Enjoying St Josepg Bay and Port St Joe

I did manage to make it into St Joseph Bay and I was anchored up snugly in Eagle Harbor by 11pm. I took a quick hot shower and was out until daylight the next day. Eagle Harbor is a little deepwater area that was tidally carved out once upon a time that there wasn’t a land bridge connecting Cape San Blas to the CSB peninsula, so it was deep right up near shore. I hopped in the dinghy to explore CSB state park which occupies 8 or 9 miles of the peninsula.  It was a beautiful locale, with a long beach followed by immense sand dunes in hills and valleys with old growth pines and other Florida scrubs. I walked a good distance along the beach with the intent of hitching a ride back, but I met some hikers who informed me it’s 100% primitive out at the end, and they were walking back to the campsites which mark the end of the road.  It’s a good thing I talk to people, otherwise I might have given myself a long walk back.

I turned around, and overall I thoroughly enjoyed the 7 miles or so that I walked along the beach. The weather Sunday was lovely, so I returned to the boat in order to do some laundry. I knew temperatures would be getting colder, and I hadn’t the time to do laundry before I left Niceville, so I needed to ensure I had ample clean clothes. The laundry session started off warm but a high level series of clouds cooled the sun, and this was quickly followed by cool winds. I ended the evening by bringing all the clothes inside and running the generator to drive my dehumidifier all night. This was annoying, but lovely in the respect that I was able to do it.

Monday I should have really sailed back home. The winds would have been perfect to push me back, but I was having fun and wanted to enjoy a cruising week while I could. I relocated the boat to be anchored more snugly in Eagle harbor, mostly to avoid the fetch I got while further out. I did a sewing project to make a new sailing tether with elastic in the legs that keeps them retracted. I think I will enjoy this bit of sailing kit as I will hopefully trip over the jacklines and tether less, and be more safe. I also took apart the inverter to discover that all 6X30A blade fuses had failed.  I unsoldered them and noticed that 2/8 of some power transistors in a bank had failed and spurted their smoke out. I can fix the fuses and replace the transistors, but I suspect the device is toast.

I say I should have sailed home Monday, because it was a warm and lovely day with perfect winds to blow me back to Destin. As I went to sleep Monday I was ready for a bit of a storm, but I was met with a winter storm that rained heavily after midnight and all Tuesday. This was a cold, misty rain that wouldn’t let me get off the boat without receiving a soaking. As the rain fell the temperature steadily dipped and I curled up in blankets while I read copious volumes of SciFi. This was a bit of a miserable day, and I get antsy just sitting on the boat when I want to be out exploring. I also took a rather long boredom-induced nap in the middle of the day that was actually counterproductive as it precluded decent sleep Tuesday night.

I was quite happy that I had received a new sleeping bag marketed as -5F from Amazon the day before I left on this trip. While I don’t believe the marketing claims one bit, the outside weather dipped to 34F while the interior temperatures were about 10F higher. I stayed toasty inside the bag in combination with my regular sheets, so I was in no fear of actually freezing, until I woke up. Wednesday morning was damn cold, and it was hard for me to get motivated to do much but get warmer. The winds were predicted to grow very strong, up past 30 kts.  I would be sheltered by any waves but the wind would preclude a trip to shore, as would the temperature.

I’m super cheap and almost never frequent marinas, but considering I’m only eating groceries I felt I could splurge on my comfort. I knew of St Joe marina just 5 nm across the bay, and the lure of AC power and its concomitant  heat was too much. By 10AM I was raising the muddy hook to steam across the bay and get hooked up.

This marina is quite well situated, and I was so pleased that they let me borrow a 30 Amp shore power cable.  I had left mine at the dock because I foolishly believed that I wouldn’t need it because “I never stay at marinas”. After spending a few days freezing inside the boat, 111$ seemed a small price to pay for 2 days of comfort. I have the additional benefits of being able to go explore the cute little town of Port St Joe, and one musn’t ever forget how lovely a long hot shower is.

The staff at this marina is exceptional, and did I mention they are letting me borrow a 30 Amp shore power cable for free?! Every morning there’s a bit of a gathering in the ship’s store around coffee, the news and a sailor’s favorite subject, the weather. There are 3 other cruising sailboats tied at the end of the dock with me, one Pearson 385 headed to Tampa from Texas, and a Pacific Seacraft 37 and an Irwin 38 headed back to Texas from Tampa. I spoke to most of the captains and they are all nice folks, boxed in here to avoid the near record low temperatures.

Wednesday I walked the entire town after a refreshing hot, long shower and enjoyed talking to a few locals. This is a quite laid back Old Florida town that hasn’t had much going on since the paper mill disappeared 20 years ago. It’s certainly very walkable and has a nice downtown strip with a multitude of stores that cater to tourists and locals alike. I think this is a very nice town for any cruiser that passes this way, with a nice marina.

The lovely quantity of heat allowed me to have decent sleep, although I had to wake at 1AM to retie some lines as the wind had shifted. However by 7AM when I woke, the boat was no longer moving but was instead well stuck in the oyster mud bottom. At least I wasn’t alone, two other sailboats were on the bottom. At least I was reasonably upright, the Pearson 385 next to me exhibited an uncomfortable 15 deg list. Given the barometric pressure rise as well as the tide charts, it might be difficult to get out of here Friday.  I’m paying careful attention today at which point I should start floating again.

In the mean time I’ll enjoy the heat and probably go trekking through town in the afternoon.