- Gulf Coast Mobile to Key West - |
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Spirit Dancer is headed to Key West for the holidays. This means we travel to Carrabelle Florida via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and then go across the Gulf of Mexico in a 24 hour trip to Clearwater Florida. From there, we'll travel down to the Keys. First on the Gulf side and then at Marathon we'll go outside down Hawks Channel to Key West. Below are links to Google Maps of our location, links to marinas if applicable and links to Kem's blog on the Houston Chronicle. Most recent event on top. |
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Google Map |
Marina / Anchorage Comment |
Kem's Blog |
12-16-09 |
Galleon Resort & Marina is a time share property with floating docks, pool and private beach | "LAND HO!" View and comment on the post. |
12-15-09 Marco Island |
Marco Island Marina is a well protected marina just off the waterway - easy access. We left at 4 AM, the fog rolled in and we arrived Key West Bight at 4 PM in the sunshine. |
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12-14-09 Ft. Myers Beach |
Mile 0.0 at Ft. Myers. Salty Sam's Marina is a great place with floating docks and restaurant. | "ANOTHER CROSSING?" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " We had a wonderful off shore run today from our great slip at Salty Sam’s in Fort Myers Beach - complete with pirate ship and pirate party next to us (OK, not exactly Jack Sparrow, but who is?)... " |
12-13-09 Boca Grande |
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12-11-09 Sarasota |
Marina Jacks Marina in Sarasota. Stay an extra day because we were worn out and needed a rest and the boat parade was the next evening. When we left Sarasota, we quickly returned because the Port Engine temperature was way to high. Turns out the elbow on the raw water intact valve was packed with wood from our trip down river. Cleaned and got underway an hour later. |
"TENNESSEE TWIGS" "CHRISTMAS BOAT PARADE" "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" "LIFE IN A CIRCUS" |
12-9-09 St. Petersburg Harborage Marina |
Harborage Marina in St. Petersburg is pretty much downtown with 25 cent bus rides. Two day stay due to exhaustion from driving in the dense fog from Clearwater to here and due to bad storm moving through. |
"SLIGHTLY CHOPPY?" "TWINS" |
12-7-09 Clearwater Florida. |
Clearwater Florida Municiple Marina. A missing mark caused us to touch bottom. We were able to back off and resume our track into the marina. Two day stay to recover from the Gulf crossing |
"CAPRINGAS IN CLEARWATER" "THE CROSSING" on chron.Commons. |
11-29 to .... Carrabelle |
The Moorings. We're tied to the wall on West side of the entrance to the marina. The slips inside the marina are limited to boats with shallow draft and less than 30 feet in length. The slips around the outside of the marina with the tiniest of finger piers have seen better days. But the staff is friendly and exceptionally helpful. We stayed here during the tipple whammy storm system that blew through the Gulf and is now headed NE. | "IT SUCKS!" "STAGING FOR THE CROSSING" |
11-29-09 Apalachicola |
The same buildings that were here during my Coast Guard days are mostly still here today some 40 years later. Most all of them are gift shops, antique stores, marine oddities and restaurants. We went to "Up the River" with fellow LYC member Alan and Peg Hill. Later that night we had drinks with friends from The Woodlands, TX including LYC members Dick and Nancy Loughridge. | "PAPAS ICE HOUSE - SOUTH" "ADOPTED IN APALACHICOLA" "THE DITCH" View and comment on the post. |
11-28-09 Port St. Joe Marina |
Outside passage to Port St. Joe cut the travel time almost in half. Beautiful day on the Gulf. Great well protected marina. Friendly staff and a fun restaurant on property. | "GO OFF SHORE?" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Bob and I are very careful to chart our courses and plan our cruising days. We had mapped out a cautious route from Bay Point Marina to Port St. Joe Marina – all inside the safety of the Intrac... " |
11-25 to 27-09 Bay Point Marriott Marina, FL SPOT |
Bay Point Marriott Marina in Panama City was a great place to spend Thanksgiving. The Marriott Hotel always has a great spread for special holidays and this was no exception. Several other loopers where at the Bay Point Marina and the AGLCA Harbor Hosts invited fellow loopers over for a Thanksgiving feast. We're sorry we had to miss that event, but previous plans precluded the possibility. | "TRAIL OF TEARS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Bob did manage to drag me away from The Wharf at Baytowne to move on down the coast to a destination we have been anticipating for a long time – Bay Point Resort and Marina on Grand Lagoon in P... " |
11-23 to 24-09 Baytowne Marina Sandestin, FL |
Baytowne Marina at Sandestin, FL: Easy access off the GIWW. Staff and other boaters on hand to help you in. Easy stern in docking in the wide slips. The amenities are yet to be explored. Tram takes you where you need to go all around the huge resort including the Publix grocery. They have a courtesy car as well. One fellow Marine Trawler Owners Association member didn’t bat an eye when he offered us the keys to his suburban. Docktails started as soon as we had shore power connected. Today we plan to explore as much of the resort as we can. Kem hears the call of the great shopping gull. |
"WE'RE THANKFUL". "I COULD STAY HERE" |
11-21-09 Palafox Pier & Marina Pensacola, FL |
Palafox Pier Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL: The concrete breakwater protects the floating docks. Easy to access the wide slips. You’re right downtown. There were festivals going on all around from the “fire truck pull” competition amongst the areas high schools and other groups, to bands in the square, to “old town” excavation, restored buildings, and museums all just two blocks off Palafox street. Oh, and it you like to watch sports in a bar with loads of other dedicated fans, a couple blocks east of Palafox on Government street is an old interconnected brick complex of bars and restaurants. Much like the famous Pat O’Brian’s” in New Orleans but on steroids. What a fun raucous crowd of fans. |
"LYC REUNION" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " The Palafox Pier in Pensacola was our next destination and what a stop it was! First of all, we were scheduled to be there during several happenings – the historic Pensacola Village Fall Festiv... " |
11-20-09 Orange Beach Marina |
Orange Beach Marina, Orange Beach, AL: Getting in is easy from the Gulf, but requires some seamanship and navigation skills to access from the GIWW. Best to pull it up on Google Earth first. Once you see it from that perspective, it’s easy to find. Watch the current as it moves quickly in the narrow areas. Winter rates made the stop easy and there are two restaurants on property. We choose the informal and fun setting of Calypso Joe’s Caribbean Grill. We met the chef who hails from Jamaica and who has added his special touch to the menu. You’ll not be disappointed. |
"TALK THE TALK" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " I wasn’t real clear as to why we had scheduled the Orange Beach stop on our route, since it was just a short hop down the Intracoastal Waterway from Gulf Shores. Bob loved the run as he was re-... " |
11-19-09 Homeport Marina - LuLu's |
Homeport Marina, Gulf Shores, AL: Hail on 16, switch and answer on 68. Steve met us on the dock and guided us in. Thanks to Marina Life’s attention to detail, Capt. Craig had us already checked in by the time we got to the fuel dock. This is a marina that is built to ride out most any storm. Lucy Buffett’s restaurant, “Lulu’s” serves great food at a very reasonable price. Fast and friendly. The compound is more than what you’d expect and yet, exactly what you’d expect. We were there for one of the “Songwriters Festival” sessions. Three very talented artists playing tunes they’d written that others recorded and made famous. Several locations sponsoring sessions by different song writers. This is obviously a “not-to-miss” stop on the GIWW. |
"DOUBLE WHAMMY IN ALABAMY" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " There are some destinations that a boater just can’t pass up. Even though the trip from Dog River Marina in Mobile to Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores is just a short hop – who could resist... " |