August 7, 2007

August 7, 2007 - We were up early at Carrabelle and checked the weather for our final open water leg from Carrabelle to Crystal River, FL. Everything looked the same as the day before; almost no wind to speak of and one foot or so rolling swells with no wind waves. This is good weather for Shorty to run fast in so off we went. We eased down the river channel toward the Green One Buoy and there we would call up the first of four waypoints we had put in the chartplotter the day before while we were waiting and doing our laundry at the marina. We told the chartplotter to go to the first waypoint and there was the line drawn on the chart to guide us there. It gives you the true bearing to the waypoint which is a buoy out in the Appalachicola Bay. We arrived there in seven minutes running at 18 kts. The it was time for waypoint number two and we repeated the same process and arrived in about 20 minutes. The third waypoint was for a buoy further down the coast and we put it in and when we arrived a US Coast Guard Buoy Tender was actually trying to pick up the buoy and service it so we called them on the vessel and told them the reason we were heading for them is that we were using it as a waypoint. So they held off station and let us round the buoy and turn south on the final leg and waypoint which was 75 miles away across open waters of the Gulf of Mexico and then we had a further 30 miles to go to cross my original wake at Buoy Number One at the entrance to Crystal River Channel. We did all this and crossed my original wake at 2:25 PM on August 7, 2007 and turned up the channel of the Crystal River toward Shorty’s home and Pete’s Pier Marina where we met Mike from Three Rivers Marine and Shorty was loaded on a trailer and taken to the dealership where he will be available for a new owner who wishes to have a superb boat with a good pedigree. The total miles will be refigured but the first estimate is about 5100 miles under the hull from Jan 15, 2007 to August 7, 2007. They promptly cleaned off Shorty’s mustache from the muddier waters encountered on the trip and went on to clean the outside and he looks like new. There are a few things more to do and then he will be ready for a new owner. So anyone I met who is interested please contact Mike Shotwell or anyone at www.threeriversmarine.com.

On the last day we had a beautiful pastel sunrise and just a glorious day on the water watching the dolphins that would occasionally surface just a ways from the boat and swim with us for a few minutes and then later on more would do the same thing. We also think that we may have seen one of the giant sea turtles lying on the surface until we got real close and then he dove. We did not see any sharks. The ride was wonderful and Shorty just loped along doing anywhere from 16 knots going up waves to surfing off of them at 21 knots. It was both wonderful and a very sad and emotional day knowing that this was the last leg of the trip and Shorty and I would be parting company in just a few hours. My eyes would well up with tears and I tried to be tough but it just wasn’t to be and when I passed Buoy One at Crystal River the tears flowed as I thought about all of the wonderful times Shorty and I had on the trip, the people, the marinas and above all the scenery. I thought about the support of my wife from the beginning for the trip and the calls each day to tell her that I was safe and sound and where I was at the moment and to tell her how much I missed her and wished she were there at the moment to see what I had seen that day and what was coming. I thought about the time spent with Bob Keller and on the last 1200 miles with Gary Honold whose wife was kind enough to allow him to go with me. It was an absolutely amazing ten days of travel from Green Turtle Bay in Grand River, KY to Crystal River. I also had super support from everyone at Three Rivers Marine who was the dealer for Cape Cruisers especially mechanical help from Kenny, the friendly voices of Laurie and Adelaide when I would call with a problem and most of all Mike Shotwell who I could count on for anything I needed especially when Shorty was washed up on the sandbar in Florida by a big Sport Fishing boat that went past when I was anchoring.
I know I have probably forgotten many people but I had a beautiful trip and I felt at times that the Shorty Cole who died before we could do the trip together and who I named Shorty for had his hand on my shoulder and I could hear him say, “Go get it, I know you can do it.” I can’t say enough about the boat; it just handled everything I put it through and came out with that lapstrake grin saying now that was fun and see you tomorrow morning as we went to sleep at night at a marina or on anchor.