It is Monday, April 17, 2023.

The weather is not going to let me cross the gulf as planned. I teamed up with another looper and we have decided to head up to St. Marks this morning.

I will be pretty far away from land and not sure if I will have internet service when I anchor, so if you see this post, just know I will catch you up when I can, and don’t worry, I will stay safe.

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I made it!

I have a little internet service so I can update you.

The winds were blowing hard enough at the dock that it was difficult to get the boats out. Once we got into the bay, things seemed to calm down. However…….

I should mention that I had a boat buddy this trip which made a world of difference. You know, buddies rely on each other, thinking the other knows what they are doing, but in reality they buddy up because they don’t. That was the situation here.

Things got so rough that I would have probably turned back if I was by myself, but I was encouraged to plow on by my boat buddy even though there really was nothing he could do if things went south. He actually lost an engine but decided to continue because I was along. Same problem, what was I going to do with a 5 ton trawler if the other engine stopped? I could not even pull a sailboat out of the mud the other day.

Regardless, we both plugged along. We finally arrived at St. Marks Wildlife Preserve. What a nice area. You should look it up. Google St. Marks Florida Light House.

We anchored and tied up together. I tried to help him fix his engine, but it was shot. He will likely go into St. Marks tomorrow for repairs . I will be on my own, but it is downhill from here (literally).

Updates tomorrow.