Carrabelle

Lesson Plan doing a wheelie 

The weather and tide gods have it out for me.  I woke up a little confused on Tuesday after nearly rolling out of bed. The boat felt like it was going up a steep hill. I went out to the cockpit of the boat and found that it was a huge step up to the dock. It’s happened again. Just like in Mobile, the north wind and the full moon combined to create the lowest tide anyone in the marina could remember, since right before Tropical Storm Fay hit in 2008.  The front of the boat was out of the water by 8 inches or more.

The plan to make it to Tampa is unraveling fast. I got a text from a couple of guys (Ray and Anthony) who left here on Sunday heading for Steinhatchee. They anchored in 7.5’ of water and ended up being grounded so hard that the boat was tilting more than 45 degrees, when the tide went out.  If their 20’ boat is having trouble with these super low tides (1.8’ below predicted low tide), I think it wise for me to stay put away for a week or so.  So, I set out to explore the town of Carrabelle.

Ray and Anthony in Steinhatchee

Where Port St. Joe looked like it was trying to grow around its marina and downtown area, Carrabelle is a well-settled town. One of the locals at the marina asked me what I thought of Carrabelle? I said, it seems like a town that is happy with what it is and not trying to be something it’s not, it’s a fishing town. The welcome town of Carrabelle says, “Get Hooked”. They embrace the fishing industry. The side of the Jefferson County Sheriff vehicles in town state the claim; “The Oyster Capital of the World”. Carrabelle also claims The World’s Smallest Police Station. Two world records in a small town, impressive.

In 1877, Oliver Hudson Kelly from Massachusetts founded the town and named it "Rio Carrabella". The City of Carrabelle was chartered by the Florida Legislature in 1893.  In August 1899, the 2nd hurricane of the season struck Carrabelle and destroyed the town and leaving just nine homes. Today the population of Carrabelle is around 2,700.

On Wednesday I planned to go to the Crooked Creek Lighthouse Museum and the Camp Gordon Johnston WW II Museum.
I walked 3 miles (one way) and found that the lighthouse museum was closed.

A picture of the D-Day training at Camp
Gordon Johnston

So I walked back and went past the marina for another mile and a half in the other direction to The Camp Gordon Johnston Museum. Thankfully it was open. (I had over 23,000 steps by the end of the day.)

In 1942, Camp Gordon Johnston was opened for the purpose of training amphibious soldiers on nearby beaches. The camp trained a quarter of a million men and closed in 1946. The camp was instrumental in training troops for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. The museum included an overview of all of the bases along the FL panhandle and the role each played in training for WW II, six bases from Tallahassee to Pensacola.

The C-Quarters Marina has been a great place to camp for nearly a week. There is a cast of regulars that welcome fellow boaters. There are those that live on boats in the marina, and those who live locally that call the marina, their home away from home. I sat on the deck and consumed a few beverages with these folks, it has been great fun. But I must move on. I have an appointment to get some work done on Lesson Plan in Niceville, FL. I’ll be back to visit C-Quarters again.

Lesson Learned: A town that knows who/what it is, is a great place to spend a little time.

I enjoy friendly marinas almost as much as sailing.

Sunset at C-Quarters Marina

Party on the porch at C-Quarters

The beach is all mine today