Advice - Mobile to Clearwater

[DCMY #92]

I am helping a friend bring his 40 something Cruisers MY from Ohio to Tampa Bay next month. I have never made this run before and would appreciate any comments and advice - particularly regarding the choice of running outside vs. inside from Mobile to Pensacola and/or Apalachicola, and Apalachicola/Carrabelle to Clearwater direct vs. stopping at Cedar Key.

I have not run this Cruisers before, but he owner claims it has over 200 miles range with reserves at 23 knots.

 

[ThirdHatt]

It is about 145 miles from the Apalachicola inlet to Clearwater, so with 200 miles of range that would work out fine. Running nside or outside from Mobile is personal preference. If you want to run 23kts as much as possible, outside is certainly preferred anlthough there is alot of space to run in the ICW in this area.

Sounds like a fun trip. GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[CTdave]

I can't say much about the inside rte but I can tell you, you won't find much at all in Apalachicola. Yeikes! Not much in the way of marinas. We had a few great laughs at "the" restaurant next to a broken down dock where we tied up between a few shrimp boats but that was it. Government cut looks worse than it is when the wind is blowing & the tide is running but there was room under my 50 Bertram (back then, pre-Katrina). I think I ran right down to Clear Water & then into Ft. Meyers & the Oceechobee-across to the east coast. Fun run all in all but as always, watch the weather. It can be howling out of the north/east & you just get closer to shore & it will be fine. South or west wind will give you trouble once your past Apalachicola because there isn't anywhere to hide "inside".

 

[captddis]

With limited range, I run from Johns Pass tp Appalachicola about 158 NM. I never understood the going north to go west logic. Panama city is 230NM , but sounds like you don't have the range.

If you go in at AC, it is not worth going back outside to run to Mobile.

 

[Boatsb]

If you are not afraid to lose sight of land the direct route is the way to go. It's less than a full range run and is a one day trip.

 

[Bill Root]

We made this run last December as part of our Great Loop trip on our 43' DCMY. While it is certainly possible to go straight across from Mobile to Clearwater, provided you have the fuel capacity, it is not the safest route for the following reasons:

By the time you get out of Mobile into the Gulf where you can run at 23 knots, you are probably looking at a 12 to 14 hour trip. dock to dock. You will need to consider tides at your destination point, so much or all of your trip would need to happen at night.

At times you will be as much as 60 miles or more off shore. If you have a mechanical problem it will be dificult for help to reach you. The weather on the Gulf is notoriously unpredictable. It can look great when you leave and turn nasty in a few hours. Being so far off shore could make it very uncomfortable or dangerous trying to get to a safe port.

You would probably be pushing your fuel reserves by the end of the trip. If anything goes wrong along the way, you risk running out of fuel before reaching your destination.

The preferred, safer route is to run from Mobile to Carrabelle, then from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs and on down to Clearwater. That route allows you to re-fuel in Panama City, St. Joes or Carrabelle, leaving for the 150 mile run to Tarpon Springs with full fuel tanks. At the same time, you would never be so far off shore that you couldn't get to a safe port in a couple hours if the weather turns bad. Although it takes longer, it's by far the safest route. It's the route most all "loopers" take, and they have been doing it for many years.

At the end of the day, your decision will be based on how much risk you are willing to take. Good luck, and watch out for the crab pots.

 

[Freeebird]

I am helping a friend bring his 40 something Cruisers MY from Ohio to Tampa Bay next month. I have never made this run before and would appreciate any comments and advice - particularly regarding the choice of running outside vs. inside from Mobile to Pensacola and/or Apalachicola, and Apalachicola/Carrabelle to Clearwater direct vs. stopping at Cedar Key.

I have not run this Cruisers before, but he owner claims it has over 200 miles range with reserves at 23 knots.

I would think the first order of business would be to make sure the owner has a realistic range number. No offense, but some folks just don't know how to calculate what kind of fuel economy their boat gets. You don't want to find out the hard way that his numbers are wrong. You'll have plenty of time to figure your range before you have to decide which track to take to Clearwater.

Surely to God 23 knots is not the most economical cruise for that boat. I would have to think it might be more prudent to throttle back (maybe for half the distance) and run from Panama City to Clearwater if the weather is good. I've only done it once from the other direction, so I would suggest you do whatever captddis tells you to do.

 

[Pascal]

it really depends on the weather and on the boat. if the weather is iffy, you have nothing to loose by running inside or staying closer to the big bend (Carabelle, Steinhatchee, Cedar) instead of sitting in marina paying dockage and waiting for a weather window.

If the boat is "proven reliable" and you have an epirb, life raft or at least a tender that can be deployed, etc... running direct is fine otherwise you are up to 80NM from assistance if something happens.

 

[Freestyle]

I have done the trip with my 43 DC. I loved the inside route just from a sightseeing standpoint. Panhandle politicians sure got a lot of money to build nice bridges out in the middle of nowhere.

Appalachicola doesn't offer much dockage but has some great restaurant/bars. They do things with oysters that I have never seen anywhere else.

The run to Clearwater or any of the other northern spots has only one factor and that's weather. With good weather just point straight to Clearwater. It is much easier to pull into Clearwater at night than any of the other options.

Last time I made the trip I had two airline pilots who fell in love with the autopilot and did not notice that they were driving in a big circle during their watch. I arrived at midnight in Clearwater just hours ahead of a bad cold front. About 400 yards from the municipal marina, the generator died then the two engines. We had run out of fuel and had to be towed the last few yards. An hour after tying up the front hit and socked me in for 4 days. I do not know what would have happened if we were just a few miles out in the Gulf when that hit.

Boating.

Bruce
Freestyle
1976 43 DCMY
Tampa

 

[Nonchalant1]

We have done that trip 4 times, both ways. Unless you're in a rush, it's fun to take the ICW to Apalachicola. Maybe stay at the marina where Lulu's is just into the ICW after crossing Mobile Bay instead of staying at Dog River in Mobile or Fairhope. Stop and anchor out right before the entrance to Pensacola Bay and dinghy to the beach so you can walk across the dunes to the spectacular Gulf beach that only boaters get to see. See the "grand canyon" of the ICW (just a section where they dug the ICW ditch through 30 ft. tall sand dunes of hard sand thaat has eroded to look interesting).

Make the crossing from AP to Clearwater with lots of time left at the far end to ensure you arrive in daylight. Watch the wave forecasts closely for a crossing window. The best site is passageweather.com. Scroll down to the wave forecast and click "animate". 2' to 4' waves are OK, but 3' to 5' waves or more will be uncomfortable in that boat.

Ask at AP if others are making the crossing in a similar speed boat and buddy up.

Doug

 

[Genesis]

My view....

1. Make sure you're rigged for true offshore running. This means EPIRB, raft, and other suitable gear. Appalachicola -> Clearwater takes you 60nm offshore and that's the shortest in both distance and time in terms of offshore transit. It is also unavoidable as there is no ditch path all the way there. Steinhatchee is a viable if long abort but if you get caught and have to use it you've already screwed up.

2. If you're going go to do Appalachicola -> Clearwater, go up the ditch at least from Pensacola to Appalachicola. You can run for most of it and IMHO it's worth it, unless you have truly outstanding weather. If you do, well, outside is nice too, shadowing the beach. There are a few notable slow zones on this path - near the Brooks Bridge in Ft. Walton is one; another is near the Bay in Panama City where there are a lot of residential docks in a very narrow ICW, and a few places between Appalachicola and Panama City. But for most of it, you can get up and run and it's protected water. Just be aware that there is a fair bit of commercial barge traffic on that waterway - use your head! If you stop in or around Destin or Ft. Walton let me know and I'll come have a drink with 'ya.

3. If you're willing to go slow and have the weather window, direct either Mobile, Pensacola or Destin -> Clearwater is a good choice. You need crew for this so you can maintain a proper watch. At displacement speeds your fuel goes a LOT further. In terms of DAYS this will be faster, but it's "all at once." It will also be a LOT cheaper fuel-wise. If you don't have the crew for it then it's dangerous; likewise if you try to push it on the weather window. Don't attempt this without knowing you have the fuel range for it with a 30% reserve at the speed you're going to make the run.

4. As noted there are often other vessels making the transit in either direction; those going southbound typically will be at Appalachicola if they get socked in weather-wise. When we brought Gigabite home we were part of convoy of about a dozen that left Clearwater. Half turned around and bugged out within the first hour or so, another half reduced to displacement speeds. IMHO the latter is folly - either make the run or, if you find the conditions too sporty for you and your vessel, turn around. Running unfamiliar inlets at night is IMHO a fool's game.

I've made this run a number of times in both directions, including when bringing Gigabite home (I live on Choctahatchee Bay, so Destin is my "home port".) With good weather conditions it's a nice run. With bad WX it's anything from miserable to dangerous. Note that the so-called "wave forecasts" are frequently wrong and while stated in feet, they are often really in METERS. Know where your bugout point (where you can return) is and where you're committed to continue. Running out of fuel 20nm short of land sucks.

 

[rsmith]

What he said.
And make sure your tanks are really full. We used to run our 34Hatt from Cape May Nj to Montauk Ny about 220 nm from what I remember this was back in the Loran A days so you only got a course correction when someone felt like going down to take a bearing. but we would cut straight across and typicaly would have 30-50 gal left. one trip we had one engine quit coming in Cape May inlet. I usualy would fill the tanks until the foam would quit coming out the vent. This time I got yelled at by the old man for wasting fuel so I quit when the first burp came out the vent. Aparently that was 15-20gal short per side.

 

[dreamweaverdj]

I made this trip last year in a Carver 360 mariner and took the ICW route. It was worth the extra time.

I blogged the entire adventure: nautibuoy.blogspot.com

 

[DCMY #92]

I want to thank everyone for your comments and advice. dreamweaverdj's blog is very useful. We are well set for safety gear, tools, charts, cruise guides, spares and now local knowledge, key reference websites and confidence thanks to you folks.

Any additional comments and advice are welcome. We have a little over a week to go before departure and looking forward to great trip.

 

[Nonchalant1]

I blogged that trip also. Go here http://dougandkathysboatlog.blogspot.com and click to November 20th 2009.

There's also a blog of when we went Mobile to Sarasota around the Big Bend via the Carrabelle to Steinhatchee to Tarpon Springs route. It starts February 7th 2009.

Doug