Day 161: Anchored in Alligator Harbor

Day 161: December 26: Things cleared up nicely overnight. The wind and the water in the harbor laid down. After checking weather again, we decided it was a good day to travel. Paradise, Summer Fling and we got UW at about 11:30 and made the short hop to Alligator Harbor; often used by Loopers as a staging area for our journey into the Gulf of Mexico. Geographically speaking, the Gulf is a sea larger than the Black Sea or Adriatic. Specifically, it is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by five states of the U.S. on the northern and the eastern border, five Mexican states on its western and southern border and Cuba to the southeast. Water flows in from the Caribbean Sean and flows out through the straits of Florida.


It took just about 2 hours to travel 15 NM along St. George Sound past Dog Island off our starboard. This is another good stop for east bound travelers staging for a Gulf crossing or west bound folks arriving from the Gulf. The Sound was still a bit unsettled; to be expected given yesterday's storm. It takes awhile for the seas to calm down completely once the winds subside. Our boats rolled side to side and we were thankful we only had a short distance to travel. 


John led the way around the sand bar through the harbor entrance to our chosen anchorage at Alligator Point. The narrow entrance was well marked with numerous daymarkers but we took no chances, having read reviews about shallow areas. John proceeded slowly; we did pass a 5' area before getting back into 9 to 10 feet. We dropped the hook and helped Paradise and Summer Fling raft up. 


Frank launched his dinghy and we went ashore, anxious to stretch our legs. 


The white sandy beach was laden with shells of all sizes, species and colors. Some of them were much larger than any I've ever seen. There were scallop, quahog and clam shells, starfish and crabs and various shore birds including a curlew, sandpipers and more. We spent a couple of hours strolling, admiring the scenery, collecting shells and breathing in the salt air; It felt like being home with my toes in the water! 






After a lovely walk we returned to the boats and met to discuss tomorrow's voyage to Steinhatchee, our first stop along Florida's Big Bend. Plans are to get UW at first light under fair winds and following seas. 
It's a full moon tonight; we are hopeful the moon's bright light will guide our departure in the early morning hours. 













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