Weather was still looking good. We were not in a hurry, but still departed the Redington Shores anchorage at 8:00 a.m. We traveled a whole hour to tie up at the free dock at Indian Rocks Beach. It must have been a while since Ray has docked. Linda was on the port stern ready to throw a line to Bob when he hollered at me as to where I was. Low and behold we were bowing in starboard side. What? We never do this. Not a good sign as to the start of our long day(s) ahead.
Linda ran a few errands; bread from CVS, they didn't have eggs, and a drop of mail at the Post Office. After our hour stop we were on our way to cross the Gulf of Mexico, the dreaded part of the whole trip.
We had mentioned that the worst of the weather should be in the morning, but then improve as the day(s) progressed, but if we stuck our nose out there and didn't like it we would turn around and come back in. It was close to another hour by the time we were heading out Clearwater Pass. It was not bad, but not perfect, but if it was going to get better, we could handle it. The seas were on our port stern, rolling us a bit.
By mid-afternoon Linda went ahead and attempted some fishing to cut down on the boredom. Before she could even get the second rig set for trolling she had a quick bite. A check of the bait showed that something had taken a small bite out of the ballyhoo, somehow missing the hook, but rendering it useless. Once she got the next one rigged, it was fish on almost immediately again. This produced a king mackerel, nothing we wanted to keep. With all of the live bait gone, next out was a bucktail. The last ballyhoo produced another king mackerel on the other rig, another throw back. Before that one could get set back out it was fish on the bucktail, but lost it, bucktail and all. With two more bucktails set out it was quiet for a while, almost to dusk and to the point of debating when to bring them in soon anyway when it was fish on. This last one was a fighter. Ray had to bring in the other line so they wouldn't get crossed when Linda saw a fish jump after that lure, but no hook up. After several minutes of reeling something that was definitely different than the first two, the bonita appeared. Fake tuna they call it. So throw back number three.
It was partially overcast and the moonrise was at 5:30 a.m. and moonset at 6:00 a.m. Therefore we knew it was going to be a dark night. There were a few stars, but not much. A couple of boat passed in the night on the radar, but no real events, just still rolling along each taking three hour shifts at the helm.
About 5:30 a.m. Spike couldn't stand the rolling from under the couch any longer. He joined us at the helm, but acted like he just wanted to jump overboard so Linda put the harness and leash on him just in case. Maybe he'll learn to be a better traveler yet. He stayed in the Admiral's chair for the remainder of the trip, tented over with a towel to help him feel more secure.
We were all sick of the rolling by the time we entered East Pass about 24 hours after departure. It was another several hours to Apalachicola, but once you've gone this long, you might as well keep going. We finally pulled into Apalachicola Marina shortly after 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. We all hit the shower and bed for a few hour nap. I don't know if it helped. We still all kind of felt like crap. Linda and Ray went to the marina office to check in, then stopped at Oyster City Brewing Company which was not open yet last time we were here. Then we walked across the street to The Tap Room and had some duck fries. Forgot how good those are. Next stop was Up the Creek for some oysters. After all, that's why we are here, right? If you have never been there, it has a very small bar. I think 7 barstools. It was just us and another younger fellow at the bar when a fourth person came in to sit at the bar saying "Well, I've never said this before, but here I will buy the bar a round." Very nice. Talked to him a bit. He had a beer and a dozen of the parmesan oysters at our recommendation. When he received his bill he was quite surprised at the large amount that it was, so he inquired as to the price of our drinks. Well, his and our beers were $5.00 each, but the younger gentleman just so happened to be drinking a double which was $18.00! He was a good sport about it. We teased him that it might have been cheaper at a larger bar after all. Bob and Barbara finally joined us after all of that was over, but then that same man came back in because he couldn't find anything else open.
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