Crossing the Gulf of Mexico (part 2)

 In my last entry, I left you after 17 hours of sailing from the Pensacola inlet to somewhere south of Port St. Joe. We had sailed in rough sea conditions in winds ranging from 15 to 25 knots. The winds were not too bad, it was the confused sea state that was the most uncomfortable for the crew of SHIFT. It was now midnight and we had about 6 hours more of sailing off into the darkness. 

We both knew that the main thing we had to guard against was sleep depravation. In the previous 4 overnight sails that we have done, I slept very little and by the time we arrived, I was not thinking as clearly as I would like. This first night, Kim was seasick, and her best option was to curl up under her blanket on the starboard side of the cockpit and go to sleep. This made her feel much better and made me happy to see that. 

This is a shot of the sea state at sunset of the first day. The camera never does the sea justice. I did take some video that shows it much better. I am making some videos that combine my many video updates and posting them on my YouTube Channel. I will post the links in a future blog post. 

 The good news is that the conditions were consistent and we had no squalls. This allowed me to just sit back with my feet braced to the base of the starboard lazarette in the cover of the dodger and let the auto-pilot drive the boat. I was able to close my eyes for about 15 minutes at a time and then look around for any activity and check our course. I was able to watch a constellation off our starboard side that told me we were still on course.

The one downside to all of this sailing is that the auto-pilot had to work hard and that combined with all of the lights and instruments was taking a toll on our batteries. At one point during the night, I had to run the engine for about an our to recharge. I did not even put it in gear. We did not need any more speed. 

As we got close to sunrise, Kim woke up and said she felt much better. She insisted that I lay down and try to sleep. I did, and I slept hard for about an hour. When I awoke, I felt much better and that we could make it through.

Sunrise on the second day. The boat was covered with salt spray. 

As the sun rose you could see a slightly improving sea state. You can also see that we are now under full sails.

I have come to love sunrises at sea. 

  As we got into the day the sea state was improving and the wind was decreasing. At one point, I went back to sleep. This time I slept for about 2 hours and Kim was able to read her book. I awoke to winds now down to 10 to 15 knots and seas that were comfortable. I shook out the reefs in the sails and went to full sails. Our speed was running between 5 and 6 knots, but in a very comfortable way. The second day was really fun. 

As we got close to night fall the winds got even weaker. The forecast did say that by the end of Saturday the winds would become light and variable. We were able to sail until about midnight. 

It seems I only take pictures of sunsets and sunrises while we are at sea.

Sunset on the second day. 

Based on the current speed it looked like we would be arriving in the Tarpon Springs area in the morning on our third day. The last evening was some slow sailing and then I had to make the decision to start the engine. We had traveled over 220 miles by sail and that felt very good. We now had to motor the last 50+ miles. The seas were now calm and very comfortable. I felt confident in the new engine and was able to add significantly to my sleep that last evening. Kim was well rested. She said that she felt that she had slept most of the trip. I awoke to watch the sunrise on the third day. We had traveled over 250 miles and had only seen one other boat. I expected that to change as we approached land on a calm Sunday morning. 

First light on our last day of the passage. What a welcome sight.

Not sailing, but land not far off

I just love this shot.

 We knew we were close when we started seeing crab pots. Those buoys become a problem heading into the rising sun. Kim went to the bow with our headsets on and we talked our way through the last 20 miles to land. We also started seeing other boats. I am sure many were charter boats heading out with their customers for a day on the flat gulf. 

The conditions looked perfect to pull in behind a small key called Anclotte Key. It is really just a spit of sand with no visible vegetation, but it offers some protection and a place to set the anchor and rest. That is exactly what we did. I sent out a few texts and posted something on Facebook to let our family and friends that we were safe. 

Hard to see in this shot, but that is the key that protected us for our first night. There is a small boat on the left and some people walking on the sand in the distance. 

We felt great to be done and are very proud of our accomplishment. After getting the hook down and set, I went to bed and slept for a couple of hours. That is all I really needed. After sailing for 275 miles in 2 days, 2 nights and 2 hours = 50 hours, I felt great. I think we learned a lot on this trip. We learned how to manage the boat in rough weather and we also learned how tough SHIFT is. She felt like she was on rails the entire time. We also did a much better job of managing ourselves. If we ever make a longer passage, that will be even more critical. 

So, what do you do after spending 7 days on the boat and crossing the Gulf of Mexico? You go to a dock and take a walk in a cool Fishing village with amazing history. Come back to see our exploration of Tarpon Springs, Florida.