Wednesday, June 8

Perfect day, calm and clear. Almost no traffic. Went out into the open Gulf to Cedar Key, about 60 nautical miles. The anchorage at Cedar Key is a bit exposed, you have to move around depending on wind direction and strength. I anchored just West of the fishing pier, which was closed due to hurricane damage.

Thursday, June 9

10 knot East breeze all night, tidal current was going the other way, so the boat was beam on to the seas, nice and rolly, I didn’t get much sleep. This morning, I anchored around corner in shallow water, at least out of the current. The first tropical storm is threatening the Gulf this morning, I don’t want to be in Cedar Key in any kind of bad weather. It is supposed to be a bit breezy from the East and South East for the next few days. If it looks threatening, I can head up to the Suwannee River, which is about 15 miles north of here. So far, it is predicted to track well west of here.

Saturday, June 11.

Tropical Storm Arlene is well west of here, but created a nice south breeze and a high tide, making my shallow water spot a bit bouncy.

Monday, June 13.

Left at first light, went to Steinhatchee, just over 50 miles. Light South wind, nice day. A threat of a thunderstorm as I was entering Steinhatchee River, but it didn’t do anything. Steinhatchee is a nice little town, a few marinas, got 27 gallons gas. No place to do laundry, which is beginning to be a problem.

Tuesday, June 14.

Left bright and early, nice and calm. Was originally planning on heading to St Marks, which is about 50 miles, but it is quite a bit out of the way. Since it was so calm, I decided to head straight across to Dog Island, which is about 70 miles away. Ran into a squall in the morning, made the Gulf pretty bouncy for a while. It calmed down later, and then got a bit choppy when the sea breeze kicked in, but I was almost there. Motor overheated, it had a bunch of seaweed wrapped around the lower unit. Anchored in Tysons Harbor, on the east side of Dog Island.

Wednesday, June 15.

Stayed at Dog Island for the day. Nice beaches, and not too many houses. There is no bridge to the island, and part of it is a nature preserve. There is a landing craft that takes cars and trucks to the island. There is one small hotel on the island, but no other businesses on the island, hotel guests have to bring there own food.