America's Great Loop With our boat "Little Bit More"

  Week 18 February 19, 2023 to February 25, 2023 Marco Island to Everglades City Rod and Gun Club Built-in 1864 this beautiful family-owned hotel and restaurant is the western entrance to the Florida Everglades.  We were only here for one night on the dock wall and were able to schedule a tour on an airboat through the mangroves. The airboat captain speeds through the mangroves making sharp turns and sudden stops.  We did not see any alligators or snakes but lots of birds, which was OK with me!Florida Keys.  Everglades City to BlackFin Marina Marathon FL This cruise was over 74 miles across the Gulf to the Florida Keys.  Like the Gulf Crossing we were watching for a good weather window.  We were buddy boating with a Ranger Tug and the four of us agreed that everything looked good for an early morning departure and a 6 hour cruise.  We navigated crab pots all day and the depths rarely got above 8 feet.  We are truly in the land of palm trees and blue water now.  Finally arrived at

  Week 17 February 12, 2023 to February 18, 2023 Gulfport City Marina to Lemon Bay Anchorage After a beautiful day cruising the ICW and a quick stop at a Casey Key Tiki Bar. It has a special memory for  us.  On vacation in 2017 with our daughter and future son-in-law, he planned a few of the details of his proposal while we sat on this cute beach. We were in on the plans while Kimberly unknowingly soaked up the beautiful day.  This time around we celebrated, Valentine's Day on ‘the hook’! A beautiful anchorage and we enjoyed a nice meal grilling while we talked about our plan leading up to our extended stay in the Florida Keys. Lemon Bay to Naples Marina Mooring Ball The Naples City Dock Marina is a beautiful place but at the slips were full.  The marina manager was very nice and offered us a mooring ball for $16 per night.   We were only a short dinghy ride from the dock and had access to this beautiful city and fantastic restaurants. We loaded the bikes in the dinghy and enjoyed

  Week 16 – February 12, 2023 to February 18, 2023 Hernando Beach to Caladesi State Park and Gulfport FL It is very shallow to enter this state park but worth it. We stayed here with our C-Dory and knew we would be back. Caladesi Island State park is an beautiful island and is only accessible by boat or ferry. The marina is relatively new and very clean. The public bathhouses include showers and are located between the marina and the beach. The park comprises a total of 650 acres and more than 1800 acres surrounding mangroves and grass flats. In addition, over 3 miles of sandy beach and a 3-mile nature trail. The park is mainly used by day boaters and we had the whole place to ourselves at night. Caladesi State Park to Gulfport City Marina Coming into this marina we had to maneuver through a large mooring field and we had a strong wind against us. It was Super Bowl weekend and we hoped to meet up with some Loopers to catch the game.  This marina also has a large captains' loung

  Week 15 January 29, 2023 to February 4, 2023 - The Big Crossing! Carabelle Moorings Marina to Dog Island The weather window looked good for the next couple of days. If we did not make the gulf crossing now according to Marv’s weather forecast as well as AGLCA we would be in Carrabelle for another two weeks. We watched both wind speed, direction, the height of waves, and the interval between the waves. Our forecast was 6 knots of north wind and 1 ft swell with a 3 second interval.  This meant a flat sea with calm wind.  We made the decision to leave the marina with several other boats and anchor out at Dog Island. It was a short crossing from the protected marina to the small island but very foggy. Several of us took the dinghy to shore for a cocktail and bonfire. The Gulf Crossing to Steinhatchee  There are two options for making the crossing.  The longer of the two is 170 miles from Carabelle to Tarpon Springs.  Most Loopers travel between 7 and 10 knots per hour so this option co