Florida Explorations: Branford, Florida

Events of 15 September 2009

As we made the last 9 miles or so to Branford the Suwannee changed. North of its junction with the Santa Fe the river was a bit narrower and shallower. The banks were steep, rocky or sandy, and cliff-like. The endangered Gulf Sturgeon run thick up here. We sighted numerous four and five foot long sturgeon jump out of the water and belly-flop in an enormous splashes. These ancient fish can grow to eight feet in length. So far none we have seen have been much over five feet long.

The glassy surface of the undisturbed water reflected the morning sky. It was one gorgeous scene after another as the lush foliage and blue sky reflected on the dark water.

We hit numerous shoals with the depth finder showing the river a mere 3 or 4 feet deep numerous times. On one short occasion the gauge jumped up to 2 feet for the first time on our trip. Down south off the coast of our home in Port Richey the bottom is sand and sea grass, you can hit it hard with no damage. Here the rocks and deadhead logs were an ever present hazard. Grounding here could be pretty bad.
We had been considering taking the houseboat as far as we could get upriver in spite of numerous warnings to not go further than Branford, about 77 miles upriver from the Gulf. After seeing what the river is becoming we have come to the conclusion that it is not worth damaging the boat or eating up props by going further than Branford. We plan to leave the houseboat anchored there and take a long day trip up the Suwannee to explore as far as we can.

Upon anchoring in Branford we immediately went into resupply mode. It took about 34 gallons out of our 5 gal jugs to refuel the Mothership's tanks. Another 4 gallons went into the dinghy. There is no dock in Branford so we loaded the empties in the dinghy and ferried them to shore. A gas station was about a hundred and fifty yards from the boat landing and it proved pretty easy to ferry the full tanks back to the Mothership. Mission accomplished.

       As we were conducting our resupply two long range kayakers paddled by with their little boats piled high with gear and supplies. We had a few conversations with these hardy souls. They started at White Springs about 85 miles upriver from Branford. The two intrepid kayakers intend to make the Gulf by week's end. I would not want to run the Suwannee downriver from here in a kayak. However, starting further north, maybe at the rapids along the Georgia border and ending here might be in our future plans. My only reservation is the camping involved in using a kayak. I did my life share of camping in the Marine Corps, one time for eight and a half months straight, including not taking a bath for two months at the end; hence I'm not big on camping.
       Fuel is proving to be a non-problem. What is a problem is water. We carry 100 gallons of water and we might have 35 gallons left in the tanks. Our nightly showers are a luxury that we do not intend to give up. We are going to have to find a friendly home owner with a dock and hose spigot to water up. We purchased a bilge pump here in Branford just in case – our backup plan is to run the houseboat up to one of the springs along the Santa Fe River and use our bilge pump to refill our supply. It Might be nice to bathe in pure spring water each evening!
        Branford is a charming little town, population 630. Every store, except for a Hardees, is a Mom and Pop operation. We bought our bilge pump in a genuine hardware store. We had a cone and an ice cream soda at an ice cream shop set up with bar stools and the whole deal as if we had stepped back into the 1950s. I actually think it has been that way since then. We had a hearty meal at Sister's café where the food was outstanding and the service top notch. Downtown Branford is a genuine survivor from the ever expanding Wal-Marts and Home Depots of the world. Kinda nice.
       Fuel stats: It took 42 gal to cross the Gulf to Suwannee-town, 14 gallons to run the generator and make some small trips waiting for Tamara, 28 gallons at Fanning Springs 32 miles up the river, and 38 gallons more here at Branford. This totals 122 gals. Going downriver with the current should decrease our fuel burn considerably on the descent.
       In spite of our walk around town and Tamara's internet search we cannot find a Tavern. The big brother finale is on tonight and she, um we, wanted to find a place where we could view it. No such luck. So we are hanging out on the boat lying on our king-size bed watching movies as it once again drizzles…. Those poor kayakers!

Historical Marker

Between the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers there are scores of springs. Even small springs often lead to huge underground caverns, tunnels, and flowing rivers. The Suwannee itself changes in size from place to place as part of the flow goes underground. Best cave diving on Earth, if you are brave or dumb enough to be into that.