When we were in Carrabelle my assessment was that the northerly winds that are favorable to leave will also blow or the water in those ports. I was trying hard to avoid the long overnight run and kept looking at all options very seriously.   I was warned by the guys at C Quarters that Steinhatchee entrance can get quite shallow even on a good day.  They tried to talk me out of going there. Then add to it the effect of the North wind which will make it even lower.  I saw it as a crap shoot and decided against p putting myself in that potential situation.  I chose the overnight crossing and went straight to Clearwater instead of Tarpon Springs. It was a small additional time but there are far less crab pots approaching Clearwater.  Ran in and then down the ICE a few miles to the free dock at the home of Jeff and Susan Wright. They have a green mark in Active Captain to describe their free dock.  Left the bay near Carrabelle at noon and arrived at the Wrights at 3rd next day.  R. Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Bob McLeran <Bob@MVSanderling.net> Date:01/07/2014 9:41 AM (GMT-05:00) To: T-GL <great-loop@lists.trawlering.com> Subject: GL: Cruising Florida's Big Bend Although most "loopers" seem to bypass the Big Bend, we are interested in actually experiencing some of the old Florida areas that are apparently still very much alive and well, if water depth and weather permits. Sanderling is currently in Carrabelle at the C-Quarters marina while we're enjoying a few months at home. We want to resume our cruise homeward to Merritt Island once the winter winds subside and water levels return to near "normal," temps warm up, and daylight is longer - probably March. We have visited St. Marks, Steinhatchee, and Cedar Key by car on our way to and from Sanderling, and would like to visit all three on our way around the Big Bend to Tarpon Springs. Might also consider Crystal River. At least one boater has visited both St. Marks and Steinhatchee in a DF 49 with a 5 foot draft (our DF 41 is 4 feet), but most of the marks on Active Captain were placed by boats with shallow drafts of 2-3 feet (there are a number of marks where the captain info does not include boat detail - not very helpful). Has anyone cruised into those three areas (St. Marks, Steinhatchee, Cedar Key) or Crystal River in a boat with 4+ foot draft, and what was your experience with the water depths and anchorages/marinas? Any thoughts or suggestions welcome! -- <><><><><><><><><><><><>Mozilla Thunderbird<><><><><><><><><><> Bob McLeran and Judy Young               Manatee Cove Marina MV Sanderling                            Patrick Air Force Base DeFever 41 Trawler                       Melbourne, Florida Blog: http://mvsanderling.net/Blog Web: http://cruising.mvsanderling.net/ _______________________________________________ http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/great-loop_lists.trawlering.com To modify your Great-Loop subscription options (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.) go to: http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/options/great-loop_lists.trawlering.com