Apalachicola Trip Advice

W

Wild Hair

New member
This is for all you Fl Panhandle folks. We will be taking the Wefings charter 25CD in the middle of June for a three day spin. I am looking for local advice on must see/do things. We will be anchoring out, not much for marinas, my wife would love to catch a few fish, I just want to drive the boat. Suggested anchorages would be great, and any thoughts that may make the trip even greater than I anticipate will be appreciated.


Thanks,
Randy
 
We bought our Tomcat from Wefings and performed the sea trials in Apalachicola. One day we went up the Apalachicola river to Port St Joe; the second day we went east in St. George sound to Carabelle.

Absolutely beautiful waters. The last part of the ICW is well marked, as is the approach to Carabelle. We were told to saty away from Government Cut, and we did.

I know you want to anchor out, but do try to have one dinner at the Gibson Inn. The chef was trained at the French Laundry in California, and his wife is a gourmet level dessert chef. It is an unbelievable experience. Also try breakfast at Caroline's on the River, and the paella and the banana split at Tamara's cafe (say Hi to Celia the waitress). I know, this is not what you had asked for, but I can't help it- the food in Apalachicola is just superb.

Also, see if you can talk Marc at Wefings into doing his special baked grouper with shrimp topping...

You are going to have a blast!
 
We have sent an info pak with river charts , tours and such .Let me know if you didnt get it . Also there are links to the users guides for the electronics on the trawlerrental site . As to fishing, I have been known to give away a few secrets .................
Ill be curious to see what others enjoy in this area ...
Marc
 
The best place to anchor near town is at the head of Scipio Creek--there is a large turning basin up where the shrimp boats anchor and the launching ramp. This is far more protected than in the river itself.--although you could anchor behind big Tow Head Island, where you would have to dinghy across the river/ICW. I would take the advantage of at least one day at dock in Apalachicola to explore the town. Perhaps you could just spend a day before and after the charter in Apalachicola

I don't know if Marc has a copy of Rick Rhodes' book on Cruising the Big Bend--but it is full of great information. The route given by Alok is certainly a good way to put the boat thru its paces, but is mostly protected water. Marc can give you pointers about fishing. Which has been quite good in our area of the Gulf Coast currently.

I don't know what the boundries are for the charter, but St. Marks is also a nice run--a bit further than Carabelle, but does involve some open gulf, so you would want to watch your weather.

Have fun!
 
How much does the Wefings charter cost for the C25, and do they have the TC also for charter? It might be much cheaper for us to charter than to truck our boat all the way to FL from the opposite corner of the US.

Warren
 
Can't remember the gents name at last years gathering. The guy that built/operated the nice wood dory. He suggested the cove on the North side of Dog Island.

Described as: As beautiful a place as "anywhere" to drop anchor/relax and the C-Dory can get you in-shore past any bigger boat that may be lingering in the area.

It must be the sheltered cove that is visible on the North-East corner of the island. Dog island is just South of Carrabelle. Check it out on the ole road atlas.

Enjoy the cruise and maybe click a pic for us...

I'll get there one of these days...
 
One of our favorite places is Saul's Creek . That where the hurricane parties are . Bob suggestion of Scipio Creek is a good one . You need to get above the commercial marina this time of year as the shrimpers are working again and they use alot of the channel going in and out .
Marc
 
Marc, Bob, Chris, etc.,

Thanks for the replies.

Yes Marc, we did recieve the package. I just know who good you folks are and thought I can't have too much info for the trip. I am a HUGE fan of Hurricane Parties!!! Just hope we don't have one this time around!! I favor the parties in honor of other locations...lol..

And Cathy just loves secrets...

Warren, go to trawlerrental.com and you will find the pricing info.

We are coming to town early Thursday and leaving Tuesday... F,S,S on the boat so should have time to shop with Marc and see the town. We are going to stay at the Gibson Inn when not on the boat.
 
I usually order from Watermark Publishers, who publish the book. Rick Rhodes
has done several books, including The Cruising Guide to the Big Bend, which also covers the rivers. Also Claiborne Young has a large number of books, including Eastern Florida and the Gulf Coast. All are very worthwhile. Claiborne Young also maintains an excellent web site:
http://www.cruisersnet.net/index.php

For some reason Rick Rhodes book Cruising Guide to Florida's Big Bend is not on the Watermark site, but is available from Landfall, Amazon and a number of other dealers. It is usually on the shelf in our local West Marine.

Another group of publications for the SE are Skipper Bob's books:
http://skipperbob.home.att.net/publications.htm Bob died last year, but his widow Eilene is continuing the publications along with help from cruisers and residents. Both of these web sites will have good up to the minute updates on conditions
 
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