Ithaka's Odyssey: The Run to Apalachicola, FL

DAWN PATROL....

We normally do not "convoy" with other boats when we travel, but on this particular morning we slipped our lines and were out in the Intracoastal Waterway early enough to see the sunrise, along with Twelve Stones and Endeavor. Though we stayed with them for a short while, running at 7-8 mph was not something we wanted to do all day, so we powered up and headed out on our own. The stops after Orange Beach, AL took us to Niceville, FL, then Panama City, FL and finally Apalachicola, FL. We planned on moving on to Carrabelle, FL to stage out of there for our Gulf Crossing, but due to heavy fog this morning, December 6, we changed our plans and will leave from Apalachicola to cross the Gulf tomorrow, Saturday, December 7.

One of the many stands of Cypress trees that line the banks of the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) in this part of northwest Florida. Large forests of these Cypress trees were common in the south, especially throughout Louisiana over a hundred years ago, but most have been logged over the years until few stands remain.

One of the most amazing things we have witnessed on this trip is the many encounters with dolphins swimming along beside us, either in our bow wave or our stern wake. Sometimes they just appear below the boat and sometimes they can be attracted by singing or slapping the side of the boat. Many times they will roll up on their sides as they are swimming along beside us and appear to be looking at us looking at them from the flybridge.

On this particular morning, we had not seen any for sometime. Suddenly we heard very loud FLOPPING or BANGING noises coming from somewhere in or around the boat. Sara and I were both on the flybridge and looked around trying to identify where the ominous sounds were coming from. We could not tell if it was coming from the engine or somewhere else on the boat. We just knew we had never heard it before. With no luck finding it from the flybridge, Sara went below to check further. From the sundeck she was able to see where the noise was coming from.

It was the Dolphins jumping completely out of the water and belly flopping back in the water. Time and time again. Whether they were catching their dinner or just having fun, we do not know, but it was a sight to behold!

They stayed with us for several minutes and then were gone as quickly as they had come.

The town of Apalachicola, Florida is now just a little sleepy fishing village that lies just off one of the inlets to the Gulf of Mexico. This town on the Apalachicola River was the third largest port on the Gulf of Mexico in the 1850's, third behind New Orleans and Mobile. At the height of their heyday, more than 140,000 bales of cotton were shipped from here to ports all over Europe.

The restaurant located at the marina where we ate most of our meals.

Since ITHAKA tied up a LONG way from the Marina office and restaurant, they were generous enough to loan us a golf cart to get to and from the boat and around town.

One of the only remaining cotton warehouses still standing. All the cotton bales were stored in buildings like this along the waterfront until they could be loaded on steamships.