. The project was so over the top that it deserves a blog post of its own some day. Finally on the next to last day of our stay that project was finished.

Jan changes the secondary fuel filter

Serviced the Barient 736 three speed winch

We walked everyday usually after dark because it was so hot. Often to beat the afternoon heat we piled into the dingy for a tour of the marina with cocktails. There was wild life in the marina including several large tarpon, an eagle ray manta, thousands of mullet, and even a manatee.

Two tarpon find shade under the boat

Dingy "tea"

We made good friends with Tom and Jessie Page who are just starting out on the cruising life. They were so helpful giving us rides around the island. Our slip neighbor Larry was great. Our friends, Tim and Cricket on Whodoggie, lent us a fan which was wonderful.

Jessie Page

Tom Page

One of the curious aspects of Stock Island Marina was that numerous super yachts flocked to the place for refuge from the Covid. There were at least 3 yachts over 300 feet and about 5 more in the 100 to 200 foot range. Needless to say we did not interact with these folks. Although one yacht did drop off two N95 masks, gratis—many thanks.

Bella Vita, super yacht

Red Head,  not a super yacht but famous as Billie Joel's old boat

When the super yachts started to leave we thought it was time to go as well. Florida was cautiously opening up and marinas were accepting transients. We set out for Fort Meyers Beach but ended up at Clearwater, Florida. We did an overnight stop at Eggmont Key in Tampa Bay along the way.

Storm looked ominous but turned out to be mild

Cruising the Keys

“Cruising the Keys” is a phrase we heard often this winter as an alternative to the storm ravaged Bahamas. However, in truth there are few all weather anchorages in the keys outside of Boot Key Harbor (Marathon). The cruising guide reports that most boats just try to find a place to hunker down in some marina and spend the winter bicycling, snorkeling or bird watching.

Another issue to cruising the keys is depth. Consensus is that boats with more than 4 feet of draft should stay outside in the Hawke Channel while shallow draft boats can use the ICW on the Florida Bay side. There are only two cross over points—the 5 mile bridge and the 7 mile bridge. White Pepper chose to stay outside.

It was well after noon by the time we left Caesar's Creek and turned SW. The wind was easterly off the port quarter astern and we could make good time sailing. Rodriquez Key was only 30 n. miles ahead. I had long heard of Rodriquez Key. Most Florida cruisers have been there and it is adjacent to the John Pennibaker underwater park which has great snorkeling. Imagine our horror to find the anchorage to be an open road stead completely exposed to the prevailing easterly breeze. Jan kept repeating “We may as well have anchored in the middle of the Atlantic”. There is plenty of room and the holding is great in 7 feet of water. White Pepper spent a very uncomfortable albeit safe night bobbing in 1 to 2 foot seas. We left early and did not bother to take any pictures.

The next stop west for most cruisers is Marathon. However, we had spent a wonderful week there is 2007 and did not feel the need to visit again. Also Marathon has gotten popular. There is now a waiting list to get a mooring ball. As an alternative I had picked out Long Key which has an anchorage on the west side of the 5 mile bridge. However, it too was exposed to the brisk easterly wind. Taking a tip from a fellow cruiser White Pepper went under the 5 mile bridge and back tracked 3 miles to the east to Matacumbe Bight. On the Florida Bay side it is a wonderfully protected anchorage from the east and south. It is said to be untenable in north winds. We spent a lovely evening and night there.

Sunset from Matacumbe Bight, note the calm sea state

The next day brought a 55 n mile hike to New Found Harbor near Pine Key. This is said to be a best protected anchorage between Key West and Marathon. I was especially looking forward to it since White Pepper dropped the hook there on December 22, 2007. It was the first time we had anchored on the extended cruise. We wound be “closing the circle” in some way.

This boat is anchored almost exactly where White Pepper was 12 years ago

This time we carried on into New Found Harbor and anchored behind Wisteria Island

Finally came the leg to Key West which was only 25 n. miles to the west. Again taking a tip from a fellow cruiser I had booked a month long stay at Stock Island Resort and Marina. Originally the plan to was to re-provision, entertain guests, and take a side trip to the Dry Tortugas and return. I needed to find a rigger as the main halyard had parted during the trip. Finally I would make yet another effort to find someone who could replace the linear drive on the auto pilot. The decision to take a month's lease turned out to be providential. As the corona virus lock down hit, all boats in Key West marinas with leases less than 27 days were asked to leave. The famous Garrison Bight mooring field was closed as well. The story of Key West in the time of the Covid is for another day.

Stock Island and channel in the distance

Elliott Key

Its all in the name after all. After looking at the chart of Biscayne Bay Jan noticed Elliott Key at southern end of bay. She was looking for a way to leave Biscayne Bay and access the Hawke Channel without going back out Government Cut. Just south of Elliott Key is Caesar's Creek. Locals assured us that it was passable despite the charts showing only 4 feet MLW (mean low water). They also raved about how beautiful it was. It is also a national park. It was designated so in 1964 after a bitter fight with developers.

However, Jan had a more compelling reason to want to explore this place. You see, her maiden name was Elliott. Elliott is spelled several different ways, but Elliotts with two L's and two T's stick together. We had to see this island and find out about Mr. Elliott. Here the story takes an unusual twist. No one knows anything about Mr. Elliott. There is no official story posted at the Ranger Station. The volunteers at the Ranger Station did not know who the island was named after. There was a long story about the Sweeting family who homesteaded the island in the 1880's and grew pineapples, but no Mr. Elliott. Later I went deep into Google (about 10 pages) and found a newspaper article from the 1970s that posed the same question. The enterprising reporter could not find a Mr. Elliott anywhere in the historical record. But he did find a Mr. Endicott, who surveyed the island in the 1740's. He surmised that over the many years Endicott evolved into Elliott.

White Pepper motored across Biscayne Bay on a lovely afternoon in order to charge the batteries. We dropped anchor about a mile off shore in 7 feet of water. This place is shallow!

Happy after finishing the anchor drill

The next day we headed into to explore the island. The only practical access to the island is at the Ranger Stations, one on the west and one on Caesar's Creek on the southern edge of the key. A dense mangrove forest grows right to the water's edge.

The water reminded us so much of the Bahamas

A very happy Elliott

After a look around the empty marina and ranger station we struck out across the island to the Atlantic. Along the way we came across Spite Highway.This is now a hiking trail maintained by the park. But in 1964 it was a 6 lane highway bulldozed through the island by developers at the last minutes to try to forestall the government from seizing the key.

Spite Highway

The Atlantic is always wonderful! We were surprised at how small and rocky the “main” beach was. Jan and I ate our sandwiches and wondered what life must have been like for the Sweeting family 150 years ago. Mosquitoes were an issue so we were soon back to boat.

Looking out over the Atlantic and the Hawke Channel

The next morning brought the transit of Caesar's Creek. Caesar was an escaped slave who set up a pirate business in the creek in the 1840s. It sounds so romantic; however, Caesar's method was to hide in the mangroves until someone came by, then he would murder them all before robbing the corpses. I guess this gruesome detail is why he is not mentioned along with Black Beard and Captain Morgan.

Caesar's Creek

White Pepper waited until an hour before high tide to begin. At the western (bayside) entrance to the creek I saw 5.4 feet on the depth sounder. The Garmin predicted 1.8 feet of tide at that time. The moon was full so the tides were higher than average. Thus it seems that the controlling depth for Caesar's Creek is 3.6 feet MLW. Once past the western bar the creek was deep and as beautiful as advertised. One small note: the channel extends about 3 miles into the Atlantic and there is shallow coral all the out alongside of the channel. Finally , White Pepper bear away and set sail for Rodriquez Key. Unbelievably, this was the first time we had set sail since leaving Green Cove Springs in November.

Coconut Grove Sailing Club

Coconut Grove is the more laid back part of Miami as well as being the heart of the Biscayne Bay sailing scene. The Coconut Grove Sailing Club has a privileged place here. It occupies 40 or so acres of the most protected anchorage along the western shore of Biscayne Bay. Its mooring field is only for members and only accepts sailboats. There are a very few transient slips that are rented out to friends and relatives of members. Our member/friend was Lorie Messer, one of Jan's earliest and best buddies from Corpus Christi. The club has a modest two story club house overlooking the anchorage. There is a function with live music every Friday evening. However, dining and socializing are not priorities here, unlike the nearby and tonier Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and the Miami Yacht Club. The emphasis is on racing and the youth program.

Lorie and Jan

                              

Coconut Groove Sailing Club mooring field at night

Mooring field at sunset with the club house in the background

Jan, new friend Larry Whipple, Lorie and Susan Mitchell at the Friday function

Biscayne Bay is a benign and lovely venue. It reminded us of a calmer, warmer, and gentler Corpus Christi Bay. There is racing every week end. At this time of the year there are numerous national and international “mid winters”. But what is really remarkable about the Coconut Grove Sailing Club is the youth program. Every Wednesday after school they launch 20 Optis for lessons and a race. The older kids practice on lasers and other class boats. There is even an adult sailing class for those who want to catch up with their children. Every afternoon and all weekend the downstairs is mobbed with kids. The club is a wonderful example for yacht clubs everywhere.

Services and shops are available although it is a good walk to most of them. Lorie ferried us around on the weekend ends to the hardware store, etc. A fellow cruiser, Dan Ritter, Gertie,had a car and took me to get propane. Dawn Ritter let Jan poach laundry services at the Dinner Key Marina next store.

Jan's sister, Susan Mitchell, flew in as a surprise visit and spent a lovely 4 days with us. Lorie was kind enough to drive her to the airport.

There was Fresh Market within walking distance of the club so we took most of our meals on the boat. We did eat at two Cuban restaurants—El Carajo and Havana Harry's (twice). El Carajo is notable in that it was a gas station that evolved into a first class restaurant. The wine list is a rack of hundreds of wine bottles on the wall. You pick one out and they open it at the table for the retail price plus $10. I thought that idea was a stunning concept. The restaurant also still sells gasoline out front. Havana Harry's was a find by the Ritters. The quantity of food, high quality and low cost were so amazing we had to go back a second time.

El Carajo.  Note the "wine list" is also the decor

Karl meets his match at Havana Harry's.  The dish is called seafood Veradero.  I could not finish even half of it.

Susan, Jan, Karl, Dawn and Dan Ritter at Havana Harry's

White Pepper rode out two cold fronts in perfect comfort there. I never could find anyone willing to tackle the difficult job of installing a new linear drive for the autopilot. Finally it was time to push on. With sadness we left Lori and our new friends at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and headed out into Biscayne Bay for Elliott Key.

Looking back at Coconut Groove and the Dinner Key mooring field