03/07 - 03/09 - 2023 Hontoon Island Gathering

Colby, what does a bar on the Gulf coast hundred or more South of Orlando have to do with Hontoon? This bar is fairly close to where Ian 1st came ashore.
 
Skip the pictures Bob and read the article! :wink: Colby. (I don’t know why they put that video at the top of the article…)
 
Then link to the text not the video!
 
I did. Keep scrolling. :wink:
 
Kathryn is registered for the same spot as last year--8B.
Looking forward to the gathering!

Tom & Joyce--THANK YOU!
I'd love to hear about your loop adventures. Any news?

Jackie & Bob Hall
 
Tom and the Redemption crew left a voicemail that they planned to leave the boat in Carrabelle (now in Apalachicola per NEBO) for a month starting Nov1 then resume. The cell service around there is poor to none, so if Tom doesn't reply don't worry.

John
 
Glad to see some early interest and looking forward to seeing everyone at Hontoon. Our loop adventure has been great. We are at Apalachicola tonight and will be heading to Carrabelle tomorrow. Yes…. We will be heading home for a month or so as Lee and Jan are going to go back to Michigan. Need to get our C-Dory ready to go. While it’s been fun to travel on the Californian 45 there is NOTHING like a C-Dory. Everyone stay well.
 
I second Tom’s quote; “There’s nothing like a C-Dory”.
 
Booked 3B (pretty much where I was last year)
Thanks to the folks who helped to put this together. So looking forward to seeing everyone again.
 
How are you all getting reservations? I go online and EVERYTHING at Hontoon shows booked through all of March (I don’t believe that). I called the reservation number, they say Hontoon is closed and won’t open until Jan 1. I call the Hontoon state park directly, and no answer…..so, what am I doing wrong? I would love to book and head to the gathering again….It was great last year…
 
Tom and Joyce have taken a month off from cruising the Loop on "Redemption" and are home currently. They will be finding out what is going on there shortly I am sure.

I suspect that there is work being done. I would plan to go, there are other options even if the State Park ic closed. We have reservations at the campground near Ed Stone park and will have our 18' Caracal Cat there, and be starting in the camper at this RV park.
 
Seems strange…. But you are right about the website. I’ll call the reservation number tomorrow and see what they have to say. They have not canceled anyones reservation yet.

The water is still extremely high on the St. John’s river.

I’m sure everything will work out in the end.
 
I was wondering about how the park is doing. I remember they had quite a clean up after the hurricane of 2017. They say the St. John's was even higher this time. And would be a while before flood waters receded. Keeping our fingers crossed that everything is able to open back up. Also wondering about our friends on the Molly Brown, as haven't seen anything posted from them. Our plans after Hontoon were to maybe cruise the western ICW. I think those are pretty much a bust at this point. I suspect it may be a few years before things are opened back up in that area. Again, remembering the storm of 2017, it pretty much devastated the east coast and it was several years before things opened back up there. I still see articles of folks in Ian's path trying to cleanup and rebuild. My prayers go out to them. Back on topic, I had no problem earlier registering for a site. I suspect that until they get the park back opened, they have put reservations on a hold. Colby
 
Found this photo on one of the Face Book pages for Hontoon Island State Park. Looks to have been uploaded October 7th. Not sure when the photographer took it.

hontoon_oct_7.jpg
 
colbysmith":2mrvg88x said:
Found this photo on one of the Face Book pages for Hontoon Island State Park. Looks to have been uploaded October 7th. Not sure when the photographer took it.

hontoon_oct_7.jpg
Click to expand...

There is potential for another storm to hit the same area. Beware Nicole!
 
Can’t seem to get a hold of anyone at the park or online. I’m thinking that they will open things up after Thanksgiving IF hurricane Nicole does not make think’s worse. We will just have to wait and see. I’ll post again when I know something. Again they have not canceled anyones reservations at this time. Everyone stay safe
Tom
 
Just in case they do cancel, can I be the first to say I've never been to Appalachacola? (And probably can't spell it right either...) :wink: (Just thinking a backup plan in case...) Colby
 
Even if Hontoon cancels, Tom has some back up plans on the St. John's. We are still "in" for whatever happens--and will be there--if physically possible.

Colby, make it a trip to specifically do some of the Eastern part of the Gulf Coast ICW, and then up the Apalachicola--which has been navigated up to the dams which don't have locks..

The project ultimately constructed consisted of a 9- by 100-foot navigation channel along 107 miles of the Apalachicola River between the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam. From there the navigation channel extends 155 miles up the Chattahoochee River to Columbus, Georgia, and Phenix City, Alabama, and 28 miles up the Flint River to Bainbridge, Georgia.
Click to expand...
I have photo/charts for the Apalachicola, if you are interested.

There are some trips along from Carabelle to some of the other nearby inlets. Even go up the Swanee River etc.

In the relatively short time we have lived on the Gulf Coast (30 years), we have seen the Apalachicola oyster beds go from some of the most prolific in all of North America to Zero--zilch--all oystering is shut down now. It has been a combination of issues, from oyster diseases, to water wars involving release of fresh water down the Apalachicola and chatahooti rivers:

A tale of an oyster tonger and what has happened to the oyster beds.

Pensacola has started oyster farming, on commercial and scientific models

Unfortunately Perdido Bay is too polluted by the paper mill to have viable oyster beds, as there were in the distant past. There are still lots of boat trips and areas to explore all along the Gulf Coast. Not as spectacular as some places, but if you hear banjo music think "Deliverance".
 
Thanks Bob for some cruising ideas. Rosanne is tired of cruising the St. John's, (we have covered quite a bit of it over our 8 or 9 gatherings), and ready for somewhere else. Tom also shared with me the Gulf ICW is fairly protected and would make for a nice cruise. Probably a good chance that we may well do the Gulf ICW after Hontoon (or wherever we gather.) Colby
 
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