PORT ST. JOE - SAUL CREEK - APALACHICOLA

Port St. Joe – Saul Creek - Apalachicola

On Friday morning, we upped the anchor and left Pearl Bayou and headed for Port St. Joe, the site of the 2011 AGLCA Winter Rendezvous.  The event was great, and I’ll discuss it more shortly, but getting there was most of the fun.

To say we had perfect weather would be an understatement.  The sky was blue.  The sun was shining, and the wind was relatively light. Our new friend, Rich, decided he was going to go.  He and his boat live near Panama City.  He was picking up another friend at Pier 98 Marina in Pitts Bayou, and would be a few minutes behind us.  His boat is a classic wood Grand Banks 42.  When we saw it, we were impressed.  It is very well maintained.  It lives under a cover back in Rich’s bayou.  Nice boat.

 We were inside most of the way, except for the crossing of the East Bay.  Some of these bays have channels cut straight across.  Others have a channel that winds and winds around all kinds of nothing that can be seen. This bay was beautiful, however, lined with trees.  The weather was perfect.  Again, I have said it before, spread before your eyes might be a big lake, surrounded by trees.  But, except for a narrow couple channels, the average depth is between 1 and 4 feet.  Crazy, eh?  You just have to stay between the marks.  A guy we met over the weekend with a lot of cruising experience in these waters told us that, it is not only important to stay lined up with the marks in front of you, but to look behind you every once in a while to make sure you truly are lined up with the line of marks.  It is really that important.  What is difficult is when there is only a line of one color, like red or green.  Then what do you do?  I was told that if you just stay 75 feet from the mark, you should be ok.  Well, what you really have to do is take a look at the chart and see how the line is set up.  75 feet might be too far to the right or the left.  You just have to combine the visual with the chart and hope for the best. 

Once we crossed East Bay, we went onto the Watoopo Creek.  We stayed on this flow for what seemed like many miles winding in and out and in and out.  It was certainly beautiful in there. We didn’t see another boat all day.  Finally, we arrived at the Gulf Coast Channel where we turned south to St. Joseph Bay. 




This channel is a straight shot for 7 miles until you come to a bridge.  When you go under that bridge, you go out into this big bay which is actually open on one side to the Gulf of Mexico.  You would not know it running in the channel, but the wind on the bay was 25 gusting to 30.  Now, once you leave the channel, you have to run out about ¾ of a mile to a red marker you have to turn left around to avoid the invariable sand bars and spoil areas on either side of the mouth of the channel.  Then, unfortunately, you have to run another mile to the ship channel before turning right to make the run for the harbor mouth which involves a sharp left turn.  Well, once you make that left around red number 2, you are in beam seas.  Not only do you have the wind and wind waves popping you in the starboard chops, there is a breakwater off to the left which does nothing to absorb the waves, but rather reflects them perfectly back outward. 

So, wind and seas on the right, and seas on the left; all very confused water.  I was standing while at the wheel just waiting for that one combination punch that would have us on our ear, but it never came.  The harbor mouth is quite visible due to the very nice and bright day marks, but it is barely a boat length wide and involves a hairpin turn to the left and then another to the right.  White knuckle ride! That is by far the stupidest arrangement I have ever seen.  Well, it was sporty getting in there, but we got in and were just fine – no worse for the wear, right?  The harbor looked a bit larger in the photo the marina emailed me.  I thought we would have time to set lines and fenders when we got into the harbor.  WRONG!  It was a little bit of a scramble.

We got tied up and then checked in.  The folks at this marina could not have been more friendly.  In fact, when we were almost into the harbor, we called in on the radio and they had a kid out on the dock waving to us and who helped us with our lines.  Then the fun really began.


Friday night, the marina treated all the gathering “Loopers” to a real treat.  This guy showed
up earlier in the day with what looked like a 15 foot long shotgun.  Well, it was actually a smoker/BBQ designed to look like a shotgun.  He tows it behind his truck to all sorts of events, no doubt.  

 Dinner that night was smoked Boston Butt with all kinds of trimmings including smoked onions, cole slaw, potato salads, pickles, etc.  A real southern treat.  The marina had three coolers stuffed with beer, sodas, and bottled water.  I guess they figured they dodged a costly bullet.  Virtually everyone brought their own wine.  Only us “younger folks” drank the beer, and almost nobody drank the sodas.   We have travelled over 900 miles on the Gulf so far and this was the first time we got to enjoy real southern style foods.  It was amazing.  We met a bunch of really nice folks, and reunited with our friends Nelson and Liz whom we met at Homeport in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  There was a great raffle and lots of prizes were given away. We won a little Igloo cooler – the perfect size to carry a 6-pack. It was a long day so we turned in relatively early.  Because of the direction of the wind and swell, the boat was rocking in the slip quite a bit, but no matter to us.  We fell right to sleep.

Saturday morning we were up early for the start of the day of seminars.  The first one was by Tom Conrad who posts daily weather musings on the AGLCA Discussion Forum.  This is really the only one I was interested in.  The topic of his weather discussions involves crossing the Gulf (or the Guff, as they say it down here) – the Big Bend, if you will, from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs.  Most boats draw too deep to make much of the places in between, so they cross on this route to deeper and more protected waters.  It’s a 171 mile run from dock to dock, which can be shortened some depending on where you start from, but for us slow trawlers, it generally involves an overnight run.  But, it’s not enough to simply run through the night and expect to arrive all hunky dory.  You really want to give due consideration to the tide when you arrive.  Also, you do not even want to think about arriving in Tarpon Springs at night.  For that matter, you probably don’t want to be anywhere within 20-30 miles of the coast until the sun is up so you can see the minefield of crab and lobster pots that spot the water in what have been described as the most inauspicious locations.  It’s really easy to pick those up in the running gear and do damage, or at a minimum, require a night dive with a big light and a large knife.  So, planning is everything and Tom shared with us his many years of experience crossing this body of water.

Next we heard from the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary.  These guys truly sucked as presenters, but the outline was otherwise loaded with important information.  Then we heard from a local TV news weatherman, and a guy who talked about cruising the west coast of Florida.  We skipped the presentation from Sea Tow as we are already Boat US members and were not planning on changing. 

During this time frame, we had our boat inspected.  Every year, all boaters should submit to a Vessel Safety Inspection performed by the Coast Guard Auxiliary or the US Power Squadron.  While I am certainly capable of performing my own inspection, it is good to have it done by someone else as you invariably learn something from a different perspective.  Some inspections are tougher than others.  This one was not that tough, but it was thorough enough that, should we be boarded by the real Coast Guard, we will undoubtedly pass their often even more cursory inspection. 

The guy who did the inspection was a really nice fellow.  He and his wife are both members of the CG Auxiliary and would team up to complete the inspections of all the boats that arrived for the rendezvous.  One day, they were in California and decided to pop down to Dana Point to take a look at Nordhavns.  Within a couple months, they sold the house, cashed in all the retirement accounts and took off in their new used N40 and returned to the Florida Panhandle via the Panama Canal.  What a great trip.  He told us all about it instead of inspecting the boat, but it was still very interesting nonetheless.


Later that day, Brenda and I went off walking in Port St. Joe. 

It is really a nice little town with everything for the cruiser.  Everything is also within a short walking distance which is also nice. 



We found the Piggly Wiggly (the local supermarket), the Bluewater Outfitters, the liquor store, the Autozone, etc.  It’s all here.  Best of all, we found the older part of town and a cool spot called the “No Name Coffee Shop.”  We got a couple of coffees and found a couple chairs in a very cool little park next to the store.  It’s kind of like a wide spot in the sidewalk with trees and tables and chairs.  There is a water fountain for dogs and we met a cool little critter – a grey squirrel – we named “Eddie”.  Eddie entertained us for quite a while running up and down a tree, digging little holes in the ground next to the tree and rolling over and basically just romping all over the place.  We fed him what few acorns we could find, but he didn’t take them.  I think Brenda and I do not really know the difference between a ripe acorn and one that may have to wait until next year.  So, we enjoyed our time with Eddie before heading back to the boat to get ready for dinner.

Dinner Saturday night was a real treat – a Low Country Boil.  You have to pronounce boil as “bowl” to get it right.  Similarly, down here, you don’t change your “oil”; rather, you change your “ole”.  The LCB, as I shall call it for simplicity’s sake, consists of a big pot into which is tossed sausage, potatoes, corn, vegetables, and shrimp.  It was served with sides of more salads and rice and more vegetables.  It was absolutely delicious.  Nelson, who grew up in the south, had his head down with determination as he plowed through a school of shrimp and an admirable pile of sausage and corn.  You could tell he was just loving it.  When it was all said and done, he commented that it was just like he remembered growing up in Mississippi – just like mama used to make.  After dinner, folks played a modified version of Bingo – where you just kept playing until everyone in the room, practically, won a hand.  Lots and lots of prizes were given away.  It’s always funny when the bald guys win the free hair cut or the hair care products.

Now, Nelson was also playing Bingo.  Unfortunately, he was not always paying attention and lost track of the numbers that had been called.  So, he gets up and walks nonchalantly behind the bingo caller and, with a really funny look on his face, stared over the caller’s shoulder while at the same time, checking his card to see if he had inadvertently won a prize gone by.  It really was just the look on his face as he stood there that was so funny.

Sunday was another southern food fest.  The marina hosted breakfast at the Dockside Café.  Breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, pancakes, and biscuits and sausage gravy.  I have had biscuits and gravy before, but never in my life have I tasted anything like this – so perfect!  Again, we have travelled 900 miles of Gulf Coast and had not, until this weekend, experienced southern food like this.  Here’s what I think it is.  In the south, everyone’s mama can cook.  If you want real down home southern cooking, you don’t go to a restaurant.  You have to be invited to someone’s home to get the real flavors of the south.  Generally speaking, the food is simple, but prepared in a way that the natural flavors of the food is enhanced. It’s also apparent that the combination of flavors is important.  I would not have thought to put corn, potatoes, sausage and shrimp into the same pot, but boy does it work. You simply steam it all together.  The sides are equally important. 



Again, simple stuff like a smoked or BBQ’s onion all chopped up, pickles, shredded steamed cabbage, steamed veggies.  I have not noticed bread as an essential side.  I am not sure why that is.  The guy who cooked the Boston Butts made it clear that the only bread served with real BBQ is white bread; that it is possibly a crime to serve BBQ with wheat bread.  So, poured out onto the buffet table was a couple bags of white bread.  It really was good.  It doesn’t really matter if you have “good” bread with it, because you would not want to fill up on it in favor of other wonderful treats.  There are lots of different pepper sauces down here and everyone has their favorite.  There were 3-4 different sauces on the table both nights.  Thus far, my favorite is Tabasco, followed a close second by one called “Back Fire.”  I love it, Brenda hates it.  I guess I can understand.  Anybody can make up their own pepper sauce.  It’s a matter of combining different peppers with salt and vinegar and letting them soak for a while before bottling.

The rest of Sunday was spent kicking back and doing some boat chores, grocery shopping, more coffee with Eddie and Monday was not a whole lot different. I changed the engine oil and fuel filters.  Other than that, we prepared to depart on Tuesday morning.  All of the other boats that were here headed straight for Carrabelle.  I had heard about this cool spot called Saul Creek.  It’s another one of those uncharted spots where you have to rely upon local knowledge to find and get into.  I learned that, when it comes to rivers, creeks and streams, lots of good information can be obtained from the US Hydrological Service.  They keep track of most of the water in this country and if it is running, they have tabs on it.  I’ll tell you more about this place later.



=====Saul Creek=====

We left Port St. Joe fairly early on Tuesday morning.  We wanted to take advantage of the calm weather to go back into St. Joseph Bay and back to the Gulf Coast Channel. 

Again, this channel is a straight shot for 7 miles or so back up to the GICW.  Then we turned right and continued in the winding canal until we reached Lake Wimoco.  We crossed this lake in a firely straight shot until we got to the Jackson River. 

Then we proceeded several miles on this river to a turn off right before it merges into the Apalachicola River.  The turn off takes you up Saul Creek.  This was a strange and wonderous place.  It is lined with tall trees and is quite narrow.  It is really important to stay in the middle when going up creeks because you just cannot count on the charted depths. 

Where it said we were supposed to have 8 feet, we had 12.  Where it said we were supposed to have 16 feet, we had 17.  Then there were places on the chart where the depths were supposed to be 25 and we saw 50’s.  Crazy, isn’t it?  You start getting into these 50’s and you start wondering if you are going to be able to find a place to anchor.  We could anchor in 50 feet, but given the amount of chain we would have to let out to set adequate scope, the swing would be way to big given how narrow the creek is.  Finally, we found 10 feet and anchored there.  We were a couple miles up this creek and it seemed far from everyplace.  We were around a bend or two so we could not see back to the Jackson River or any sign of civilization.  Once we shut the engine down, there was something extraordinary that we noticed – SILENCE.  It was so quiet back there, you just cannot believe it.  You could literally hear a pin drop from 100 yards.  There was only the occasional bird chirping, or the occasional gust of wind in the trees, but that was truly it. 

It was also very cold.  While we were in Port St. Joe, the temperatures warmed up to the 50’s.  We could also turn on the heater since we were plugged into shore power.  Out here, however, it got very cold.  It was really wonderful being completely alone and in such an atmosphere of silence.  The sun was out so we truly enjoyed sitting out on deck, all bundled up, and just talking and looking at our surroundings.  It is very hard to describe.  Put it this way, the charts note that on either side of Saul Creek, there lies, “Impenetrable swamp.” The water at night became calm like a mirror and the stars reflected on the water like lights in the sky.  Amazing.

I can’t hardly describe the woods surrounding us on all sides.  There were oak, and cypress, and pine and palm trees, interspersed with all variety of bushes and vines, grasses and weeds.  The colors were innumerable and the texture was such that you could only describe it as “matted”.  Every time you look at a side, it would look different because the sun would cast different shadows in the forest and swamp.  The colors were constantly changing.  The shapes of each and every tree looked different in the constantly changing light.  It was extraordinary.  I have always been an admirer of artists who can capture the essence of a landscape, but I venture to guess that no human can adequately and accurately capture the essence of the impenetrable swamp.  It is just too much.  I cannot believe that so many cruisers would pass this place by.  It’s like the ultimate natural history museum.

There was this old shack on floats back in the corner, sort of hidden in the bush.  There was an old fishing boat sinking on the banks.  This boat had obviously been abandoned some time ago.  Had this been a salt water environment, it would have disappeared long ago.  But in this brackish water, it is preserved.  It’s broken windows and smashed timbers give it a ghostly look.  I jokingly told Brenda that if lights came on in the cabin at night, I was running out of there and I don’t care what time it is.  We also looked in earnest for gators, but saw nothing but their bubble trails.  It’s so cold out that even they hide out.

When I tell you it was cold, I am not kidding.  Who knew that it could drop into the teens at night in the Florida Panhandle in winter time?  I certainly didn’t.  I could use a pair of Ugg boots if anyone is listening.  When I was cleaning the inside windows in the pilothouse this morning, there was ice ON THE INSIDE!.  Damn, it is cold.  Well, we are heading further south to Carrabelle so we can cross the Gulf and get into some warmer climates…….I hope.

We decided to stay in Saul Creek an extra night as neither of us could believe this most beautiful paradise was right in front of us.  It was hard to leave, but on Thursday morning, we upped the anchor and headed for Apalachicola.

 =====APALACHICOLA=====

It was a pretty short run down the Apalachicola River to our anchorage right out in front of the town. 





So, when we got here, we launched the dinghy and went to town. 


This is a really cool little town. 

Apalachicola is located on what is known as the Forgotten Coast, along the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle, approximately 80 miles south of Tallahassee.  This town was established in 1831 and was once the third largest port on the Gulf Coast.  There was a wealth of craftsmanship here once upon a time as is evidenced by the beautiful homes that line the streets. 


Back in the day, the waterfronts were lined with chip chandleries, net factories, and sponge warehouses.  Now there is an abundance of eclectic and trendy shops, restaurants, galleries, and beautifully restored hotels.  Oysters and seafood are very important commodities here.  Today, 90% of Florida’s oysters come from this area.  Shrimp, blue crab, and finfish are also commercially important. 

We wandered the streets for several hours and enjoyed a great lunch overlooking the water.  I like it here.  The homes are really cool and there is a lot of greenery here – trees of all kinds.  Where some of you might expect to see crushed rock or mulch lining planting beds, here there is crushed oyster shell.  It looks very cool.

As I said before, our end point of the Gulf Coast is approaching.  Carrabelle is as far east as our draft will allow us to travel, so we will be jumping off there for the Gulf crossing, known as the big bend. 





We will be crossing the open Gulf for approximately 170 miles on our way to Tarpon Springs.  We were hoping to go up the Crystal River to Crystal Springs, but given the extreme winter tides and the constantly blowing north and north east winds, there is not that much water in there and, in my opinion, the risk just weighs too heavily.  The channel from the Gulf into the Crystal River is very narrow and lined on either side by rocky reefs and coral.  The margin for error is very slim.  I had really hoped to see Manatees, but I am not willing to risk my home and the rest of this cruise.  It would be much less expensive in the long run to rent a car in Tarpon Springs and drive up to Crystal Springs to spend a day snorkeling with the Manatees.  This might very well be in the cards. 

So, tomorrow, we head for Carrabelle to wait for that weather window to open.  It looks like we will likely depart Saturday night to arrive at the channel to Tarpon Springs at or around mid day to give us a high tide to enter.  Even the high tides right now are not that high, and the lows are very low.  Still, there is little margin for error, but there is quite a bit more in Tarpon Springs than in Crystal River.  From there, who knows?  We will likely continue heading south for a while and decide when we get to the mouth of the Okachobee Waterway whether we want to go that way (east across the State of Florida to Stewart) or head further south for a while and then cross the state.  We are looking for warmer weather. 

That’s all for now.  Be well.