Leaving early, 6:25 am, we got a head start to our next location since we made a 60.3 NM run. We left with the generator on, since it was so cold. We can't wait to get to the warm weather. We got to Pitts Bayou around 3:30 and dropped the anchor. New Hope rafted up to yes again. It helps us not swing and they enjoy not having to anchor. I made a nice catfish dinner for us and then baked some pumpkin bread for Mary and Chris, and Brenda and Sonny. Chris picked his up when he took Skipper to the beach. There were a lot of derelict boats and houses but there was also small marina and a restaurant. A Coast Guard boat came and picked up food from there. For some reason we got a few wakes before we went to bed but nothing worrisome. We picked this anchorage because we could tuck up out of the North wind. Out of The Blue and Miss Arlene went close to a beach and got beat up all night. Our other choice was Burnt Mill Creek but this got us a little closer to Panama City.
After a restful night we woke up to a cold, windy day. We had a few mishaps before we left the anchorage. First, the anchor came up in the wrong direction and got stuck in the pulpit and wedged against the secondary anchor. We couldn't get it out while we were in the bay because we had to get moving. Hal was able to get it loose while we were underway by deploying the second anchor and the using the boat hook to lift and loosen the main anchor. The second mishap of the morning was the small ball fender went overboard. I saw it floating as I worked on the anchor. Hal brought the boat close to it and I was able to use the boat hook to retrieve it.
Gerry's boat.
As we traveled to Saul's Creek, we heard a southern gentleman calling on the radio asking when the tide would come in since he ran aground. Apparently he was on a homemade pontoon boat and was traveling from Florida to Louisiana. He only had a VHF radio and a cell phone which had no service. Hal responded to him and told him it would be two hours before he could get off. His name was Gerry and he was 70 years old and this was an adventure for him. He was happy that he was on his way, and had food , water and shelter. He had the greatest attitude. The Coast Guard contacted him and made sure to keep on eye on him to keep him safe.
Anchored for the night. No internet or cell service but we had tv!
As we traveled along, it reminded us of the rivers, except for the land on the banks. It was really windy and narrow. But beautiful. We traveled up Saul's Creek to find a shallow spot to anchor. It was 30-50 feet in most places. We found a 12 ' depth and dropped the hook. We didn't raft up because it was too narrow. There were small bass boats that came by fishing and we didn't want to block the channel. It was so peaceful and quiet. As Hal and I sat looking at the stars we heard an owl. Not the My Cousin Vinny noise thought thankfully.
New Hope in the Saul's Creek. This was the second floating shack that we saw in the creek. It is attached somehow.
We left for our destination of Carabelle at 8:30 am.
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