Steinhatchee Florida

The weather for crossing to Tarpon Springs looked near perfect. The plan was to leave St. Mark’s around 11:00 and make the overnight run so we arrived in Tarpon Springs around lunch time. We had the morning to take care of boat projects. We haven't been able to raise the main since we left Mobile. The head winds have kept us motoring with an occasional boost from the jib. Dave wanted to add the reefing lines and make sure everything was ready for sailing, just in case. So we raised the sail, at anchor and found one of the slides had been loaded backwards, (that was me). Oh boy; it's an easy fix with a screwdriver but could have caused trouble had we not caught that mistake.

We headed out of our anchorage at 10:30, slowly making our way past Shields Marina in an attempt to get the last bit of wifi while we could. We wanted to send messages to family and friends about our plans and Dave hoped to get the weather report. We got to the mouth of the Gulf around noon, heading south at 120 degrees in a 10 mph headwind with light chop. We thought this looked like a good day even though Mystic was taking rollers. Right from the start we had to dodge crab pots. It is surprising that there are so many crab pots! They are everywhere including 20 miles offshore. The Gulf is shallow, crabbing must be very good!

Riding out the head winds

Crossing the Gulf under layers

We settled into our long journey, expecting it to take 26 hours. Dave spotted a flying fish and I saw a blue runner skip across the water. Dolphins joined us off and on throughout the day. We had to pay attention to those crab pots at all times. Late in the day, the rollers began to grow and the seas became confused. It was getting uncomfortable. Around 5:00 we were 15 miles offshore of Steinhatchee. This was do or die time for continuing the overnight to Tarpon Springs. We either had to go for it or turn into Steinhatchee right now! We checked the running lights and turned on the weather station only to learn that it had changed dramatically! The forecast called for the wind to shift to the southeast at 15 knots. This would mean 15 - 20 mph wind in our face in the dark. And there were those damn crab pots to worry about. We wouldn’t be able to see them after dark. We made the decision to turn in and stop at Steinhatchee. We would get some rest there, continue tomorrow to Cedar Key then get to Tarpon Springs on Saturday. This was the safest plan for us. We had to let go of the idea of crossing the big water of the Gulf and make our journey in little hops along the coast. The overnight would have been challenging. The little hops were difficult enough!

Under the Jib

Sun setting on the Gulf

Mystic Heads East to Steinhatchee

Dave turned Mystic eastward and headed downwind toward Steinhatchee. We were two hours offshore. Mystic was surfing down the big Gulf waves and rocking in the short wind waves. It was hard to steer so Dave had the tiller as I watched for crab pots and entrance markers. We made the first marker leading us in and were met by a dolphin escort. Several fishing boats passed us as we worked our way up to marker 46 where the Sea Hag Marina sits. Dave had called ahead so we knew where to dock. We slipped alongside the outside middle T-dock and tied off. No seeums attacked us relentlessly. We didn’t even bother hooking up to electric; just dove below and started swatting the little buggers. We'd never seen such a swarm. The next day the Dock Master told Dave it was the worst no seeum hatch they'd ever seen! We were covered in bites; itchy and miserable so we each took a dose of Benedryl and slept like babies. Today was a 69.8 mile journey in just under 10 hours; another tough day on the Gulf. We won't see much of Steinhachee but we are one step closer to Tarpon Springs.

Sea Hag Marina, Steinhatchee, FL