THE Crossing!

Randy left RDU for Panama City on March 14th.  He had been receiving a daily weather forecast for over a month from an expert in the area who advises when it is safe to cross the Gulf.  The plan was for Scott to meet him at Port St. Joe that night and they would leave early the next morning and cross the Gulf to Clearwater.  There is a buddy system in place so boats can travel together and he was meeting up with 3 other boats Friday.  Unforuntately, Scott's flight from Greensboro was delayed which caused him to miss the connection in Atlanta and he wasn't able to get on another flight that night.  The window of opportunity to make the crossing was limited so Randy felt he had no choice but to continue on by himself.  It must have been pure determination and adrenalin because he went nonstop from 8am Friday unti 10am Saturday...26 hours!
To the readers of this blog I will try to give you a view into the 26 hours I stayed awake guiding Loon across the Gulf from Port St Joe to Clearwater FL.  Good weather was forecast for crossing the 171 miles from East Pass inlet to Clearwater FL.  I left Port St Joe at 8am and cruised 52 miles to East Pass.Weather was cool and the water was "mirror-like".  I passed the sea buoy at East Pass at 2pm which officially began my cross Gulf Journey.  The plan was to go with 2 other boats who left at noon since they cruised at 7 mph.  Since I was making 8.5 mph, I should catch up with them before dark.  Using radar, I located the two boats approximately 4 miles to my starboard.  I could see their lights in the distance and we could communicate via radio.  It felt good to talk to someone.  We stayed in radio contact for much of the night.  I set a course of 137 degrees for R2 buoy off of Tarpon Springs, FL.  As the sun set and the moon rose, I saw a comet streaking by thanks to informtion supplied by my good friend Koo Stengle.  The sky was so dark that I could see millions of stars. With only a sliver of moonlight, it was very very dark but the night had almost a magical quality,   I sat on the bridge and watched the stars; it was like being in your own planetarium!  I shined a spotlight into the black water and noticed large numbers of dolphin swimming along side the boat.  Being extremely tired, I set my phone to alarm every hour and sent EPIRB messages that I was ok back to the friends and family that were following me.  Seas were calm in the beginning but increased to 2-3 feet as the night went on.  The autopilot did a good job of holding course but due to the rough conditions, it did lose course a few times.  The sun began to rise around 7:30 am...what a beautiful sight.  Daylight again!  I turned torward the coast and entered Clearwater Channel.  I docked around 10am at the Clearwater Harbor Marina.  After a hot shower and something to eat, I went to sleep knowing...I had successfully crossed the Gulf.

Sunset on the Gulf

Sunrise on the Gulf - A Welcome Sight!

View in Salon with Lights Off

View in Salon with Lights On