greetings

Greetings from Our Villa,
We are now in Punta Gorda, but not at our marina. A friend from Wisconsin has a beautiful home here in Florida, and they have kindly let us stay aboard our boat in their canal. What a gorgeous area. We miss not having snow for Christmas, but we hear that you all are being dumped on with snow. We do not miss that.
We did not send out Christmas cards this year, so we would like to wish everyone a very blessed Christmas and a happy new year. Will be back on track next year.
Arvilla & Joe

Venice,FL To Punta Gorda,FL

Departed Venice at 0710. Had some current and bridge delay. Sunny and 82 degs. 1440 arrived at a friends house and dock in Punta Gorda. Very choppy on Charlotte Harbor with 3 to 4 foot waves on the starboard side on our easterly course. I forgot to tell Arvilla to put on a patch so it was very uncomfortable for her.
Joe and Arvilla

Gulfport,FL To Venice,FL

Departed Gulfport anchorage at 0700. Arrived at the Venice,FL City Dock at 1400. 51 miles, mostly cloudy and 77 degs for a high temp and light rain in the afternoon.
Joe and Arvilla

Tarpon Springs To Gulfport,FL

Had to wait for half tide so departed Tarpon Springs at 1125. Arrived Gulfport,FL at 1712 after a 42 mile cruise. We are anchored a few hundred feet off the Intercoastal Waterway channel near the Bayway Bridge. 79 degs and sunny today.
Joe and Arvilla

Anclote River Anchorage To Tarpon Springs Marina

Departed the Anclote River anchorage at 1100 and went two miles up the Anclote River to The Landings Marina at Tarpon Springs. Arvilla went shopping near the sponge docks and Joe visited with a friend who spends the winter in New Port Richey. We will be at this marina for two nights. 82 degs and mostly sunny.
Joe and Arvilla

Cedar Key To Tarpon Springs,FL

0655 Departed Cedar Key south west via the Main Ship Channel. The gulf was very choppy for the first few hours. Arvilla said a rosary and the rest of the day was a light chop. 75 degs and sunny all day. 1540 arrived at our anchorage on the Anclote River in Tarpon Springs.
Joe and Arvilla

Steinhatchee,FL To Cedar Key,FL

Departed Steinhatchee at 0730 and had a very pleasant cruise to Cedar Key. Arvilla was able to be in the wheel house for the entire day. The gulf was almost calm. The last two days we have been dodging crab pot markers. They are about 200 feet apart and are everywhere. Some have more line than is needed and it floats just below the surface for 10 or 20 feet. The water is 70 degs so to cold for me to go under the boat and cut the line from the propeller so we make sure to give them a wide berth. 75
degs at 1500 and sunny all day. The channel into Cedar Key is long and took us over an hour to get to our anchorage. There are no docks or marinas here.
Joe and Arvilla

Carrabelle,FL To Steinhatchee,FL

Departed Carrabelle 0645. Crossed the Gulf to Steinhatchee and arrived at 1640. The gulf was rough for most of the day with 3 to 4 foot waves. Mostly sunny with a high temp of 71 degs. Arvilla did great in the rough water, she put on a seasick patch and laid down most of the way. 82 miles today. Two more days in the gulf and then we will be back in protected waters again.
Joe and Arvilla

White City, FL To Carrabelle,FL

Tuesday night at White City we were awakened by about 30 military troops in full armor in the marina. They arrived about 0130 and launched 3 or 4 boats with 70 MM weapons mounted on the bow and stern. They returned in the fog about 0330 and entered the marina at full speed and the large waves woke us up again. They loaded the boats on trailers and departed.
Wednesday departed White City at 0800 in the fog. 1450 arrived at C Quarters Marina at Carrabelle, FL. Desk top computer died so could not get the blog posted until Thursday.
Thursday in port awaiting a weather window to cross the gulf. Wednesday sunny and 71 degs. Thursday sunny and 64 degs.
Joe and Arvilla

Panama City, FL to White city, FL

Walk from 0615 to 0715 and low was 38 degs.
0800 Depart Panama City. 1300 arrive White City Park. Sunny with a high temp of 63 degs.
Joe and Arvilla

Santa Rosa Beach, FL To Panama City, FL

O800 Depart anchorage near Santa Rosa Beach. Desktop computer would not boot up so it took an hour to load FL charts on the laptop computer while we were underway. Arrived Panama City Marina 1400. Short days of running because of the limited places to stop overnight. 72 degs and partly sunny and light chop on the bay.
Joe and Arvilla

Fort Walton Beach, FL To Santa Rosa Beach

0630 went for one hour walk in Fort Walton Beach. Depart Fort Walton Beach 1015. Saw many aircraft doing maneuvers from Eglin Air Force Base. Wish Paul Schmidt was here to identify the plains for us. 68 degs and sunny with very little chop on the bay. 1415 anchored for the night near the Choctawhatchee Bay Bridge( Hy 331) near Santa Rosa Beach, FL.
Joe and Arvilla