We started the day off with great weather and smooth water. Departing around 9:00 am from Panama City, Florida. Today’s run would not be too long, approximately 6 hours to our destination, White City! Leaving Panama City, we got to enjoy a show put on by a 50’ Naval Hover Craft running probably 50 miles an hour. It came up on us quickly with a roar and lots of water being blown from its air ride. Three of the yellow Mercury Engine test boats were cruising by us at 50 to 70 miles an hour. The test drivers would wave at us when they saw us taking their picture. Hey, we felt like we were sitting still when they came racing by. We are cruising at a warp speed of 8 and ½ miles an hour. We don’t miss a thing. We enjoyed watching the dolphin playing in our wake!
White City is just a few miles down the ICW from Port St. Joe. There is a small park, with a floating dock (a dock that will fall and rise with the tides,) a few houses a little ways down the road! Needless to say there is not a whole lot there!
UH-OH!! Blue smoke coming from the exhaust! Can’t be a good thing but…lets hope for the best! Checking out the gauges and watching the RPM and our speed everything looks normal! We had to make a few phone calls to get an idea why we were all of a sudden pouring blue smoke out of our exhaust. We contacted our local mechanic in Mobile, Paul Dunham. Made a call to one of Brandy’s friends, John Messier, talked to a mechanic, Robert Hayes from Port Saint Joe, that was off of work for the week. Robert, did refer us to a Yanmar Factory Mechanic, in Carrabelle, at Dockside Marina. Robert, deserves many thanks for stopping at our dock on his way home that morning to help us diagnose the problem. Our number two cylinder was not firing.
We were going to need a mechanic, the decision was made to take it very easy on the engine and keep moving east. We took our time and made the short little hop to Apalachicola.
Arriving in Apalachicola, early in the afternoon allowed us to get the bicycles down from the fly bridge and take them for a spin! We toured this neat little historic town. Of all things to be invented in Florida. Would you believe the ice machine was? We wanted to try out the baskets on the bikes so, what could be better then groceries? Everything made it back to the boat in one piece the groceries, the bikes, and even the riders!! AMAZING!!
We really enjoyed the exercise as too.
From the bike ride to a stroll down the long dock, to the covered viewing area to watch the sunset! The shrimp boat passing the marsh in the purple sky, made a great picture! Another enjoyable day on the water.
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