This post contains our notes of the 2014 Northern Gulf Coast Cruise, sponsored by Fleet 77 at the Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club, and promoted by the Catalina 22 National Association.  It was great fun and we look forward to doing it again.

May 8, Thursday

We left Oklahoma City and had an uneventful trip to our overnight destination of Monroe, LA. Boat and trailer handled beautifully.  OKC had storms and heavy rains last night. We basically slid down the back edge of the storms going to Dallas, then passed through the line and beat it into Louisiana. Forecast is for rain tonight and tomorrow as the system moves through here.

We're getting a relatively early night for an early start tomorrow. We want to get to Fort Walton Beach with time to spare. We need some groceries as well as finding no-ethanol gas for the outboard.

May 9, Friday

We made it!!  We arrived at Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club at about 4:00.  One of the first things that happened was two or three porpoises showed up while the “welcome dinner” was being set out in a gazebo on the club grounds.  I wondered if it wasn't an omen that the winds were so brisk that you couldn't put down your paper plate, even with some food on it, or it would blow away.  It was probably blowing over 20 mph.  After raising the mast and putting the outboard and rudder in place we backed the trailer down the ramp and launched the boat.  We stayed in a slip at the yacht club that night and slept on the boat.

                                   

  Porpoise Welcomes Us to Florida

It was interesting to meet folks from around the country and see the modifications they had made to their boats.  One boat, appropriately named “Outrageous” was a floating RV.  It had TV, computers, radios, a full galley including an oven, and one of the most amazing systems of cover for the popup top I've ever seen or heard about.  Someone commented “The winning racer is the one who crosses the line first, but the winning cruiser is the one who arrives in the most comfort!”  We took notes and came away from our first night with some great ideas.

For sleeping space, some use the v-berth, but not many.  It also depends on what model Catalina 22 is being discussed as interior changes have been made over the years.  We lower the table and put a piece of plywood across the cabin walkway, making a sleeping area big enough for a full size mattress.  One of the first things we discovered was that I brought the wrong air mattress. I grabbed a twin mattress, not the full that I thought.  In addition, it lost air and by morning was almost flat.  Saturday morning found us dashing to the nearby Wal-Mart to buy a full size air mattress.

May 10, Saturday

We departed the Club about 11:30 a.m.  The initial leg from the Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club to Spectre Island started with strong SE winds which were right on the nose as we turned south toward the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). It was necessary to use engine power to get down Choctawhatchee Bay.  The waves were 3-4 feet and sprayed over the boat with some regularity, especially as we rounded Mark 7 and turned SSE. I began to wonder what I had gotten us into as wave after wave sprayed us. 

 

 

Gloria at Helm - Drenched!

Fortunately, as we went further south towards Santa Rosa Island the waves got smaller and smaller. By the time we turned west into the Intracoastal Waterway the waves were less than a foot, and the wind was lower, though it remained brisk.

In this part of the ICW, the channel is so narrow and the depth outside is often so shallow that motoring is the only option unless the wind is just right.  Still, we got a bit of sailing in before turning off at Mark 56 to beach anchor at Spectre Island.

Entering the ICW

Beach anchoring is a practice that was unfamiliar to this inland sailor.  Basically, it involves raising the keel and usually the kick-up rudder.  Fixed rudders need to be removed.  Steering is done with the outboard.  Then it involves dropping the bow anchor about 50-75 feet offshore and continuing to approach the shore while paying out line.  When about 25 feet off the shore the anchor is snubbed to set it and to turn the boat so its stern is toward shore.  The engine is then put in reverse at a slow idle while easing out anchor line to carefully back as close to shore as you dare.  If someone is available, you hand them your lighter (or “lunch”) anchor, which they carry a few yards away up from the shore and dig the flukes into the dirt or sand.  Otherwise, someone has to climb over the stern and wade ashore with the anchor and secure it. Now, you can adjust how close or far from shore the boat is by adjusting the tension of the two anchor lines.  Also climbing in and out of the boat over the transom (with ladder in many cases) is easier than climbing on and off the bow when you beach the boat bow first.

At Spectre Island we had the first of the campfires that would be used to cook dinner on the nights we would beach anchor on an island.  We cooked hot dogs and enjoyed getting to know the other crews that we would spend the next week with.

Spectre Island is named after the Air Force gunship of the same name. The island is just southwest of Hurlburt Airfield and is often used in training Special Forces troops. 

Others on the cruise said in prior years they have seen what were obviously Special Forces on training missions paddle rubber rafts to the island. A short time later the silence would be broken by weapons fire.  We didn't quite have that when we were there, but the night was interrupted by occasional loud bangs. One of our cruisers said he stayed up and the loud bangs were fireworks, probably from a group of folks camping at the other end of the island.  But explosions about once an hour, whether fireworks or firepower, still made for poor sleeping that night.

Sign on Spectre Island

Sunday, May 11

We departed Spectre Island after a Spam and eggs breakfast on our old 2-burner Coleman propane stove. That would become our standard breakfast for the week, as we brought several varieties of Spam.  Surprisingly, they were quite good.

We arrived at Pensacola Beach Yacht Club after about 4 1/2 hours of running before a 10-12 knot wind and 1-2 foot seas. It was a fun sail and a longer leg than we've ever experienced. At home we are lake sailors, and have a basically circular lake about 1 1/2 miles across. Being able to set the sails and go for several miles was a real treat.

Interesting Houses along the ICW

At one point a porpoise appeared about 6 feet off our starboard quarter. But one quick roll and it was gone. We didn't have time to grab a camera. We didn't see any more that day.

The entrance to the Pensacola Beach Yacht Club is interesting. Just west of the Pensacola Beach Boulevard Bridge you turn south and motor slowly down a narrow channel into a fairly hidden harbor. Apparently the slips are not owned or operated by the yacht club, but are part of the Little Sabine marina. The cost was $25/night and if we'd had the right wiring adapter (30 amp is apparently common) we could have charged the 12 v. battery and all the other electronics. Unfortunately, we only had a 25 amp "dogbone" adapter, so we were out of luck. It looked like we would find out how long our boat battery would last.

Pensacola Beach Boulevard Bridge

The group decided to meet at the yacht club's porch at 6:00 to decide where to have dinner, with Hemmingway’s being mentioned favorably. Gloria and I walked the beach in the early afternoon and did some shopping. But we got hungry and had a late lunch at Flounder's, which was very tasty. Unfortunately, that meant we weren't hungry by the time 6:00 rolled around. Several of the group decided to go to Hemingway’s, which was right across the street. They could not get in as the Mother's Day crowd had the restaurant booked up for the whole night. They then opted for Flounder's and agreed with us on the food.

Monday, May 12

We left Pensacola Beach heading for Big Lagoon.

We raised sails as soon as we cleared the channel out of the marina. It was a beautiful day and a great sail across the south end of Pensacola Bay. Just west of the Bay is a dredged cut where the ICW continues west into Big Lagoon. As soon as you get through the cut turn south and back east into a little bay.

Beach Anchored at Big Lagoon

It was here we were to spend the night and again practiced the art of beach anchoring. Gloria and I walked around the island a bit and climbed across the ruins of Fort McRee There was a campfire that night with hot dogs, marshmallows (sometimes made into s'mores and sometimes not) and one crew wrapped potatoes in foil and cooked them in the coals.

May, 13, Tuesday

Dawn at Big Lagoon

The anchorage at Big Lagoon is just south and hence right in front of, the runway for Pensacola Naval Air Station. The following morning (Tuesday) was supposed to have been training maneuvers by the Blue Angels, beginning at about 8:30. Several of us were on the top of a sand dune, cameras in hand, as 8:30 came and went. While waiting, a large catamaran ship came out of Pensacola Bay.  It was painted flat grays and black.  We could not see any insignia of any type.  We presume it was military and probably used by Special Forces.  (It has since been identified as an HSV, a high speed vessel used by the Navy.  Close inspection of the image shows the number “3” on the bow.) We waited until about 9:15 when we noticed that several boats of the Cruise were motoring out of the bay. Reluctantly, we walked down the beach, pulled up the shore anchors and got the engines started.

 Catamaran Warship, HSV type?

 Several boats (Serene Dream,  Champagne on Ice, Margaret Rose, Almost Done, Outrageous, Alien, Rhapsody in Sea, Line Dancer, and probably someone I've forgotten) left Big Lagoon anchorage about 9:15 to go to Pirate's Cove.  Pirate’s Cove is reputed to be the inspiration for Jimmy Buffet’s song, Cheeseburger in Paradise. The rest were returning to Palafox Marina or to Pensacola Beach Yacht Club.

At this point I should explain that the traditional "farthest point" destination after Big Lagoon is Bear Point Marina with a celebration dinner at Flipper's. But there was a big storm system a few weeks earlier that dumped huge amounts of rain. Obviously, the level of the ocean didn't rise, but runoff water pouring down the land flooded Flipper's, causing it to close.  So the dinner celebration was moved to Pensacola Beach Yacht Club on Wednesday. This left Tuesday night more or less unplanned. The group that continued west would stop at Pirate's Cove for lunch, then go past Bear Point Marina to explore Ingram's Bayou. A couple of crews expressed an interest in maybe anchoring there for the night.  Others would continue a mile or so to Barber Marina, which is new, modern and well-equipped.  But it lacks a restaurant, reducing its appeal as an overnight stop.

It was a quiet, uneventful sail/motoring down Big Lagoon and the ICW, avoiding a couple of towboats with barges.  The barges are probably the biggest threat faced by sailors on this part of the ICW.  They just can’t turn or stop very quickly, so it is vital that small craft avoid them.  Since our draft can be easily reduced by raising the keel, we usually left the ICW channel and gave barges as much room as they wanted.

 Towboat and Barges 

The winds were picking up as we crossed Perdido Bay. While Gloria was at the helm and doing a great job with tiller and mainsheet, she made one little mistake. She was paying so much attention to the sails that she ignored a sudden “beep-beep-beep” from the GPS/Depth sounder, as she left a buoy on the wrong side and sailed onto a shallow sandbar. The shallow water alarm sounded for a couple of seconds before we stopped moving forward.  If the wind had been stronger we could have had a problem. As it was, a couple turns on the winch raised the keel and got us moving again. 

My burger at Pirates Cove was tasty, but so thick it was hard to bite.  We picked up t-shirts and were ready to sail on.

Pirates Cove Restaurant and Bar

The game plan was to then sail around to Ingram's Bayou.  At the mouth of Ingram's, we dropped in line behind Margaret Rose and motored slowly up the bayou. Every time we thought we had reached the end, another section would open up. It was quite beautiful and completely undeveloped. We finally went as far into the bayou as we could, and the water began to shallow to less than 6 feet. We decided to put the engine in reverse and turn around. For some reason, the engine died and could not be restarted. We quickly put out an anchor to wait for other boats, and hopefully get towed on to Barber Marina.

Besides the beauty of the surroundings, one of the reasons our group was poking into this bayou were reports that dolphins are common up here. Maybe we would see some while we waited.  After about 15 minutes three other boats from our cruise appeared. We briefly discussed our engine problems and it was decided that Outrageous would tow us. We raised the anchor and passed them a line. It only took about 20 minutes to be towed to Barber Marina. They dropped us in a slip and we started to look at the engine. Greg, from Almost Done, said the slip we were in was too exposed and the waves would make it difficult to work.  He brought his boat around and towed us to a more protected slip in a space near the store (closed for the night) and the other C22s in the cruise.

Serene Dream early Wednesday morning

Roger (from Champagne on Ice) is an engine mechanic on the boats used by drillers around offshore oil rigs and has had many years’ experience working on boat engines of all types.  He came over and guided me through the process of clearing and cleaning the outboard's carburetor, right there in the cockpit. The only glitch was the jet in the middle that we couldn't break free to remove and clean. I had my doubts as I installed the (sort of) cleaned carburetor. Nevertheless, it fired right up when I pulled the starter rope. Now I could relax a bit.

Anita (from Outrageous) suggested each crew bring whatever they wanted and put it out for a potluck dinner. Her idea was a smashing success.  There was way more than we could eat and it was all delicious.  

May 14, Wednesday

Our day started out well.  After breakfast we were cleaning up and learned from another cruiser that the grounds of the Marina held a number of statues.  The Margaret Rose was changing crew (one brother leaving, another joining), so they had the car the arriving brother drove to get there.  The departing brother would drive it back to Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club to be there at the end of the cruise.  But for now, four or five people were driving around looking at the statues.  Gloria and I set off walking to see the ones that were close-by.  As we were approaching the last statue, it began to sprinkle rain.  We quickly took photos and headed back to the boat.  About halfway back the rain intensified and we ran to the main building with the store.   That let us get much closer to the boat before making the dash for it.  I knew a couple of boats were waiting on us before leaving, so I shouted to let them know we would be ready in a couple minutes.  The outboard caught with the first pull and we headed out.

Rhapsody In Sea under gathering clouds

Once clear of the Marina and back in the ICW, we all raised sails for the trip around to and across Perdido Bay.  The rain stopped but winds were picking up and at one point we decided to fire up the outboard and take down the sails.

The engine would not start!

We knew that in less an hour we would be entering a very narrow and protected part of the ICW.  There might be very little wind, as land and houses were tall in this stretch.  The thought of meeting a barge under those conditions was quite unsettling.  There was also the fact that waves of rain were beginning to sweep across us.  We radioed our situation to the others.  They said they were stopping for lunch at a restaurant at Holiday Harbor, just before the narrow section and we could look at the engine there.  By the time they told us where it was, we were at the place to turn out of the ICW.  We quickly dropped the genoa and came to the dock under main alone.

Now, I've been sailing many years and my previous boats either had no engine or had a little trolling motor.  But I was going to have to dock under sail and in full view of a veranda-full of folks having lunch.  Neptune smiled on me because I have seldom made a better docking than that.  The boat eased up and stopped inches from the dock.  Lines were handed ashore and we secured the boat.

Roger came over as I pulled the cover off the motor.  I figured we would be taking it apart again and clearing it.  Other cruisers also came over to watch.  I was starting to take off the carb, expecting to have to clear it again, when Robert from Line Dancer said “go ahead and take off the carburetor but don't do anything else.  I'll be right back.”

He came back a couple minutes later and held out a carburetor.  “This is my spare.  It's used, but it should work to get you by.”  Now, I knew these folks had boats that were well-equipped, but carrying extra engine parts was something I never thought about.  I quickly installed it.  It fired up and ran, but sort of rough.  Robert suggested pulling the spark plug as my efforts at starting with the other carburetor probably fouled it.  I found the spare I brought and installed it.  This time the engine fired easily and ran smoothly.  It also idled down like it never has before.  It appears that much of the trouble I've had with the engine has been caused by a bad carburetor.  I will remedy that once we get back.

Lunch was outstanding.  I had a fried grouper Reuben sandwich and fries.  As we sat at the table, the winds picked up and it started raining again.  A check of radar on our phones showed north-south bands of rain moving slowly east.  We decided to depart just as the next clear band arrived.

We all motored out and through the narrows.  Beyond them, it opened up into the Big Lagoon.  We motored or motor-sailed down hoping to get to Pensacola Beach before the next band of rain.  We didn't make it.  About ¼ mile from the cut between Big Lagoon and Pensacola Bay a storm hit.  The world turned gray as rain poured down.  The wind, which had been warm and from the northwest suddenly gusted cold from the southwest.  I was glad we were under bare poles as we passed through the cut and into the pass at the mouth of the Bay.

As we were entering the pass, the tide was falling, so there was a moderate current flowing out (south) into the Gulf.  The winds had been north to northwest so there were 2-3 foot waves.  But when the storm winds blew up from the southwest it didn't take long for it to confuse the seas and the waves to pile up to 3-4 feet.   We made it across the pass just as another storm gust hit.  This time it was from the north and was warmer.  Being from Oklahoma, when we felt warm air from one storm and cool air from another we immediately became concerned that the weather would turn violent, as in large hail and possible tornados.  We looked back and saw Champagne on Ice furl their genoa and head into the wind to drop their main.  At that moment they were lost behind a wall of rain.  We debated turning back but with an engine I didn't trust and not knowing the area, we didn't think that wise.  Besides, before the rain hit them, we saw Rhapsody in Sea turning toward them.  They had been on the cruise before and were more experienced. We would later learn that Champagne’s genoa “ballooned” as it was furling, producing a mini-spinnaker high in the rigging.  The storm winds knocked her on her ear, first to starboard, then to port, while Roger struggled to unfurl and re-furl the sail. While this was happening, they were being pushed closer to the sand bars and to the mouth of Pensacola Bay.  After a few scary minutes, the sail was furled and they motored away from the shallows. 

So we sailed on through the worsening storms, hoping to reach Pensacola Beach Yacht Club before dinner.  As we looked back we saw Line Dancer following us about a quarter mile back.  Almost immediately, they vanished behind a gray wall of rain.  Over the next couple of hours they would appear and disappear as the walls of rain swept past.

At this point one of our biggest fears began to make itself known.  There would be a flash of light followed in several seconds by the rumble of thunder.  Here we were, in the open water during a thunderstorm, sitting at the base of a 25 foot aluminum mast!  Not where we wanted to be!!  Our other big fear was that the mist would part to reveal the huge bow of a string of barges bearing down on us.  Combine that with a motor I still didn't trust and I was getting just a bit anxious.

The wind shifted again to the northwest and the waves had the full length of Pensacola Bay to build.  My hope was to get around the point and into the Santa Rosa sound as quickly as we could before the waves got too big.  But we were wrapped in rain so heavy that we couldn't see the shore anywhere.  The world was reduced to water and gray rain for 360 degrees.  The depth sounder/GPS had been giving us problems, turning off at irregular intervals.  It appears I need to replace the electrical panel in the boat, but this was no time to find that out.  Fortunately it stayed on the entire afternoon.  For several hours all we could do was watch the screen and aim for the buoy it showed us was ahead.  It seemed like hours before we saw it emerge from the mist ahead.  It felt like making landfall after being at sea.  A little while later the hulk of the Pensacola Beach Boulevard Bridge appeared ahead.  Although it disappeared a couple of times in waves of rain, we knew we were getting close to our destination.

Finally, as we got to the entrance to the channel into Little Sabine lagoon, the rain eased up.  We motored in and tied up in the same slip we had occupied on Sunday night.  The storms were now past us and the other boats followed in over the next half hour or so.

Storms have Passed, peaceful sunset

May 15, Thursday

The winds were blowing over 20 knots so most of us stayed put in Pensacola Beach/Little Sabine.  Over the course of the day the winds dropped a bit and a couple of brave souls left around noon for the long trip back to Spectre Island, as called for by the itinerary.  We walked the beach, shopped, had another good meal at Flounder’s and a good night's sleep.

Wind & Waves on the ICW

May 16, Friday

We awoke about 7 a.m. to find most of the fleet was gone.  Either they were very quiet or we were sleeping soundly.  I suspect the latter.  We got up, grabbed some breakfast, and got ready to depart.  There would be three of us bringing up the rear, Champagne on Ice, Almost Done, and us.  We motored out then raised sails.  About noon the winds began to die, and since we had to get back to the Yacht Club, we fired up the engine.  It caught first pull and ran beautifully.  I am now convinced that my engine problems have been caused by the carburetor the whole time.  I will be ordering a new one ASAP.

The trip was uneventful and we loaded Serene Dream back on the trailer for the trip home.  The club has freshwater hoses at the top of the ramps to wash off the salt water after launching or loading.

The parting dinner was a crawfish boil and we learned the art of eating boiled crawfish, also called “mud bugs” in some areas.

It was a great trip, and one that we want to do again.  We're not sure we want to do it twice in a row, as Gloria only gets limited vacation from one of her part-time jobs.  We think we'd like to do something different next year, but time will tell.  It really was a lot of fun.  We learned a lot and I would recommend it to any C22 sailor.