Maybe it was not meant to be. My cousin, Mark Kelly, and I were halfway through the second day of a nine-day trip from Alligator Point, Florida, to Pass Christian, Mississippi, sailing MYRNA C, my Norwalk Island Sharpie 23. On the first day, we had made only 17 nautical miles despite sailing for 10 hours. We had 310 nautical miles to go. I trailered MYRNA C from Pass Christian, Mississippi, to Alligator Point, Florida, one month prior to the trip to maximize the vacation time Mark and I would have for sailing. Jim Hill let me keep my boat at his dock on the canal, which is just across the street from our family’s house. We made final preparations for departure here.
Photographs by the author
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What a great story. Thanks for this well-written and well-documented (by very good photos) account of a journey I have wanted to make over familiar waters. All the challenges are recorded, and yet a reader may find that the account of the journey will evoke a desire to follow the same path. Thanks again!
Awesome adventure story. Good suffering was done, great memories had. Love your sharpie.
Cheers, Bob
Never sailed in those waters nor ever likely to, so it is a treat to read about this cruise there. Thanks!
I have made that trip the other direction. It was fun to recognize all the landmarks that you mentioned. That was 30 years ago and things were not quite as developed, but it still felt familiar. I used to fish in Apalachicola, scallop in St. Joe Bay, and surf on Little Saint George Island. We would paddle across the Government Cut and once, when the current was strong, another guy I knew was swept out to sea on his board and had to cling to a buoy until a shrimp boat picked him up. I sailed through a squall near Panama City that was truly savage. Gulf Shores used to be great, but has turned into a condominium-laden racket. Dad used to camp on Cat Island as a kid and I still get out to Horn Island occasionally.
Thanks for the memories!
Nick
Spent all my youth on those barrier Islands. What wonderful memories. Gulfport was my hometown.
Reminds me of the old sailor’s adage, “Hell is paved with glassy ground swells.” Hard on rigging, the boat, and the crew.
Great story. My sailing (and kayaking, in the last few decades) has been in the Puget Sound area, and points north. Very different kind of country, but certain areas of the sound are highly developed with industry, condos, and private residences, while others still remain more or less wild. Although a sharpie would be at home in some areas, deep draft vessels are the norm with an abundance of deeper waters.
As for weather helm, I would rather have a bit of it. I find a neutral helm frustrating, as you can’t feel what the boat is doing, or wants to do, but have to be constantly vigilant, eye fixed on the sails to avoid luffing, or what’s more difficult to discern (especially for a novice), stalling the sails by sailing too far off the wind.
At Chico Bayou in Pensacola Bay you anchored at my marina – Yacht Harbor Marina.