3/15/08 (Saturday) – Steinhatchee. Lodging at Gulfstream Motel and Marina – Dinner/breakfast in town.
There was some thunder during the night, but no more rain. Occasionally, I could hear wind high in the trees, but generally it was still. This was the warmest night so far, with temperatures in the sixties, appreciated after yesterday’s cold. I was awake at 6:50. My tent screens were covered with mosquitoes, so I decided to stay in bed a while longer. Then I did my back and hip exercises. I put on some insect repellent and crawled out of the tent. I’m the first one up. The sky is overcast, but calm. I grab my TP and head for the relative luxury of the port-a-john. Scott is up when I return. The coffee is ready soon. I have a first cup while breakfast is being laid out.
The wind forecast for today is for light winds early, building later in the day, but still less than yesterday. We start to break camp to get an early start and beat the higher winds predicted for later. Our tents are surprisingly dry and pack easily. After six days on the watertrail, this process is becoming an easier routine. Packing the boats is easier too. With six days of food and water gone, there is definitely more room.
Today we head for Steinhatchee and a hot shower! Our course will take us back down Dallus Creek to the Gulf, then up the Steinhatchee River to the village of Steinhatchee and the Gulfstream Motel and Marina. We’ll travel about five miles on the gulf today, ten miles overall. As we finish breakfast and begin cleanup, a fog bank rolls in. We can’t see 100 yards off the shore. Unbelievable!
We pull on our paddling clothes which are still wet from yesterday’s rain ( I prefer to call it “heavy damp”. It somehow makes me feel better). They are cold in the early morning. We all had other dry clothes we could have worn, but we knew that saltwater soaked clothes always feel damp. Why stuff them into a dry bag with dry clothes while dampening yet another set? Better to wear the damp clothes and save the dry ones for when the paddling is done.
The trip down Dallus Creek through the rolling fog is magical. This is really a beautiful place. It’s a shame that we couldn’t have experienced it under more benign conditions. Out on the Gulf, the wind is blowing at a gentle 8 mph, again from the south and in our faces. But this is an easy and pleasant paddle, nothing like yesterday’s.
We make good time but need to stay close to shore so we don’t get lost in the fog. The first hour or so is a wonderful brisk paddle. Then the wind begins to build. I can’t see and neither can John. We both shed our glasses because they are constantly wet and steamed up from the fog and occasional spray. My distance vision is still pretty good. Things are much clearer without the glasses in these conditions. Surprisingly, I can even read my GPS and watch with a little effort. I play with my deck-mounted video camera, adjusting its height and angle in hopes of getting some good action video sequences. The camera is an Oregon Scientific Helmet Cam. I received it as a birthday gift a month ago. There was no time to experiment with mounting it to a kayak’s deck before this trip, so everything I do is an experiment in improvisation. Currently it sits mounted to a water bottle under the bungies on the deck in front of me.
We paddle about two hours, then nose into the sea grass for water and a five-minute break, then paddle for another hour or so before doing the same. On this leg of the trip, two dolphins hunt for fish around our boats. It’s not they are following us or even giving us any notice. They just happen to be hunting on a course that parallels ours. This went on for over a mile. It was very cool.
Peering through the fog, we eventually make out a navigation marker. Visibility has been 1/4 to 1/2 half mile, but has been improving gradually. It marks the entrance to the Steinhatchee River (pronounced St-EE-n-hatchee-the locals are very touchy about this pronunciation). Paddling up the Steinhatchee, through increasing signs of civilization, we eventually reach the Gulfstream Motel and Marina, our destination.
We carry the boats up and away from the boat launching ramp where we have landed. John and I begin to unload the things we will need for tonight, along with some gear that needs drying, while Scott goes to the office for our room key. Spreading our wet gear and clothing to dry on the railings outside our room, we quickly have the place looking like some slum tenement in a 1930’s black and white movie. Soon its hot showers, a shave, clean clothes and tonight, a dry place to sleep!
Steinhatchee is hosting a fishing tournament. We saw little boat action on the Gulf today, probably due to the fog, but the TiKi Room where we will have dinner is already hopping. I think I’ll have fish of some kind (This is rural Florida where you can get fish any way you like, as long as its fried). Then I’ll call Lisa (Governor Spitzer did what?!!!). I miss her. She won’t be happy about the conditions we’ve been paddling in, but I’m learning a lot because of it. This is the first time I’ve paddled in consistently bad weather where you had to move on each day, and with few places to escape when conditions get dicey. You are forced to cope, persevere, rely on yourself and your companions, and push on through.
Tomorrow, Sink Creek
