We made it! Departed approximately on time and headed out into the beautiful Gulf of Mexico around 0615 CDT. Initially we were met with 3 feet rollers due to changing tide but the farther we got away from the inlet the smoother the ride became. We paralleled the coast eastward toward Port St. Joe about 6 miles offshore then took a 130’ heading directly to Clearwater. Engaged the autopilot and began the crossing. The boat performed flawlessly, and the AIS was helpful to identify large cargo ships; none coming closer than several miles away.


The water was a spectacular blue and the white foam from the prop wash made a perfect color contrast. As we got farther away from northern FL the Gulf became more turquoise and wave conditions flatter. As we approached the Clearwater inlet, we had to dodge the numerous crab traps. These traps are set with floating white/red or red markers. It’s the equivalent of boating through a minefield. You don’t won’t to come too close or run over them because their line will foul your props.


The only excitement was I cut it very close on fuel consumption. Without going through my trip calculations, I figured we would burn around 250 gal, and figuring 20% margin, maybe upwards to 300 gal. Well, we burned 350 gal, leaving only 25 gal in reserve! A little too close for comfort but we made it! I’ll need to spend some time calculating our burn rate, but it was closer to 30 gal / hr than the 25 gal / hr I planned.


We don’t know how long we’ll be at this marina but today is a re-provisioning day. We’ll visit with family from this general location and begin looking at the next southward stop.