12/10/14:  Clearwater Beach Marina, Clearwater, Florida: We cast off lines tomorrow and continue south.

We began the Gulf of Mexico crossing at noon from Apalachicola, Florida on 12/6/14 and arrived at noon on 12/7/14 at the Clearwater, Florida marina.  24 hours and 170 NMs.  We left the dock at Apalachicola with Endeavor, Pura Vida, & Akasha. At Dog River Inlet, Dream Fever joined us and then a couple of hours later Ithaka caught up with us and completed the crossing with us.

The crossing started out with fog which we all felt certain would burn off, however it did not. The fog stayed with us all day and into the early morning hours the next morning. Although there was a full moon it only peeked out from behind the clouds a couple of times. 

Foggy Gulf Crossing Start - Apalachicola Dock

The winds that had been predicted to arrive at Clearwater on Sunday afternoon, greeted us before the break of dawn. For a period of time we clocked a 19 Knot wind coming at our port stern. While the conditions don’t sound good it really wasn’t that bad.

As we approached Clearwater, Dream Fever took off towards Tarpon Springs and the rest of us continued to the Clearwater Inlet. It was good to have the crossing behind us and thankful to God that we all made it safe and without any boat problems.

The day after we arrived, we all got together for dinner and shared our crossing stories. We have all said it more than once but it can’t be repeated enough. While the Loop is about seeing things you have never seen before the real gem is the people that you will meet and bond with. Let me tell you it was a great comfort to know that we had 5 other boats that we could count on as we crossed the Gulf. 

Gulf Crossing Gang

Left to right back row: Steve & Sheli - Pura Vida, Jack & Sara - Ithaka. 

Elaine & Russ - Twelve Stones,

Front row: Left to Right:  John (not pictured his crew member Ken who already headed home)- Endeavor, Clarke & Rosemary - Akasha