Port St. Joe Update

Yes, we are still at Port St. Joe. There was a one day weather window yesterday for a safe gulf crossing and the next one is not predicted yet, so we will be here for a couple more days at least. Sunday night the marina treated the loopers to a Shrimp Boil featuring the local fresh shrimp and topped off by another beautiful PSJ sunset.

The loopers continue to come in to PSJ ... tonight 34 of us are going to Peppers, the Mexican restaurant in town. Looper boats come in all shapes and sizes. Here at the dock is Sundancer, a shrimp boat converted into a liveaboard. Next is Eschaton, a 36 foot Gibson that is doing the loop, followed by Shingebiss.

Over the weekend another type of visitor came to Port St. Joe. A mantee swam right into the harbor by our boat, seeking the fresh water coming out of the storm sewer in our corner of the marina. Attached to his tail was a tracking device, a bobber/antenna contraption that monitored his location and vital signs. On Saturday the Mantee Rescue folks called. They told the marina his name was Harold and that he was not doing well in the colder water and needed to be taken further south. They were coming to rescue him. We all ran to the docks with our cameras as the rescue boat pulled in on Monday morning. Note the outboard motor mounted at the front of the boat and the open transom, through which they will lift the 1000 lb. manatee.They strung a net with weights on one side and floats on the other between the shore and the rescue boat and began to close the circle with Harold in the middle. Harold didn't offer too much resistance, another sign that he needed to be rescued, but I captured one good shot of him flipping around as the net tightened. With a mighty heave ho, they tugged him into the boat, put a space blanket on him and off they went. The Florida Fish and Wildlife boat and two very knowledgeable folks (in a 15 foot Whaler) from the USGS were also on hand. The USGS guy said they would put Harold into a climate controlled truck (they are mammals and can be "dry" for a long time) for further assessment. If he is healthy enough they will bring him to the fresh water in Crystal River, a well known manatee hangout around the big bend from here. If not, he will have some zoo time to regain his health.

Later the same day, Ray and Patsy loaned us their SUV and we drove with Nan and Jack (Eschaton) to the St. Joseph Peninsula. This narrow peninsula, which serves as the barrier island for the town of Port St. Joe is full of lovely vacation homes and the far end is a Florida State Park. The beach has been voted "best in US" and you can see why. As you can see from this picture there were piles of shells, lots of intact ones. This panorama shows how narrow the peninsula is with the Gulf of Mexico to the left and the bay to the right. PSJ Marina is 5 miles to the right across the bay.

After a great beach walk, we drove further out the peninsula to the end of the road. We followed a trail with a boardwalk through this beautiful swamp section. The trail led to another section of high sand dunes, protected with snow fences so the vegetation can grow. The sand is so white and fine, that it looks like snow. On our way out of the park we saw this sign, which really made us giggle. "Swim with Caution"??? uh, okay !!!??

On the way home, we bought some of the delicious local shrimp and had our own shrimp boil with Jack and Nan on our boat. First time we've entertained on the boat since we left Newport. Another delightful day at PSJ.