Perfect Day on the Great Loop

Carabelle

Waiting for Good Weather to Cross the Gulf

We are planning to make a 170 mile open water crossing across the Gulf – and we need the weather to cooperate!! The crossing is from Carabelle to Tarpons Springs (half way down the coast of Fla.). This is the route that most loopers take. So far we’ve been in Carabelle 5 days waiting for the weather window to open. It's difficult to get the right conditions. We know of loopers who waited in Carabelle 3 weeks before they could cross. With the current weather predictions it will be a few more days until the opportunity is there.

Bill is becoming frustrated with trying to predict this weather. He checks it 4 times a day through about 5 reliable sources each time.

We will be crossing with a buddy boat. They are about 30 miles west of us and will be arriving soon.

shell hunting on Dog Island

Carabelle is a tiny maritime town on the Forgotten Coast, part of Old Florida. Forgotten means small, no high rise buildings, minimal development, old and rustic. It’s stayed the same way a long time….. A lot of the buildings are decrepit and abandoned - it's seen better days. The oyster industry decline is hitting really hard here.
Carabelle is the last real town before the panhandle bend of Florida. The bend area is basicly marshes and swamp land. The water is really shallow. A couple miles offshore is is only 5-6 feet deep, 20 miles out it is 20 feet deep. There are crab pots all over.