On to Tampa Bay II

The next morning started with a "mini" adventure for us. After we pulled anchor and began to get back to the GICW route, our engine started to make a big racket. We immediately took it out of gear and I went below. A nut had come loose on the motor mount and was allowing the engine to jump around. Fifteen minutes later (it was the least accesible mount), we had the mount secured and were on our way. The other boats did a great job of watching out for us as we were just outside the channel and drifting. Fortunately we were in an area with lots of depth. Our next stop was Destin, which has a nice harbor with a very small and shallow entrance.



One of our traveling companion boats during this part of the trip was Lady E, with Mac and Diane aboard. They are from Ontario, Canada.

Smack Bayou provided us shelter for three nights as the wind piped up on the outside. We rafted the four boats together and held on as the wind whistled in the rigging. It was good to have a break again to just relax.

After sailing outside on the morning of November 22, we returned to the GICW and found an anchorage up Saul Creek. This was the typical scene along this particular stretch of the waterway. We would see hunters go by with boats full of dogs. We believe they were hunting wild boar in the wilds of Florida and Alabama.

We celebrated Thanksgiving, sharing our holiday with our Canadian friends, at our next port, Carabelle. While we missed being with our families, we did enjoy the good food provided by the "Admirals". We ate in the marina's club room and had a wonderful time. Of course we were also anxious about our next day's sail which would be the big jump.