Arriving Home to Burnt Store Marina

Pictures taken by our friends.

The End of the Trip

Fuzzy’s big adventure is over. He completed The Great Loop with Nana and Papa. Look at the placemats Fuzzy sent you to see where he went on his trip.

Fuzzy really enjoyed traveling and he is glad he got to go along. He saw a lot of new places, met a lot of nice people and learned a lot of new things. Fuzzy will always have many good memories of this trip.

Fuzzy is glad he could share the trip with his cousins and hopes you enjoyed reading about his adventures. Fuzzy hopes you will be able to see many different places. Be sure to say yes if you get the chance to travel.

Sarasota, FL – Burnt Store Marina, FL - November 14, 2008

We did it! We returned to the port we left 8 months ago, arriving in Burnt Store Marina on Friday, November 14, at 2:00, after traveling 6017 miles and spending 227 days on the boat.

Our friends, Dennis and Judy and Bob and Margaret met us at the dock and helped us celebrate. Champagne for all!

It was a beautiful day for the last day of this trip. We had the anchor up and were underway at 7. The sky was overcast with little wind. It turned partly cloudy around 10 and the wind picked some, but we had a very smooth ride.

This trip enabled us to see parts of the country we probably wouldn’t have seen from a vantage point that many people don’t get to have. We have met many wonderful people, both those living and working in the places we visited and those traveling by boat, as we were.

In retrospect, doing the loop in less than 1 year prevented us from spending as much time in some areas as we would have liked. It also kept us away from family and friends for longer periods of time than we would have liked. Those people who spend several years doing the loop may have a better idea. They go home more frequently and for longer periods of time.

There are parts of our trip we would like to re-visit. We particularly enjoyed the east coast, Canada and the Great Lakes.

Although we are very happy to be back on land for a while and see our families, we look forward to spending some more time on our boat.

Clearwater, FL. – Sarasota, FL - November 13, 2008

We went to Frenchy’s for dinner last night with Kay and Gene. It was celebratory meal of sorts for having survived the gulf crossing. You wouldn’t think a restaurant by that name would specialize in seafood, but they do. We all had grouper sandwiches that were excellent.

We slept in today. We had been undecided whether to stay in Clearwater another day or continue on towards Burnt Store Marina. But, since we are both anxious to get back, we decided to leave today. However, our start was at a much more reasonable hour, 8:30.

The forecast had been for scattered showers today, but it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day. We also had a very smooth ride for the first part of the day. We were traveling south, into a southerly wind. A very calm, breezy trip.

We were back out in the gulf for the first part of today rather than taking the ICW. We saved about 15 miles by doing that as well as not having to slow down for the numerous no wake zones. After crossing Tampa Bay we got back into the ICW. The winds picked up just as we were getting out of Tampa Bay. We’re glad we were in more protected waters.

We anchored at 3:30 in Roberts Bay near Sarasota. 56.8 miles today. The picture is of our new burgee, indicating we have completed the loop.

Cedar Key, FL. - Clearwater, FL. - November 12, 2008

We both slept very well last night. In fact, we slept straight through the night, and that is an extremely rare occurrence. It was probably due to the cumulative effect of the last 2 days rough seas and the fact that we didn’t sleep much the previous night.

The anchor was up and we were underway at 6:45. The day started out pretty cloudy and calm. It was much nicer than the previous 2 days. However, Mother Nature was just playing with us. As soon as we got back in the channel and out of the protection of the islands, the waves and wind picked up. Certainly not as bad as the past 2 days, but again, an uncomfortable ride.

After a couple of hours of this, the wind died and the rest of our day was nice and smooth. Today was also nice and warm. A change from the cold of the past 2 days.

Everything was going well, everything had been going well. Too good to believe, right? Right. So, Beth was driving while also keeping an eye out for crab pots, which are scattered all over the gulf. While avoiding 2 crab pots to port she ran over one dead ahead. The line cutters by the props did cut the line, so the trap was cut loose. But we did have the float and about 25’ of line trailing us. We put the boat in neutral, Beth picked up the line out of the water with a boat hook and Darrell cut it as close to the boat as possible. Luckily, the propeller seems to be just fine. We’ll get the rest of the line when we pull the boat out of the water.

We arrived in Clearwater, FL at 4:20 p.m., after 84.6 miles.

Last year, in 2007, we took our boat on a shakedown cruise from Burnt Store Marina up to Clearwater, FL and back again. So, although we’re not back to Burnt Store Marina where we started our trip, we have completed “The Great Loop”, because we crossed our wake as we entered Clearwater Inlet. We have encircled the eastern portion of the U.S. by water. We are now fully “looped”! We have replaced our AGLCA “In Progress” flag with the gold flag that signifies a “Completed” loop.

We will wait to hold our major celebration for a few days until we return to Burnt Store Marina.

Steinhatchee, Fl – Cedar Key, FL. - November 11, 2008

Our anchorage last night was about 5 miles offshore in 18 feet of water. Everything was quite smooth and nice until midnight when, with a combination of wind and current, the boat began rocking quite a lot. We were both awake on and off through the rest of the night.

We were up at 6 and raised the anchor at 6:45. Although the wind was forecasted to be subsiding and coming from the east, it didn’t start out that way. The first 5 hours of our day were quite uncomfortable, almost the same as yesterday. The seas were confused with rolling waves.

Around noon the wind subsided and the last 1½ hours of our day were quite nice and calm. There were more dolphins again today, after it became nice.

We anchored at 1:45 this afternoon off of Cedar Key. Not as long a day as yesterday, but almost as tiring.

Carrabelle, FL – Steinhatchee, FL - November 10, 2008

Because of the weather forecasted for the next few days, if we didn’t leave today, it would be several more days before we could.

With the wind today coming from the NE and changing to E later today and tonight, an overnight crossing directly to Clearwater wouldn’t be a wise thing to do. Darrell & Gene discussed options with a man at the marina who had much local knowledge.

It would be better for us to stay on the upper part of the gulf today and go east to Steinhatchee and spend the night. We would be able to make that crossing during the day and would anchor just off shore. Tomorrow, with the wind coming from the east, we would be able to hug the coastline while going south. That sounded like a good plan and, although it would take 1 or 2 extra days to get to Clearwater, we would be able to leave today.

We got underway at 6:45, just before sunrise. The first 3-4 hours were very uncomfortable. We were getting 3-5’ seas and taking spray on the flybridge.

We made preparations to steer from below, if necessary, but found we felt more secure on the flybridge. Also, we were less prone to get queasy. We just had to be extremely careful when going below. Life jackets were on at all times.

We were traveling slower than we would have liked to in order for Kay & Gene on Sojourn to travel at the speed best suited for them. After a bit we sped up and turned our bow into the quartering seas to make for a more comfortable ride. We ran off on a more northerly course for a while and eventually increased the distance between us and Sojourn. Around noon the wind subsided some and we turned directly toward Steinhatche as the ride became smoother. Many dolphin this afternoon. It was wonderful to watch them.

We anchored in Steinhatchee Harbor at 4:15. Sojourn anchored a short distance away. 78.6 miles. Long day.

Apalachicola, FL – Carrabelle, FL - November 9, 2008

We had a short run today, only 30 miles, so Darrell did some work in the engine room before leaving at 10:30. He’s still trying to get the autopilot to work consistently. He also transferred fuel from one tank to another.

It was a nice day for traveling. Quite calm, however the wind picked up shortly before we got to Carrabelle at 2:15. We only saw a few dolphins today, but did see some eagles.

Kay and Gene on Sojourn will arrive here later this afternoon. We will look at the latest weather forecast and determine what path to take. The forecast for a direct crossing is iffy and is not expected to improve for quite a while. During November, there are only an estimated 4-5 days that are considered good weather days for a direct crossing. It may be better to head towards Steinhatchee tomorrow while the winds are out of the North/Northeast - and then run close to the coastline as the winds are expected to come out of the east for several days beginning Tuesday.

Fuzzy Sliding Down the Hill

When Fuzzy was taking a walk with Nana and Papa and Aunt Keely, he saw some kids sliding down a grass hill on a piece of cardboard. He had never heard of that. He thought you needed snow to slide on.

Fuzzy asked the kids why they were sliding on grass and found out that in Tennessee they don’t get much snow. They still like to slide down hills and they found out they can do it on the grass.

Fuzzy thought that really looked like fun and wanted to try it. A little girl named Brooke said she would take Fuzzy for a ride. He had a lot of fun!! Have you ever gone down a grass hill on a piece of cardboard?

Panama City, FL – Apalachicola, FL - November 8, 2008

We left Panama City a little after 7 this morning and continued our trip in the ICW. Kay and Gene from Sojourn are also leaving today, but will travel in the gulf, outside of the ICW, due to the height of their mast. There are too many low wires and bridges for them to travel in the ICW. They also need a 6’ depth and some of the ICW is more shallow than that. We will meet up with them again tomorrow, at Carrabelle.

Part of our travel today was through Wetappo Creek, a beautiful, winding river. There were many fishermen out today, probably because it was the week-end. We had to slow down quite often to avoid waking them.

We docked at Apalachicola Municipal Marina at 2:30 this afternoon. We got off the boat and walked around town. It’s a nice, small touristy town with old Victorian homes, many converted to bed and breakfasts.

Panama City, FL – November 7, 2008

We, along with Kay and Gene ate pizza last night on our flybridge. It was nice to visit with friends and hear about their adventures. There was also a view of a beautiful sunset.

This morning they had us over to their boat for breakfast, which included Bloody Mary’s. Larry Rathbun, piloting a Nordic Tug, joined us. He has been traveling with Kay and Gene since the Mississippi River. They met when they were stuck together at a marina during the flood waters and they have pretty much been staying together since then.

The rest of the day was spent doing small chores and relaxing. Darrell washed the boat while Beth walked to the grocery store to pick up a few items. F18 jets were flying over us all day long. We are close to the Navy base in Pensacola and there must have been training going on.

Panama City, FL – November 6, 2008

Today was spent doing chores and maintenance on the boat. Darrell changed oil in the starboard engine, replaced zincs in the engines and oil coolers, changed the primary fuel filters and worked on fixing an autopilot problem. The autopilot will work for a while, then suddenly stop. After talking to the company that made it, Darrell checked a number of items and burnished the contacts on a power relay. We are hoping that fixes the problem.

While Darrell did all that, Beth walked to a marine supply store to buy some parts for the boat. Then she walked around downtown Panama City. There were a couple of nice shops.

Kay and Gene Jurrens pulled into the marina around 3 this afternoon. We had talked to them yesterday and knew they would be here. They are docked right next to us. We are planning to have dinner together, we think we’ll order pizza.

Fort Walton Beach, FL – Panama City, FL - November 5, 2008

Shortly after we left the dock at 7:30 we passed under a bridge and into Choctawatchee Bay. That is a large body of water but we had a nice, easy crossing.

We saw many dolphins. They came very close to the boat and were surfing next to us and also just ahead of us at the bow. The dolphins would often turn on their sides and look up at Beth and the boat. Beth spent much time shooting many, many pictures, just hoping to get a couple to turn out.

After crossing the bay we entered into a 20 mile canal that has been dubbed Florida’s “Grand Canyon”. Parts of it reminded us of the Badlands in the Black Hills. In this area we saw eagles soaring and an eagle nest. We also saw an airboat, probably taking a group of people on a tour. Through the canal we had the current with us. We were consistently running 9.8 or 9.9 mph.

Out of the canal and into St. Andrews Bay where we saw more dolphins. There was a pod of about 10 of them swimming behind us for a little while. It was an awesome sight.

We arrived at Panama City Marina at 3:00.

English Navy Cove, FL. – Fort Walton Beach, FL - November 4, 2008

We didn’t have a long way to go today, so we didn’t leave until 8:15. It was overcast this morning and a little chilly. About late morning the sun came out and it warmed up considerably.

One of the barrier islands we passed was marked restricted on the charts, was undeveloped and had nothing but several radar domes and a tall observation tower. The water on the gulf side of the island is a training area for US Navy pilots to drop ordinance so we figured the radar and tower was support for the training. We saw a C130 military plane flying around and Darrell saw a couple of fighter aircraft.

We had our first dolphin sighting since we’ve been back in salt water. Several of them were playing in the waterway. Beth didn’t get pictures of them.

We docked at Fort Walton Beach at 1:00. Fort Walton offers free overnight docking. There is no electricity, but it is a very nice pier with fingers and is within walking distance to town. We walked about a mile to West Marine and Napa and stopped at Publix for groceries on our way back to the boat. The waterfront area is anice park and the main street, just a block away, has a number of bar/restaurants, and neat shops
- a nice place.

Fairhope, AL – English Navy Cove, FL. - November 3, 2008

Now that it becomes dark earlier in the afternoon, we need to get an early start if we want to travel any distance during the day. We were up at 6:15 and on our way at 7.

The marina we stayed at the past 2 nights had been about midway down Mobile Bay and today we went 25 miles further before joining the ICW. On Mobile Bay we started plotting our course again and following it on the GPS – Darrell is happy! . On the Tenn-Tom Waterway all you do is keep it between the banks of the river and the red and green buoys.

We passed by Lulu’s Restaurant. Lulu, the owner, is Jimmy Buffett’s sister. It’s a popular stop because occasionally Jimmy will drop in.
Until we reach Carrabelle, FL, will be on the ICW. It’s nice to be back in salt water with barrier islands protecting us from big water. It’s also good to see sand again. There were beautiful beaches with dunes. It’s probably obvious we’re happy to be back in Florida.





We also passed Pensacola, FL. Pensacola is a large navy town, with the Pensacola Naval Air Station located there. That is the home of the Blue Angels. A couple of jets flew overhead as we passed by.












We dropped our anchor at 3:00. 65.7 miles and 8 hours.

Fairhope, AL – November 2, 2008

Fairhope is a beautiful town of around 12,000 that began over a hundred years ago when an adventurous group of people sought their personal utopia. It is located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay and they boast nearly a 0 crime rate. There are many boutiques and art galleries featuring local artists located in their downtown area.

While Darrell worked on the boat, Beth took the courtesy car to downtown Fairhope. Unfortunately, because it was Sunday, nearly every store was closed. She found only 4 open stores; a bookstore, 2 boutiques and the Fairhope Street Artists. Fairhope Street Artists is a gallery showing the works of many local artists. Each artist has their own wall and one of them was outside painting when she walked by. The pictures are of downtown Fairhope and inside one of the art galleries.

Darrell has been working on the autopilot, trying to get it working correctly. Beth cleaned the bumpers. Now that we are through with the locks, we hope to keep the bumpers cleaner.

Fuzzy and the Butterflies

Fuzzy really likes butterflies. He thinks they are so pretty and come in so many different colors. Fuzzy had seen many butterflies around the boat and Nana got some pictures of them. Then Fuzzy got to go the Butterfly House when he went to the aquarium with Nana, Papa and Aunt Keely. A Butterfly House is like an indoor garden. The butterflies get to fly around, but they can’t fly away. We get to walk in the house and see the butterflies up close. One butterfly came and sat on Auntie Keely’s camera and another one landed on Nana’s hand!!!

Fuzzy found out that butterflies have four wings and six legs and they taste with their feet! They also have two antennae and they use their antennae to smell. WOW!

Fuzzy likes butterflies so much that when he saw a butterfly chair he had to sit on it and have his picture taken.

Big Bayou Canot, AL – Fairhope, AL, - November 1, 2008

We pulled our anchor at 8:30 and very soon we were back into the waterway on our way to Mobile. Almost immediately we passed 1 tow and met 2 others. Both of the northbound tows were hauling coal.

Very soon we saw the Mobile skyline. YES!!! As we got closer to Mobile Bay the river traffic really picked up. There were many tows and also many barges tied to shore waiting for a tug. The number of tows indicated how close we were getting to a major commercial center.

The scenery had been slowly changing for the past few days. We have been seeing cypress trees, tall grasses and more marshy looking areas.

As we cruised through Mobile’s harbor, we passed what Darrell believes was a Prototype of a Navy stealth ship. It was a catamaran and did not appear to be commissioned since the hull number was painted over. We found a picture of it (on the web) of it being launched. Rumored to be commissioned the USS Indianapolis.

We passed the cruise ship terminal where Norwegian cruise ship “Spirit” was docked. Beth mentioned she would be up for a cruise and would like to be “pampered” for a while. We passed a working dredge and an old Coast Guard ship that was aground and abandoned.

We got to downtown Mobile, mile 0 of the Tenn-Tom waterway. We are glad to be out of the river system. We were now in Mobile Bay. On our way to our marina on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay we saw fishermen dragging nets to catch fish. The gulls were all over the boat, hoping for some food.

We arrived at our marina at 11:30, put on 128 gallons of diesel and docked. We took the courtesy car and went into town. It was good to get off the boat for a time.


We came back to the boat for a while, then took the car again and went to dinner. After driving around checking out places to eat we decided on the Fly Creek Café, just across the creek by boat, but about 3 miles away by car. It’s a boaters hangout with lots of character and local color. Local artwork (Fairhope is a artists community) hangs on the walls along with retro posters and black & white photos. It has a resident cat, pool table, Pac-man and great early 60’s music playing in the background.

The wine choices were chardonnay, merlot and white zinfandel. Beth ordered chardonnay and it was delivered in a small bottle with a plastic glass. When we asked what food they are known for our server told us it was the hamburgers and their fish, shrimp, and clam poor-boys. Darrell had a Fly Burger (regular, plain hamburger) and Beth ordered a Surge Burger. That was a Fly Burger with BBQ sauce, grilled pineapple, bacon and cheese. They were the largest hamburgers we had every seen and they were both extremely good. We were very happy with our choice of restaurants.

Upper Sunflower Bend Cutoff, AL – Big Bayou Canot, AL - October 31, 2008

There was fog again this morning. This is one of the boats we’re traveling with. Can you see him? He is anchored only 150’ feet from us. The fog lifted quickly and we were underway at 8:30.

We found there was a very large northbound tow in the midst of moving through a very narrow serpentine part of the river. He was 3 barges wide and took up nearly the entire channel while maneuvering from turn to turn. In this area we could not meet while both of us were moving. The tow said he would pull over to the side and let us pass.


We were now in ‘gator country and the first one we saw was dead, floating in the river. It wasn’t long until we found one sunning on the bank.












Suddenly, after rounding a bend we saw the S/V Sojourn anchored in a small inlet. Sojourn is a sailboat owned by our friends Gene and Kay Jurrens. They left Lake City, Minnesota in August and have cruised down the river systems on their way to Burnt Store Marina, which is also our destination. They also have a blog and we thought they were about 1 day ahead of us. We were surprised to overtake them.

When they didn’t answer their radio on 16, we decided to sneak up on them. They were down below and didn’t see us until we were quite close and Darrell blew the foghorn to get their

attention. We rafted up with them, and had a nice visit before leaving for our intended anchorage.

We anchored at Big Bayou Canot at 4:30.

Bashi Creek, AL – Upper Sunflower Bend Cutoff, AL - October 30, 2008

We were up at 7 and were hoping to get an early start, but we were fogged in. It was very cold and Darrell started the generator so we could get some heat.

We had anchored in a very narrow creek off the river and by 8 we could see the river and across to the other side. It seemed as though the fog was lifting and the 2 boats rafted to us left at 8. It was 10 minutes later, after raising both bow and stern anchors, that we followed. We were surprised when getting to the main channel the boats had stopped and were waiting for us. The

reason was extremely heavy fog. We found that the fog had burned off only in the areas the sun was hitting. There was still fog in the shaded areas. We had radar and crept ahead of them so we could lead. It was rough going for about 15 minutes. The pictures are when the fog had almost lifted.

Here is another example of how this river twists and turns. After we had been traveling 1 hour 15 minutes we had gone 9 river miles. It was 1.4 air miles.

We arrived at out last lock (the Coffeeville Lock &

Dam) a little before noon and were fortunate again that we didn’t have to wait for any commercial traffic. We were out of our last lock at 12:20. That’s a grand total of 107 locks.

After this lock we were only 4’ above sea level. The tide can now start to affect us.

We have met and passed many tows on this trip. Because all pleasure boats can maneuver easier than a tow in tight quarters, you always call the tow and ask them what side they want you pass on. For example, when meeting, they will let you know whether to pass on the 1 whistle (port to port) or the 2 whistle (starboard to starboard). They know the river much better than any pleasure boater and you do what they say. Generally when passing on a turn they have you pass on the inside of the tow.

We got to our anchorage at 4:30. It has finally started to warm up. It was absolutely beautiful this afternoon.

1 lock – total 107