GL: Apalachicola/Government Cut, was: 3-1/2'

[Albin43SDtr]

'Lo All,

>There is shoaling between Apalachicola and Government Cut, but never 
>in the pass.

The last time we went south, a few years ago, the USCG advised us not 
to use Government Cut because there was extensive shoaling inside the 
cut and only folks who knew the tortuous route through the shoals 
should use it. They said that the shoals in Government Cut change 
continuously.

For What It May Be Worth:

Local folks I know that work those waters advise others (including 
me) to go to the pass at Carrabelle, at the west end of Dog Island. 
This is especially true if one has to wait for a crossing window, as 
the water at Dog Island's Shipping Harbor is usually (always when we 
were there) very clean and clear. For us, it takes most of a day to 
get from Panama City to Dog Island, so we stay the night and leave 
late the following day. Great place to kill time. The water around 
Apalachicola is brown with silt and rich with whatever comes down the 
Apalachicola River that the oysters like so much.

The Celestial cruises about 8.5 kts or so. Since we cannot cross in 
daytime, leaving after sun up and arriving before sundown; we always 
cross at night, leaving about 4 PM, so that we can easily see all the 
buoys in the pass, and arrive late enough in the morning to see any 
buoys, shoals and crab pots when arriving. Fortunately, there is very 
little jetsam and flotsam in the water there. There are lots of 
shrimp boats further south. If your radar has a guard zone alarm - 
use it, as not all of the boats, especially the long-liners, are well 
lit, but most shrimpers are. We usually opt to arrive at Clearwater 
or Tampa Pass (at Egmont Key), because the bottom has changed so much 
in the area around the Anclote Keys, and I am afraid I may be too 
tired to see all the shoals, especially since then I would be looking 
into the sun. We usually leave coming back north via the Anclote 
Keys, but go slow and keep a wary eye out for shoals. The last time 
back, there were 3-4' sand dunes where the chart showed 12' of 
water......and that will/did all change with the next few major storms.

Another benefit of traveling the Gulf at night, is that the winds 
usually lay down, unless, of course, a front is passing through. I 
have often seen 3-4' daytime waves become a slick calm at night, only 
to become 3-4' waves late the following day, caused solely by 
convective onshore winds created by heating of the land-mass.


Take care and be safe.

Wayne
M/V Celestial
Albin43 Sundeck