The Crossing

December 10

The Crossing deals with getting from the Florida Panhandle to the western shore of Florida typically referred to as the Gulf Coast.

The crossing is a point of high concern and stress for most Loopers. It involves 180 miles of open water boating where normal connectivity to society simply doesn't exist. No cell phones, no internet (unless you have Starlink marine), no support infrastructure and minimal other boaters.

The launch point for getting across is from either Apalachicola or Carrabelle which is slightly closer by ~10 miles but Apalachicola is a better town / dockage.

Apalachicola

We chose Apalachicola. It is a fantastic town with great food and lots of fun spots. Along with "fresh off the boat" seafood and restaurants serving home cooking, the town had an actual saloon. This was a first on the Loop for us.

The rest of the town was equally quaint and cool. Christmas decorations were out and the streets beautiful.

Having a good dockage to stage the crossing is an imperative for it is possible to wait for weeks for a good "weather window". A Weather Window is defined as conditions that lay the Gulf of Mexico relatively smooth. This usually takes ~12 hours before taking off and must persist for the duration of the trip.

The Path Across

There are two options; The Big Bend route or straight across to Tarpon Springs.

The Big Bend has a "short" open water span of ~75 miles (85 from Apalachicola) to Steinhatchee. From there it is a 100 mile run to Crystal River. On the map you will see Cedar Key, but the map is outdated with Cedar Key having been destroyed by Hurricane Ian. Crystal River is known as a breading ground for Manatees and thus a prime spot to see them.

Directly across is a straight 180 mile run from Apalachicola that has the boat ~60 miles offshore for most of the time.

Originally, we were going to do the Big Bend so as to enjoy the manatees. They are so ugly they are cute.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating. The long range forecast showed an 18 hour window of good weather followed by 10+ days of high winds. That would leave us in Crystal river late in the month. With Christmas coming we had already secured long term dockage in St. Pete Florida for the holidays. We didn't want to be in the situation of either losing that dockage or skipping great towns like Tarpon Spring to make it. We changed our plans to go straight across on December 7th. Almost 30 other loopers made the same decision.

Weathermen

There are many weather sources to cross check the accuracy of a forecast. Senior Gulf boaters publish daily a three day projection for Loopers titled "You Make The Call". There is even a service Loopers can pay for that has a meteorologist custom craft a projection based on your boat's speed, point of origin and point of destination. All said December 7th - December 8th was the optimum slot to cross with winds low and waves moderate.

They were wrong.

Fast boats vs Slow Boats

Looper boats generally fall into two categories, fast and slow. With a comfortable cruising speed in the 20 - 25 MPH range, the Shorebilly falls into the fast category. Most Looper boats are slow cruisers at 6 - 8 mph. This means that a 180 mile run takes 22 - 30 hours thus mandating an overnight run. They leave ~12:00 noon on day 1 arriving 10:00 AM or later on day 2. It is important to arrive in the daylight because the waters are mined with crab pots. A crab pot can disable a boat 20 miles out putting everyone / thing at risk.

For a fast boat, it is important to average 20+mph allowing an early AM departure to arrive in the daylight late in the afternoon. This run takes 8 - 9 hours.

The Crossing

We were lines up at 8:00 and the 10 mile run across Apalachicola Bay behind the St. George barrier island to the inlet called "Government Cut" was effortless with perfect conditions. It looked like the weathermen had nailed it. Five miles past the inlet, we realized they were wrong again. The waves were steady 3 foot with lots and lots of four foot+ thrown in. This intensity lasted until 10:30ish when it settled down to rolling three foot waves with a 2 foot chop on top. These conditions lasted the rest of the day.

Whereas the Shorebilly did a lot of twist and turns due to the sheer size of the waves that had the Admiral gulp an extra Bonine (motion sick preventative), the boat ate the waves beautifully and allowed us to cruise between 22 and 23 mph at all times. It was really impressive with the boat only "banging" twice the entire day.

We were the only fast boat to make it from Apalachicola. The only other fast boat was Who Dat that left from Carrabelle. By leaving from there, they had a shorter "fetch" which reduced the wave size for them. Who Dat is a 60 foot Grand Banks down east style boat. They got beat up pretty good.

The Slow Boats

The slow boats didn't do as well. For the first three hours everything was perfect for them. Then progressively the winds and waved increased ... and increased. And then it got dark. Going through the waves in the dark was terrifying for they could not see to know when the smack was coming. Boats with a fly bridge helm only were stuck with their mates unable to climb the steps to relieve them. Multiple captains remained at the helm for 20+ hours and awake for 30+. Conditions like that typically render the autopilot useless so that captain has to work the entire time. One boat even lost their dinghy in the fray. They were exhausted when they got to Tarpon Springs.

We were yet again grateful for the boat we have. Having gotten in the night before, we got a good night's sleep and were refreshed when the others arrived in the morning.

Jolly Roger Too Turns Gold

If you have been reading this blog regularly, you know we did most of Canada with Jolly Roger Too and Never Home. Upon completing the crossing, Jolly Roger also completed their Loop having originated at Tarpon Springs. Their goal was to anchor at Anclote Key where they spent their first night. With Jolly Roger being a slow boat, we arrived 18 hours before them so we anchored at Anclote Key and cheered them on as they crossed. By the time we got Yudee ashore to relieve himself, pulled up anchor and got over to the Jolly Roger ... they were fast asleep so the best I could do was take a picture in front of their boat and send it to them as a congrats.

Congrats Jim and Leslie! They will continue on around to the Chesapeake where their home is. However, they will be doing this flying the gold burgee.

Tarpon Springs

The reward for the crossing is Tarpon Springs. This is your quintessential Florida town that hasn't changed since the late 60's or early 70's. The marina is right downtown and impeccably managed. The shops and walking around the town are a trip down memory lane. It is also the home of the "Sponge exchange" where natural sponges are harvested and sold.