Riding the Bucking Gulf

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We dawdled around Tuesday morning, waiting for winds to die down and temps to climb. We finally headed out late in the morning. We went south on the marked channel, then went through Government Cut on St. George Island. The sun was shining and the water was beautiful in the Gulf of Mexico. Dolphins swam by to greet us and the winds were mostly blocked by the island. We anchored not far off the beach by St. George Island State Park, then had Sara and Trevor raft up after dropping their stern anchor. We hoped this would keep us facing the waves instead of facing the wind and taking the waves on our beam. It worked for a while, but after we finished supper, the waves got bigger and we really started rocking. Both boats were rocking in the beam sea, but at different rates, so we had Sara and Trevor move off and anchor solo.

We were rocked all night to an uncomfortable degree. Every horizontal surface emptied its contents. What didn’t fall, I set on the floor to keep from falling. We were rocking too much to do the supper dishes, so after picking them up off the floor where they’d fallen, I just put them in the sink for tomorrow. All the wood joints in the boat were creaking and there was a tink-tink sound that we couldn’t identify. I finally realized it was wrenches in the tool cupboard banging against each other. It finally calmed down some around 2am, then the wind shifted around 5am, and our anchor slipped. So we started the engine, talked to Sara and Trevor, who were ready to move on, too, and headed east in the predawn twilight. It was still pretty rolly, so we ducked back inside the islands into St. George Sound, where the water was a little calmer.

By the time we got to the eastern end of Dog Island, the water was smoother and the wind had lessened. We thought we might head to St. Marks, but realized we couldn’t make it before dark. So we headed north to Alligator Harbor, escorted part way by dolphins swimming around the boats.

The wind is supposed to get strong again tonight, and the temps are supposed to drop into the 20’s. We’re hoping the forecasts are wrong again, as they seem to perpetually be in this area.

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Photos

Birds on the Jetty
Government Cut through St. George Island

Beautiful Gulf of Mexico
While it was still being nice.

Cape St. George Lighthouse
on St. George Island

St. George State Park
sand dunes

Dolphins
they play hard to get when you have a camera handy

Sunset over St. George Island
not over open water yet

Sara Fishing
It was too cold to fish for long

Comments

[Barbara]

Hope no one gets sick. Gosh y'all are really going to be ready for calm seas and warm weather! STAY SAFE AND STAY WARM ~ LOVE YOU ALL.