After a very long, difficult year of being caregivers, house builders, parents, and grandparents, the crew of Discovery has taken her out of the shed and we’re back on the road again.
On Nov. 5th, with a temperature of 17 degrees and in a snowstorm, we left Richfield, Utah and headed off for our new adventure. We were joined by new C-Dory owners of a 22 cruiser (Kurbit), Brent’s sister Joann and brother-in-law, Jeff.
Our cross-country trip had us “standing on the corner in Winslow, Az, watching for aliens in Roswell, NM, and eventually working our way towards a warm, sunny winter in Florida. After 5 days on the road, we met “Wild Blue” and crew in Apalachicola.
We had a great time in Apalachicola—thanks in great part to Mark Grove from Wefings Boat Dealership. What a terrific person that would do anything he could to make you comfortable—including inviting you to dinner at his house without getting permission from his wife, Anita. They were the best of hosts that boiled up a “mean” pot of shrimp and barbequed Spanish Mackerel for tacos that were out of this world. The evening was complete with wine and good conversation.
During the next two days we motored west on the GIWW to Panama City Marina. During the trip we had a few mishaps with the motors and the new impellors Brent had installed before leaving Utah. For future reference Sierra Part # 18-3031 does not fit a Honda BF 135—close, but that only counts in horseshoes. Luckily we had the old parts and we were in front of John’s house (partner of Wefings) at Bay City on the Apalachicola river. Mark gave us permission to use the launch ramp and raft up for the night. Jim also took the opportunity to replace his bilge pump that had seized up. We didn’t see any alligators on the launch ramp. The only blood that was shed was when Brent slipped on the slimy concrete.
The next day we meanered west and made a stop at the new courtesy dock in White City. We ended the day on the hook, in the north fork of Wetappo Creek. As the sun went down the “no-see-ums” came out. Kurbit and Wild Blue dinghyed to Discovery for wine and conversation. Great time!
Next stop was the Panama City marina. They were very hospitable with nice showers and laundry facilities. It was there that we truly saw our lives flash before our eyes as Mother Nature put on an hour long lightening display that included a strike of a sailboat mast within the marina. We hunkered down in our C-Dorys as the wind reached speeds of 57 kts. and it rained a couple of inches. The next few days were spent touring around Panama City in a rental car that was a bit too small for six. Brent considered riding in the trunk but we ruled that out. We shopped a bunch and ate at some great places.
On Nov. 17th (Monday) the wind had calmed and we decided to go out the pass to make the run from Panama City to Port St. Joe. Seas were 1-2 ft. and we ran comfortably for about 30 miles. This was Kurbits first run in the big water, and they did great. At Port St. Joe we went back to the GIWW and evening found us back at the Marina at Apalachicola. At that point we had traveled 125 miles and used 56 gal. of fuel. It was chilly, in the mid 30’s, and we were glad to have shore power to run our heaters.
The next morning, we loaded the boats back on the trailers and prepared to head south for warmer weather. We stayed in Busnell Fl. and it was still cold. Our original plan was to boat the west coast of Florida, but the weather forecast was for continued cold. We discussed options but decided the only ‘for sure’ warm weather was going to be in the Keys. We traveled the Keys two years ago with Wild Blue and loved the area. The Kurbit crew was new at boating with the C-Dory and was excited to see the area. Much to our dismay, Wild Blue decided to not travel further south, but to find warmer weather in tropical Texas. We sadly said good-by and continued south on I-75. We passed thru Punta Gorda—that was where we launched in ’07 –and noted good improvements in the facilites there. We stopped at BullDog Boatworks in Ft. Myers and looked at the C-Dory inventory. We showed a potential TomCat buyer Discovery and answered questions about living aboard. BullDog staff was grateful and we were glad to show off Discovery.
We leisurely traveled the Tamiami (Highway 41) and stopped frequently to view the wildlife. They don’t call it alligator alley for nothing. This is definitely not typical Utah wildlife!
Before time for sundowners we had pulled into the Jolly Roger RV park in Marathon with a temperature of 75 degrees with lows projected in the mid 60s. Now this is winter weather! It’s off season for another month and the RV space was only $40—great for the Keys. The park is currently less than half full.
Kurbit crew enjoyed the drive down—we’ve come about 3000 miles from Utah without any problems. Fuel prices continue to drop almost daily. Currently land gas is $2.00/gal here. No idea for marine fuel prices yet. There are northerlys blowing in for the next few days with small craft advisories, so we will stay put in the RV park. We are investigating RV storage nearby and plan to launch and circumnavigate the keys for the next month. Watch for up-coming posts!
On Nov. 5th, with a temperature of 17 degrees and in a snowstorm, we left Richfield, Utah and headed off for our new adventure. We were joined by new C-Dory owners of a 22 cruiser (Kurbit), Brent’s sister Joann and brother-in-law, Jeff.
Our cross-country trip had us “standing on the corner in Winslow, Az, watching for aliens in Roswell, NM, and eventually working our way towards a warm, sunny winter in Florida. After 5 days on the road, we met “Wild Blue” and crew in Apalachicola.
We had a great time in Apalachicola—thanks in great part to Mark Grove from Wefings Boat Dealership. What a terrific person that would do anything he could to make you comfortable—including inviting you to dinner at his house without getting permission from his wife, Anita. They were the best of hosts that boiled up a “mean” pot of shrimp and barbequed Spanish Mackerel for tacos that were out of this world. The evening was complete with wine and good conversation.
During the next two days we motored west on the GIWW to Panama City Marina. During the trip we had a few mishaps with the motors and the new impellors Brent had installed before leaving Utah. For future reference Sierra Part # 18-3031 does not fit a Honda BF 135—close, but that only counts in horseshoes. Luckily we had the old parts and we were in front of John’s house (partner of Wefings) at Bay City on the Apalachicola river. Mark gave us permission to use the launch ramp and raft up for the night. Jim also took the opportunity to replace his bilge pump that had seized up. We didn’t see any alligators on the launch ramp. The only blood that was shed was when Brent slipped on the slimy concrete.
The next day we meanered west and made a stop at the new courtesy dock in White City. We ended the day on the hook, in the north fork of Wetappo Creek. As the sun went down the “no-see-ums” came out. Kurbit and Wild Blue dinghyed to Discovery for wine and conversation. Great time!
Next stop was the Panama City marina. They were very hospitable with nice showers and laundry facilities. It was there that we truly saw our lives flash before our eyes as Mother Nature put on an hour long lightening display that included a strike of a sailboat mast within the marina. We hunkered down in our C-Dorys as the wind reached speeds of 57 kts. and it rained a couple of inches. The next few days were spent touring around Panama City in a rental car that was a bit too small for six. Brent considered riding in the trunk but we ruled that out. We shopped a bunch and ate at some great places.
On Nov. 17th (Monday) the wind had calmed and we decided to go out the pass to make the run from Panama City to Port St. Joe. Seas were 1-2 ft. and we ran comfortably for about 30 miles. This was Kurbits first run in the big water, and they did great. At Port St. Joe we went back to the GIWW and evening found us back at the Marina at Apalachicola. At that point we had traveled 125 miles and used 56 gal. of fuel. It was chilly, in the mid 30’s, and we were glad to have shore power to run our heaters.
The next morning, we loaded the boats back on the trailers and prepared to head south for warmer weather. We stayed in Busnell Fl. and it was still cold. Our original plan was to boat the west coast of Florida, but the weather forecast was for continued cold. We discussed options but decided the only ‘for sure’ warm weather was going to be in the Keys. We traveled the Keys two years ago with Wild Blue and loved the area. The Kurbit crew was new at boating with the C-Dory and was excited to see the area. Much to our dismay, Wild Blue decided to not travel further south, but to find warmer weather in tropical Texas. We sadly said good-by and continued south on I-75. We passed thru Punta Gorda—that was where we launched in ’07 –and noted good improvements in the facilites there. We stopped at BullDog Boatworks in Ft. Myers and looked at the C-Dory inventory. We showed a potential TomCat buyer Discovery and answered questions about living aboard. BullDog staff was grateful and we were glad to show off Discovery.
We leisurely traveled the Tamiami (Highway 41) and stopped frequently to view the wildlife. They don’t call it alligator alley for nothing. This is definitely not typical Utah wildlife!
Before time for sundowners we had pulled into the Jolly Roger RV park in Marathon with a temperature of 75 degrees with lows projected in the mid 60s. Now this is winter weather! It’s off season for another month and the RV space was only $40—great for the Keys. The park is currently less than half full.
Kurbit crew enjoyed the drive down—we’ve come about 3000 miles from Utah without any problems. Fuel prices continue to drop almost daily. Currently land gas is $2.00/gal here. No idea for marine fuel prices yet. There are northerlys blowing in for the next few days with small craft advisories, so we will stay put in the RV park. We are investigating RV storage nearby and plan to launch and circumnavigate the keys for the next month. Watch for up-coming posts!
