We headed out as planned on Wednesday morning to a gorgeous Pensacola Bay.

The Captain was pleased.

Chicken nuggets for lunch while sailing; tough life this kid has.

Dad and son.

Temps warmed up enough for Carol to put on a bikini. She wasn’t sure if the temps would warm enough, so she only brought one new bikini.

Dredging of the Pensacola Pass was underway.

There were only two power boats and one sailboat at Ft. McRee.

Mom and son.

Late afternoon snack on the hook.

We took a dinghy ride to explore around Battery 233. That’s Monomoy in the background.

Ramp leading up to Battery 233.

View looking from ramp to cove.

Battery 233 sign.

The doors to the Battery were open. We peaked inside, but the flashlight we brought had nowhere near the power to cut through the pitch darkness inside, so we didn’t go very far inside.

View from atop the Battery.

Blake and Mario.

Ben taking a walk to explore.

If you look close you can see the dolphins swimming.

Sunset in Ft. McRee.

Sunrise Thursday morning started off looking really nice…

…but NOAA had changed the forecast in the not favorable direction. Ingram Bayou is 6-8 hours from Ft. McRee, so we decided to change plans and head to Little Sabine about 3 hours away instead. Here’s the view at Ft. McRee as the sky clouded up, appearing to agree with the new NOAA forecast.

We weighed anchor and headed to Little Sabine.

While underway, Blake made us one of his delicious pizzas.

We passed this fellow flying his spinnaker only.

Carol took the helm for a bit.

DirecTV blimp in the distance.

Pogo standing tall.

By the time we dropped the hook into Little Sabine, the sky was looking better.

Pogo took notice.

Time to relax.

Blake was playing his new Nintendo 3DS in the cabin.

After while, Ben and Blake took Pogo to shore, so she could do her business.

Carol and Pogo.

Friday morning was looking gorgeous. The new forecast by NOAA turned out to be wrong. They should have held tight to their original forecast, which would have actually given them some credibility and we would have headed to Ingram Bayou rather than Little Sabine for Thursday night.

Dolphins came out to play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diCK5xgANIE

Mario sunning.

The weather was warm enough for Carol to sport her new bikini again.

There was very little wind, but we were happy just poking along at 2 knots. Wind was predicted to be 10-15 knots, but it was more like 3 knots.

We passed this vagabond boat. They had their diesel running, which was very loud, had a kicker off the stern (presumably in case the diesel dies) and were dragging their dinghy sideways behind their boat.

We sailed back to Fort McRee and dropped the hook for the night. s/v Sea Lilly passed by. We thought they were cruising into McRee, but they headed on West, so we think they must have headed to Pirate’s Cove for New Year.

Blake opened his new coloring kit he received from Captain Ken (Private Stock) for Christmas.

The sunset was really nice!

We grilled up some restaurant style cheeseburgers; mushrooms, bacon, Swiss cheese, etc.

Fog rolled in around 3am Saturday morning, but NOAA predicted it would burn off by 9am.

Around 8:30am it actually appeared the fog was burning off, so we weighed anchor and headed out for a sail. NOAA predicted 5-10k wind all day with sunny skies. We were really looking forward to sailing all day with plans to head to Little Sabine for New Year festivities.

Dolphins were out early.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9yKETSvI0c

By around 9am we were just by the Pensacola Pass and the sun came out. Temp warmed to 75 degrees. Carol donned a bikini. I promise all of this is true, but it lasted only about 20 minutes, so no pictures were taken. The fog that appeared to have burned off, rolled right back in and fast. We passed s/v Night Watch as they headed to The Wharf in Alabama.

The fog rolled in so thick, you could hardly see the bow of our own boat from the cockpit. Carol took watch with a horn in hand at the bow, while Blake took watch off our stern; both shared beam scanning duties. Ben held the helm while carefully navigating the fog. Once a minute we blasted the horn and every 5 minutes we would broadcast our position over VHF for any concerned traffic. Here is the last photo taken before all eyes/ears/hands were stead fast at navigation duties.

We made it back to the marina about 12:30pm and safely tied up. Here is a picture taken of the Bayou Chico bridge from our slip about 30 minutes after safely securing Monomoy. You can just make out a small sailboat, which was insanely heading our direction as he continued on out the channel into the Pensacola Bay fogginess.

The fog never really lifted. It would give false impressions that it was beginning to lift, but then would quickly thicken back up. Horns could be heard through the day off in the distance. As we returned to Bayou Chico we passed other boats heading out. We would courteously let them know that it was dangerous to head out with no visibility, but they would shrug their shoulders and continue on. Later we would hear the Coast Guard very busy on the VHF handling radio calls from distressed boaters. I don’t believe we ever heard of any real danger/emergency, but mainly just boaters who became very scared when they couldn’t see anything on the water. It is a freaky feeling when you detect a slight sound in the foggy distance, then a boat appears out of nowhere within a very short distance to your own boat. At one point we heard a barge and radio’d our coordinates; the barge captain replied that they had us on radar and we would safely pass if our position was held.

It is now 7am CST on New Year’s Day and the fog still lingers, though not as thick, and has lasted over 24 hours.

It was a very enjoyable trip and a fantastic way to end the old year. Not many places you can spend sailing the last few days of the year. We truly wish weather forecasters could be held more accountable for their predictions, but it will probably remain the only job you can get wrong everyday, but still keep your job.

We’re looking forward to a great 2012. Happy New Year to all!

Ben having a Heineken.

Blake was busy making clay figures in his V-berth.

Tammy and Marlin followed us over.

Once we rounded Navy Point, the wind settled down and was on our nose, so we fired the iron sail and cruised on; you can see Ken in the background flying his drifter in attempt at catching some wind.

Glad to be on the water.

The anchorage was a little busy, but not bad.

Keeldover and Skycatcher rafted to Monomoy, while Private Stock anchored nearby. Ben also dink’d over to Sherman Cove to pick up Joey who stayed the weekend with us. We all had a great time socializing Friday night, but don’t have any evidence, er, uh, photos of the night.

Saturday morning came quick with a scramble to relocate positions due to a falling tide and an ever creeping sandy bottom.

Here is Keeldover and Private Stock.

The Great Escape crew joined the festivities and anchored nearby.

Skycatcher anchored nearby.

Images from the air show.

We dink’d over to the island to get a better view from atop the sand hill. Blake was playing with his Luigi.

View of Monomoy from the hill.

Ben

Carol and Blake

Boats attending the show.

Ben ran Joey to shore for supplies; here they are returning.

Saturday night was quiet, but windy. We built a nice fire on the beach and enjoyed conversation among friends. Here’s a shot of the evening sky.

Blake was dressed as a pirate Hugh Hefner with his robe and doorag.

Sunday morning sunrise with Keeldover.

Conrad and Roxanne took a morning stroll down the beach.

These two didn’t realize the show was over.

Ben took Joey back to shore, so he could return his rental car and catch a ride home to Louisiana for the week before heading back off to work keeping the world safe. Afterwards we weighed anchor and headed back to the marina. The wind was 15 and gusting to 20 directly on our nose, so we ran the iron sail the entire trip back.

Though there was little sailing done this weekend, it was a good weekend with great friends. Thanks to everyone who enjoyed the weekend with us and to our boat guest Joey who resupplied the grog cabinet with more than he consumed!

During the Friday night festivities, which included guitar strumming by Ken and lots of good food with libations, we were informed that the couple on s/v Sea Lilly intended to get married the following day at Ft. McRee; we were invited to attend.

Saturday morning we casually got everything in order and departed the dock for a sail over to Ft. McRee.

Pogo immediately went on dolphin alert.

Blake happy to be sailing.

Ben at the helm.

It was a gorgeous day!

The wedding was to start around 1pm, so we sailed directly to McRee.

s/v Sea Lilly departed the marina shortly after we did, but steamed the entire trip, so they were already at anchorage when we arrived.

Our marina neighbor, s/v Golden Horse, was also in the anchorage.

Captain Ken on s/v Private Stock cruised in to attend the wedding.

Followed shortly by Captain Coy on m/v Fantasea.

Carol decided she need to dress a little more than just beach bunny attire for the wedding.

The wedding was neat. We’ve never attended a simple ceremony as this, but really liked how easy it all came together, with no fuss, and had just as much fun.

Blake caught the corks that were popped from the Champagne.

This little fellow flew around us during the ceremony, then casually landed after the “I do”.

s/v Private Stock, s/v Monomoy, and m/v Fantasea at anchorage.

After toasting the new bride and groom, it was time to head back to Monomoy for some boat made pizza. Blake was very proud of himself, because he made the pizza.

What a perfect evening!

Pogo enjoyed the evening so much, she went for a swim.

Doesn’t get much better than this.

We awoke early Sunday morning, had coffee, biscuits and grits, then set sail.

We were passed by marina neighbor m/v Sandpiper on their way back home.

The huge crane we’ve previously photographed was making its way into the Pensacola Pass.

Caribbean Soul passed us sailing in the opposite direction.

Ken sailed along as well.

The day warmed up enough for a bikini!!

Our destination and plan for the day was to sail around the bay, then anchor in Little Sabine for the night. Monday was a teacher planning day, so no school or work for Carol/Blake.

With Otto driving the boat, we all enjoyed hanging out on the bow.

The wind settled down to near nothing, so we decided it was time to head to the anchorage, put together some snacks, and relax.

One of our snacks was a crab dip from Joe Patti’s. Pogo quite enjoyed licking the bowl clean.

As the sun went down for the day, it turned out to be another gorgeous night.

Monday morning turned out to be gloomy.

That was OK, we still enjoyed a nice sail back to the marina and received a dolphin show.

What a fantastic weekend it was! We wish every weekend could be as fun with weather as nice.

DeLuna Fest was in full swing at Pensacola Beach, so we figured we’d anchor in Little Sabine to catch some of the sounds.

It was a beautiful day on the bay.

Not many other boaters out for some reason on Saturday, so we didn’t take many pictures during the cruise over.

Ken on s/v Private Stock cruised in and dropped anchor shortly after we arrived.

Ben took some time to relax and finish reading “A Salty Piece of Land”.

A Mainship anchored just off our stern.

Ken dink’d over for evening cocktails.

Ben and Pogo.

Carol enjoyed the sunset with a glass of vino.

The sunset was really nice!

It was a really calm and cool night, so we had the enjoyment of opening all hatches and bundling up in covers.

The next morning we casually got ourselves together and set off sailing. Temps were warming up, but there was still a chill, so Carol wore a bikini, but then covered in a blanket.

There were lots of other sailors on the water today; it was really neat seeing all of the boats under sail.

Captain Ken was cruising the bay as well.

We sailed over to inspect a large crane on two barges.

It was a really great weekend on the bay!

We departed the dock around 8am with the wind steady and perfect all day.

We were cruising around 6.3 knots a good portion of the day.

We headed out to the Gulf with Pirate Blake on the lookout.

Pogo relaxed.

Ben multi-tasked. Yes, that is what he was doing. Steering the boat, holding a beer and on the radio.

As we were cruising back into the Pensacola Bay, we ran across Rick and his wife on s/v Easy as they were heading out into the Gulf.

Shortly after, we passed John on s/v Black Swan also heading out to the Gulf.

The Coast Guard was out in full force keeping an eye on the boaters.

Look, it’s the SS Saratoga. (reference to Captain Ron)

Another sailboat cruising the bay.

Green #1 was way out of place and located near Navy Point; it is usually near the Pensacola Land Cut.

Ty and Kiki on s/v Shooting Star passed as they too headed to the Gulf.

Carol was catching some rays on the foredeck.

Ralph and Mary on s/v Nightwatch sailed by us too. Hmm, everyone was going the opposite direction we were.

Wait! There’s a boat heading the same direction we were; it was Ken and crew on s/v Private Stock.

Ken took some great shots of Monomoy, including these.

Alas, another sailing vessel heading the opposite way and it was Kevin on s/v Pan Dragon; I wonder how crowded McRee was with everyone heading that direction.

We sailed over to Little Sabine dropping the hook around 4:40pm.

It was a beautiful sunset.

The full moon rising.

We weighed anchor around 8:30am and headed out sailing. We cruised around till near noon, when the wind died, but that was perfect for this vessel to take on the water.

Carol searching for wind.

Didn’t find any.

We headed back to the dock after drifting on the bay having sandwiches for lunch and decided to drop Sandy Cheeks in the water for a dink ride.

Blake manned the tiller as we cruised into Bayou Grande.

We were treated to a dolphin show as we headed back to the marina.

It was a really fantastic weekend. Temps were warm enough in the day for Carol to wear bikinis and the night was cool enough to open hatches. Doesn’t get much better.

There was only one other sailboat on the bay and a barge.

Ben can easily work from Little Sabine with the WiFi setup we have on the boat, so it allows him to remain connected, while Carol and Blake get to swim.

Paddleboarders on Little Sabine.

After swimming, Blake decided to watch a movie on the laptop.

A large plane gave us a flyover.

Our sunset was gorgeous.

Carol enjoying the sunset.

Saturday morning we weighed anchor with the intent of heading to the Gulf, which we did!

Heading out in the Gulf of Mexico.

Horizon is gone.

Returning to Pensacola Pass.

The Coast Guard Cutter ‘Cypress’ radioed us and asked for a wide berth, which we obliged.

After entering Pensacola Bay, we passed by Ralph and Mary on s/v Nightwatch.

Shortly after, we passed by Stan and company on s/v Carried Away.

Cruising through the Pensacola Land Cut at 7.3 knots and heeling at 20 degrees.

M/v Fantasea was right behind us heading to McRee; we joined them for snacks and cocktails after they dropped the hook.

S/v No Drama anchored right next to us during the evening, which was fine at first, but at 12:30am CST they were only about 5 feet from Monomoy due to the way the current flows through McRee, so we elected to weigh anchor and move to a location with more room.

We awoke Sunday to a nice sunrise.

After breakfast we took a dinghy ride to shore before weighing anchor and heading back to the marina. Our intent was to sail, but there was no wind, so we steamed back.

Passing the Pensacola Lighthouse.

We passed this interesting boat steaming by.

Once we securely tied back up at the marina, we had lunch, then headed by car over to the Pensacola Lighthouse.

Our view from the top (150 feet up) of the lighthouse.

Ft. McRee from the lighthouse. You can see m/v Fantasea still anchored.

We believe this was the vessel we had passed earlier in the day while on the bay.

Another view.

Carol and Blake.

Ben and Blake.

The Pensacola Lighthouse from outside.

Ken, on s/v Private Stock, took a daysail while we were at the lighthouse, so we caught a picture of him as he singlehanded back into the Bayou.

What a fantastic sailing weekend and a great way to close summer vacation!

We had a really nice sail over, swam, and had fish sandwiches topped with crawfish for dinner; it was fantastic. Unfortunately work required a quick departure Tuesday morning with a steam back to the marina, but it was worth the chance to get out Monday.

Here are a few pictures from our little trip.

We did pass a couple of other boats heading out to enjoy Tuesday.

Hopefully this coming weekend’s weather will hold out for us to get one more overnight trip in before school starts back.

The bottom fell out of the sky for hours, but by 5pm the sky had cleared back up, so we set sail for the 2nd time of the day and cruised toward McRee.

Ty and Kiki set off with us.

Looking good.

Carol at the helm.

We were cruising at 7.3 knots!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdQKFZ52nnE

The wind came around and started blowing from the West, which was the direction we were heading, so we doused the sails to make it to anchorage before dark.

Full moon for the night, but the sky had clouds that kept hiding it.

Ben and Blake on the bow of Monomoy at sunset.

s/v Shooting Star.

Blake.

Carol and Blake enjoying the view together.

We awoke Saturday morning to a clear sky.

There were jellyfish everywhere!!

Blake decided to catch some. He’d put them in a bucket and pet their tops for a while, then release and catch a different one; he had a lot of fun doing that.

We picked up Ty and Kiki for a dinghy ride to Ft. Pickens.

Blake in hunt for more jellies.

We could see the skies darkening in the far distance, so we headed back to Monomoy and weighed anchor.

It was a nice sail back toward Navy Point.

We passed s/v Au Revoir Petasse from our marina.

The sky was darkening quicker, so we doused the sails and headed into the marina.

The bottom fell out of the sky again just as we were pulling up to our slip, so it was a wet time tying up. Saturday night and Sunday were predicted to be ugly with weather, so we were glad to have had at least a quiet overnighters at McRee.

This fellow gave us all a sendoff.

Keeldover.

Blake hanging out.

Monomoy and Private Stock.

s/v Great Escape at anchorage.

We all hung out in the water swimming for the day, then dink’d over to Great Escape for cocktails and snacks.

Blake on our evening dinghy ride.

Carol on our dinghy ride.

Monomoy, Keeldover, and Great Escape at sunset.

Saturday Keeldover and Monomoy sailed over to Pirate’s Cove in Josephine, AL.

Blake on the bow.

Blake making clay figures on our cruise.

Pogo.

Ben

Blake happy to be anchored at Pirate’s Cove.

Blake said he wanted to jump into the water, but it was pretty brown, so he changed his mind.

Ben and Marlin taking the doggies to shore.

After taking the doggies to shore, we dink’d back over so Blake can play in the water, plus it was time for cheeseburgers and bushwackers.

Sunrise Sunday morning.

We weighed anchor early and had a really nice sail back to the marina.

We sailed over to Little Sabine after departing the dock about 8am CST on Tuesday.

Blake was ready to cruise.

Carol suited up for the cruise as well!

Blake and Carol smiling for the camera.

It was such a calm day with wind only around 5 knots, we poked along at about 1.5 knots of speed with Blake at the helm.

This fellow appeared to enjoy the calm water.

There were a few other sailboats on the bay.

It turned out to be a fantastic evening.

Dinner is served.

Wednesday was spent with a lot of swimming, though we don’t have many pictures from this day. We stayed at anchorage and did take care of some maintenance such as polishing the hull and stainless.

We awoke early as usual on Thursday and weighed anchor about 8am CST to head back to the marina.

On the sail back we were treated to a show of our military running training exercises.

We had a great family trip over to Little Sabine. We’re planning a trip over to Pirate’s Cove, Ingram Bayou, and The Wharf toward the end of next week. We will be accompanied by 2-3 other sailboats, so we hope the weather is nice!