Crossing from Apalachicola to Tampa

[Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi]

I crossed coming south and north from the same general area last fall and spring. I had a waypoint about 10 miles SW of Cape San Blas. I used Sailflow for forecasting and it was excellant. I was advised to key off the West Tampa buoy and ONLY GO if the forecast for that buoy was less than 10 knots and less than 2 feet seas. My wife does not like rough ocean and following that advice, we made it smoothly across and back in the spring - and she wasn't upset by conditions encountered. Even with a low wind and wave forecast, we saw some 4 foot waves and winds in the 15 to 20 knot range for limited periods of time.

I would personally avoid Apalachicola and go out Port St. Joe or just direct from Panama City. The water east of Cape San Blas is shallow and during our fall crossing we saw a cluster of 8 shrimp boats at nigh, no AIS, and zigzagging the shoals south of the Cape. Even with radar, it was interesting dodging those guys at night.

I would not go to Steinhatchee or Cedar Key in my boat with 5 feet of draft. This is a much longer and much more exposed route in my opinion a,d will subject you to possible grounding unless you are very shallow draft.

Hope your trip works out, but the key to a successful trip across is to minimize exposure through shortest route, good weather forecasting and then get across the fastest way possible.

 

[sailaway78]

Skinny Water

STeinhatchee has a lot of really skinny water. Have no idea why they would tell him to go in there. It's also farther. I have made the crossing from Ft. Meyers to Panama City in a Cherubini 33, and it was a nice trip. No problems, and that boat is certainly capable.

 

[Rick Webb]

Roads in the Big Bend

When this area was settled in fact all the way to Pensacola the main form of transportation was by water. There are lots of rivers and streams that flow north and south which precluded many roads running east and west. Port Saint Joe was a major port shipping cotton from Georgia and Alabama. Much of the area is still undeveloped. The beaches kind of peter out around Carabelle and during the winter you can almost walk from there to Cedar Key and Just north of Tarpon Springs as it is so shallow. When you get a wind out of the south the seas get so choppy and confused it is a very uncomfortable ride. The fetch piles up as it gets shallower I've seen sets coming in from three different directions all at once.

Apalachicola is one of the best things about making that trip for the food alone I would not miss it. Heading south from St Joe is fine but I would not endorse heading there coming north unless you know it real well it can be a bit confusing especially after a long crossing where you are not at 100%. St Marks is a fun town to visit as well but it is really not on the way to anywhere else.

 

[RTB]

We are heading out tomorrow morning from Carrabelle at 7 am. I can't wait to find deep water. I have been running channels since the beginning of October when we left Pickwick Lake in Tennessee. After consultation with the marina staff at the Moorings (great place to stop) they persuaded me to go straight across to Steinhatchee then work south down the buoys.

Thank you all for the input. I will let you know how the run turns out.

I wonder if he crossed?

 

[frankiedogs]

I crossed Sunday morning and made it to Bradenton yesterday morning. I am just now getting a chance to catch up on everything. It was a nice sail. The wind died on us Sunday afternoon and we had to motor until dark. The wind then really picked up and the waves increased to 3-4 foot off of our stern. We were surfing and going too fast and I dropped all sail except for a slip of the headsail which slowed the boat down and the autopilot could keep up. Yesterday was uneventful except for the barrage of crab traps EVERYWHERE. I had to hand steer to avoid them. Who know how many I ran over in the day, but at least we didn't foul the prop or the rudder because it was pretty dark out without much moonlight.

We skipped Steinhatchie and cut our turn short and pretty much stayed far offshore. I agree there was a lot of skinny water. I never let the water get less than 35 foot under the keel on the way until we hit Tarpon Springs then we were in 25-30 foot of water.

 

[frankiedogs]

@Sumner. One of the things that I got tired of was the really skinny water on the way down here. Everything in 12' and under and it was really tiring always worrying about grounding the boat. My keel is 5' and I stuck the keel twice in mud looking for an anchorage coming down the Tombigbee. I was pining for deep water by the time we hit mobile. The total time from Pickwick to Tampa Bay was 19 days. I felt like Jack Sparrow when we hit the marina.

@ Rick, I think the jump to Steinhatchee is the common route now for the loopers and it is now standard practice to send people way. There was a man, who is now retired, that started to send the loopers that way and I think the practice is now common. It also keeps the local out of trouble if the weather kicks up and someone gets hurt following the straight path route.

 

[Rick Webb]

Crab Traps

One of the advantages to taking the more direct route across.

Most everyone I know heads south of Tampa Bay, certainly no further north than Tarpon Springs.

One issue with the area is there is no Coast Guard Station Between Yankeetown and Panama City. There was a Cutter based in Carrabelle but I believe it has moved. My experience has been you actually see more boats on the direct rout than you do on the northern route.


Checked, there still is a Cutter in Carrabelle. The Cutter I was thinking of was replaced with a new one.

 

[Sumner]

@Sumner. One of the things that I got tired of was the really skinny water on the way down here. Everything in 12' and under and it was really tiring always worrying about grounding the boat. My keel is 5' and I stuck the keel twice in mud looking for an anchorage coming down the Tombigbee. I was pining for deep water by the time we hit mobile. The total time from Pickwick to Tampa Bay was 19 days. I felt like Jack Sparrow when we hit the marina.

Thanks for the update. Now that I have to sell the Endeavour and will be doing everything with the Mac again shallow water is not a big deal if it isn't rocks as the non-weighed centerboard swings up upon contact and so does the rudder. With those up 20 inches of water is enough and with the CB part way up and the rudder down a little under 3 feet will work. Now that I'm going back to the Mac I'm really looking forward to getting into more remote ares and Rick added another with St. Marks (looks interesting on the charts and Google Earth ).

You guys have a great trip and winter,

Sumner

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[bawlmer]

If you are indeed going into Steinhatchee make sure you contact the local marina there before proceeding in. That is a tricky inlet and local knowledge is helpful. They don't call it Dead Man's Bay for nothing. It has an interesting history.