Day 48: Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Underway: 8:17 am Motor Off: 4:20 pm Miles Traveled: 51 Stayed At: Anchor
First Things First: I finished third book of the trip – Dove by Robin Lee Graham about his solo trip around the world on a sailboat starting at the age of 16 (forgot to mention that I finished my second book a week ago – a Clive Cussler book about his adventures finding sunken ships – and read Mash Angels on the Nook right before that).
Mile 174 to Mile 123: With perfect cruising conditions – bright sunshine, temps in the low 80’s, calm water and no traffic, we just kept driving downstream. Kind of hard to get lost except maybe in thought. The scenery was amazing. Lots of birds along the shore and circling overhead on the thermals. An occasional fish jumping. And lots of water. Even though we traveled more miles than normal, the day seemed to go really fast. We passed the 1,400 mile mark today at Mile 156. We were never bored. And we were excited to see what was around the next bend – unless it was a tow sliding its way around the corner. It’s an interesting lifestyle.
Its nice to have friends on the river. We were surprised to here someone call us on the radio late in the afternoon. It was Larry and Theresa on Lauren Grace. They were about 10+ miles behind us but had heard us giving a securaté call on the radio (a general call notifying other boats – especially tows – where we are so we aren’t surprised at one of the 270˚ corners). They suggested we stop at Okatuppa Creek anchorage (Mile 123) as a better stop than what we had planned so we took their suggestion.
They came into the anchorage following another powerboat – Eagle One – a little while after we anchored. They had traveled 90+ miles to get here today but were going to stay at anchor and rest/look for alligators for a day or two with their friends on Eagle One. As they drove by, Eagle One invited us to boat-tails and they even came over and picked us up in their hard dinghy. We met Jim and Sue (friends of Lauren Grace) who are also experienced travelers on the Loop and we shared stories and travel information. We almost feel ready to tackle the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway. Another fun day on the Great Loop Adventure.
