Daily stats
Start: 6:15 AM -South of Tyndall Airforce Base
Finish: 2:30 PM -South Apalachicola Bay
Time: 8:15
Daily dist: 38 miles
Total dist: 1,525 miles
Companions: None
Notes: Clear, calm, and great paddling.
Start: 6:15 AM -South of Tyndall Airforce Base
Finish: 2:30 PM -South Apalachicola Bay
Time: 8:15
Daily dist: 38 miles
Total dist: 1,525 miles
Companions: None
Notes: Clear, calm, and great paddling.
sunrise on the time zone line 6:00 AM or 7:00 AM I’m not sure
The sun rose at 7:00 AM on the bow of my boat and 6:00 AM on the stern as I crossed the line into the Eastern Time Zone this morning already an hour into my day. This was the first morning in the last several that my tent wasn’t already shaking in the wind when I woke up. So I wrapped up my gear cautiously not wanting to alert the wind gods to my presence and have them unleash their blustery wrath. The seas had calmed overnight and I launched easily into one foot surf. There was a puff of a northwest tail wind all morning as I paddled on the outside of the St. Joseph Peninsula then as I rounded the corner at Cape San Blas and grabbed a photo of the lighthouse there, the winds went flat. Figuring I better make hay while the sun shines I stayed on the water and extra hour and a half and made good time all the way to Little St. George Island on the west end of Apalachicola Bay.
lighthouse on Cape San Blas
I could have kept on paddling but after two long hard days me and my gear were beginning to show some signs of wear. I spent the afternoon rinsing gear, tuning up my cook stove, changing batteries in my headlamp, lantern, and SPOT device, and figuring out why my VHF radio suddenly couldn’t find the weather reports. After all of that I turned to doing a little repair work on my feet as well. After all the walking yesterday, (some in my paddling boots, some barefoot, and some in sand covered sandals) my feet were rubbed raw and blistered in several places. Thank goodness I’m sitting on my rear all day instead of walking.
The camp site I ended up at tonight is probably the best I’ve had on this trip so far. I’m set up amongst sand dunes on the end of a peninsula looking west across a half mile of shimmering blue water at the uninhabited and tree covered St. Vincent Island. For the first time since I was on the river there are no signs of human habitation or development anywhere in site. It‘s just me the sand, the water, and the dolphins hunting in the channel. It’s amazing.
The camp site I ended up at tonight is probably the best I’ve had on this trip so far. I’m set up amongst sand dunes on the end of a peninsula looking west across a half mile of shimmering blue water at the uninhabited and tree covered St. Vincent Island. For the first time since I was on the river there are no signs of human habitation or development anywhere in site. It‘s just me the sand, the water, and the dolphins hunting in the channel. It’s amazing.
Sunset from camp on day 53
Tomorrow promises to bring a bit of a head wind once again so I’m going to get as early a start as possible to try to get as far east as I can before it catches up with me. Bigger winds and rain are in the forecast Friday and Saturday but I think I have a plan to deal with that. It might get interesting but should be fun.
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