Another Night, Another Gulf Passage

Although Grace and I swore we were done with overnights after our passage from Carrabelle to Cedar Key, we somehow found ourselves doing the exact same thing a short 24 hours later. Our last crossing had involved an afternoon spent researching tides and wind, but our decision for this crossing went something like:

*walking through grocery store aisle to find tomatoes*

“Hey, what if we did another overnight from Cedar Key to Tarpon Springs?”

*shrug* “When would we have to leave?”

“Probably, like, an hour?”

"Yeah, that makes sense with high tide."

“Alright, cool.”

*End scene*

This crossing was completely different than our last. Last time had been so foggy that I couldn’t actually tell you what the Gulf of Mexico looked like. This time, after heading forty miles offshore to avoid the problematic crab pots, the sky was the prettiest I have seen on this trip so far. Picture the Milky Way in a normal sky, and then extend that image to the rest of the sky. Every bit was blanketed in stars, and the water was calm enough that they were reflected perfectly into the water. It was like sailing through a snow globe of stars.

Sunrise the next morning was hands down the best sunrise I have ever seen. The sky was an explosion of bright orange, pink, and red. Moments like these make this boat trip worth all the tough days (and the four-day migraine I got after completing this crossing).

Exhausted, hot, and sweaty, we pulled into Tarpon Springs Yacht Club around 4 pm the next day, where everyone was indeed friendly, as the review on Active Captain says. Grace spent a few days exploring the Greek food scene at Tarpon Springs; I enjoyed a couple of showers and the local Panera. We also acquired a new water pump! (Shout out to Jackie from TSYC for driving us to West Marine.) Although it was sad to ditch our innovative party-cup manual pump system, it’s great to be able to wash dishes in a sink instead of a bucket.

We survived two of two (so far) overnight Gulf passages. To quote the United State Coast Guard after every broadcast, “Out.”

The prettiest sunrise I ever did see

Elpis on the Gulf

This overnight took place on December 21st

Maybe we should learn to take pictures that aren't also snap chats