Second Port Day in Apalachicola - Waiting for Weather Window

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 205 - October 22, 2017

We were awakened very early in the morning by the loudspeaker in Battery Park across the marina from us announcing "Racers, take your marks, get set," followed by a beep! It seems this morning was the day for the Apalachicola "Running for the Bay" Marathon! There were 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon categories, and the starter kept starting the various categories all morning! 

After our coffee, we had a very busy and full day with Marc and Anita Grove! Marc is the president of Wefings Marine in Eastpoint, and Anita is a City Commissioner and works for the State of Florida in management of the vast amount of submerged lands and coastal uplands in Florida.

Marc picked us up at the marina in his golf cart and gave us a great tour of Apalachicola.  We went to just about every section of the town (popuation about 3,000)! There are a lot of great Victorian homes in Apalachicola, but I didn't photograph any of them, maybe I will in the next day or two!

Patty and Marc in golf cart

Oyster shells bagged up for seeding the oyster beds.

 

Apalachicola shrimp fleet - Marc says not a good year for the shirmpers!

After the tour, Marc took us to his home, where I got to try some of his homebrews in progress, both sours. They were in settling carboys and not carbonated, like still wine! He uses unfermented sweet wort from the Oyster City Brewing Company, and then ferments it with the yeast of his choices and finishes it. Both were very good, but I am partial to sours! He also gave me several cans of his favorite craft brews and a bottle of his own mead, which we will hang onto for a special occasion! Marc had also ordered a replacement iPhone 5 from Amazon for Patty, so we thanked him and paid him for it. It should be here Thursday.

Marc had made some ceviche and sliced a cucumber, which we had for lunch, and then we took Marc's golf cart back to the marina, which we will have to get around town for a few days, and Marc and Anita drove over in their pickup truck, and we were off for a boat ride with Marc and Anita in one of the Wefings rental boats they keep at the marina.

There are quite a few creeks and rivers that flow in and out  of the Apalachicola River, and Marc I think knows them like the back of his hand. He told us where we were going, we might hear some banjos playing ala Deliverance, because we would be deep in the woods! We did not hear any banjos, but we saw quite a few hunting camps, which are floating houses in various states of repair tied to the banks along the various waterways, where there might or might not be a little bit of dry ground on shore. It is all public land, so nobody has any rights in their upland improvements if any! I took a short iPhone video as we roared around the corners of one of the creeks hoping we did not meet anybody else coming the other direction!

Marc and Anita Grove

Colorful floating hunting camp!

After the boat ride, Marc took Patty and me for a tour of Wefings Marine in Eastpoint., which is across the bridge about seven miles from Apalachicola.  Wefings used to be a C-Dory dealer, and was one of the favorite dealers of C-Brats around the country, who would travel to Eastpoint to do business with Marc. That relationship has ended, which has left a bad taste in the collective mouths of most of us C-Brats. Wefings is now a Rosborough dealer, and the Rosborough is a considerably nicer boat than C-Dory anyway. Wefings also has other boat lines, including a gorgeous Twin Vee catamaran with a big Suzuki 300 hp outboard, and quite a few  other fishing boats that Florida fishermen favor, and brokers used C-Dorys and Ranger Tugs. 

Marc looked through his inventory of propellers to see if he had one with a suitable lower pitch to help us get Daydream up on plane. He didn't, but he will have his parts guy order one tomorrow. I also bought a Doelfin / Permatrim work-alike, which should help us get on the plane. The plan is to pull the boat on a trailer when the prop arrives to install it and the fin.  We are really hoping we will be able to cross the Gulf at 14 - 16 smph instead of 7!

Marc and Anita went home and we agreed to meet at the Oyster City Brewing Company Taproom for dinner. Golf cart
s are street legal in Apalachicola, which makes a great deal of sense in a small town like this, and we drove in, parked and got a table. Marc and Anita were along shortly, and we dined on raw oysters and "Duck Fries," which are not exactly poutine but have duck confit, crisped prosciutto, cracklins, and melted gruyere cheese over french fries, and they were pretty good! I had a pint each of two different Oyster City Brewery brews, which were pretty good!

Marc, Anita, Patty and Pat

We thanked Marc and Anita for a great day, said goodnight, and Patty drove the golf cart back to the marina. We checked Eddie's Weather WAG for updates, and it now looks like the day to cross the Gulf will be Friday rather than Thursday.  This will give us an extra day for the iPhone to be delivered and for the prop and fin to get installed. Baxter got one last walk in the park, and we hit the hay!