Holiday Cheer

A few years ago I thought I would spend the winters in Panama City Beach when we retired......seems that IS what is happening to us!  We are STILL here!  Haven't had a good weather window to cross the gulf since right after Thanksgiving.    Like the "experts" say, you can learn from experience, and it doesn't have to be yours!....so take it from the experts and stay put.   Like the rest of the country we are also experiencing a cold month of December.   Its a little different living on a boat when it is 30's and 40's outside.....just keeping the heat on seems strange.  We have rented a car and continue to extend the rental, so at least we can get "out" and go to the movies, etc....have seen several!  (at SR. citizen rates, of course!) and in the middle of the day....

Our original plans were to be in Tampa/St. Pete by now and we have airline tickets out of Tampa for 2 weeks in Michigan for Christmas....so now we will drive the rental car to the Tampa airport and after Christmas...fly back to Tampa and then drive back here and cross at the first chance we get in the new year.....I guess other than the inconvenience of the drive (8 hours) it's not all that bad.  We have a good rate at this marina, and got to attend their holiday party last weekend....we have even decorated outside the boat, as several here have done also.  The Loopers that are here are "all in the same boat"  so to say...haha.

Some have asked how we make the decision as to when to cross the gulf..... we follow "Eddies Weather Wag"......he relies on several weather fronts and forums and then reports back to us loopers, on almost a daily basis, as to what the conditions are.  He has done this as a courtesy to AGLCA members for years.

This time of year with limited daylight time, it is impossible to make the 220 mile crossing (at 10mph) completely in daylight only, and you don't want to arrive at the western side of Florida too early in the morning, because the sun angle blinds you from seeing the crab points.....which you DO NOT want to hit.  Therefore, leaving at 3pm and cruising overnight allows us to arrive at 1pm.  That means you need and want very good conditions to be boating in the dark (a full moon helps).  Several loopers plan to cross together. I also understand....it is NOT as scary as it sounds....lots of loopers have done it more than once....the secret is, you HAVE TO WAIT for the best weather window you can get.....so here we are.  Depending on the forecast for after Christmas, our friends, Ken and Deb Rogers, from St Pete, might drive back up here with us and make the long boat crossing back with us...that will be a lot of card playing and conversation to keep Capt Bob awake!  Plus their knowledge of boating should be helpful as additional crew.....If timing doesn't work out, then I'll just have to take a few hour shift behind the wheel.  Thus the waves and winds need to be pretty perfect for that.

Capt Bob and Jane at Holiday Marina Party

Our decorations....both inside and outside on LeReve.   The outside lights blink and change colors....Its easier to decorate with no snow around your feet....so even though it is not warm here, at least there is no snow!  But we did use "snow men" to decorate the porch.  MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!...and hopefully the next blog will be from Tampa!