It was cold the morning of Tuesday, December 4th, and we had frost on the bow of the boat. We left Ingram Bayou at 9:30 and arrived in Pensacola around 1:00 p.m. We anchored in Little Sabine Bay and dinghied over to The Market (a well-stocked, if expensive, little grocery store/market just east of Beach Marina) to pick up a few items, went back to the boat and then dinghied back over to meet Dave about 5:00 p.m.
As I mentioned in the last blog update, we met Dave in July of 2006 at the Demopolis Yacht Basin and have kept in touch since. We went to a local restaurant called Flounders, had a few happy hour beverages and ate complimentary popcorn and hors d' oeuvres. The waitress told us the hors d' oeuvres were provided by the restaurant for the Martini Club but that anyone could help themselves, so we did and ate enough popcorn, fried shrimp and stuffed mushrooms to serve as dinner!
This is the redfish Todd caught in Ingram Bayou. We have a couple of nice fillets in the freezer just waiting to be consumed!
This is our friend Dave at Flounder's in Pensacola.
On Wednesday we did the tourist thing and walked around Pensacola Beach, although we were pretty much the only tourists there. We were told that this is the off season and things don't really get hopping until summer. Nonetheless, the sand is beautiful and the beaches are spacious but it was a little too windy to enjoy a leisurely stroll on the beach. Dave met us at Paddy O'Leary's about 3:00 p.m. and we went by his house so he could walk the dogs (Jack and Chester) before going to eat at a local Thai restaurant he frequents. The food was excellent and we ate so much that we called it an early evening, said our good-byes to Dave and went back to the boat to veg out.
The deserted but beautiful expanse of white sand on Pensacola Beach.
Our anchorage in Little Sabine Bay, Pensacola.
We made the six-hour run to Destin on Thursday and anchored in Destin Harbor. Dinner that evening was crab-stuffed Flounder, courtesy of a Dog River fisherman. Todd struck up a conversation with the fisherman the morning we left Dog River Marina and was asking how to catch, clean and cook Flounder. The guy happened to have one in his live well and offered it to us. I then found a crab stuffing recipe on the Internet and we were all set - a most excellent meal!
On Friday we dinghied over to shore and walked around downtown Destin, although it didn't take us long to determine that there wasn't much to see. We then dinghied over to the beach at East Pass on the other side of the harbor to see what we could find. The sand was very nice and the water was beautiful, but the area is all condominiums with no retail establishments or restaurants of any kind. We did run in to a guy who lives there on his sailboat, though, and he told us that AJ's was the place to go so we dinghied back across the harbor to AJ's where Todd enjoyed their happy hour (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.) oyster special. By late afternoon the wind had really picked up so we called it a day and dinghied back to the boat.
This is a view of Destin Harbor as we entered.
Here are some sunset photos the Captain couldn't refuse - very nice!
The view at East Pass looking east.
Also at East Pass, looking north. The sand and water were spectacular!
This is the north side of the entrance to Destin Harbor.
This is AJ's World Famous Seafood and Oyster Bar.
The Captain enjoying his happy hour oysters on the half shell at AJ's.
It was foggy Saturday morning and we weren't able to pull anchor until 9:00 a.m. We had considered running offshore to Panama City but decided that the Gulf was too rough for an all-day (60 mile) offshore run. Once we got out into Chocktawhatchee Bay the fog seemed to worsen and we struggled along with about one-eighth of a mile visibility for the next ninety minutes or so. Along the way, after the fog cleared, we saw a number of porpoises, several of which swam alongside the boat surfing our wake. One even jumped about six feet high right in front of the bow a number of times. The Captain loves to watch the porpoises and went down to "greet" them every time they surfaced! We made it to Smack Bayou, just south of Panama City around 4:30 where we anchored with three other sailboats.
The porpoises surfing our wake between Destin and Panama City.
One of the three sailboats anchored with us in Smack Bayou.
Sunday was a quiet, beautiful day on the water, close to eighty degrees, and other than working on re-doing the weather stripping around the front windows, we just relaxed and enjoyed it. Monday was another beautiful, warm day so we dinghied over to the Panama City Marina and walked all around downtown Panama City, which was much more enjoyable than what we saw of downtown Destin. We ate lunch at Cassandra's (homestyle cooking, just like mom's!) and then made a trip to the downtown grocery outlet for a few essentials before heading back to the marina.
Just as we were getting ready to leave the marina and dinghy back to the boat, I heard someone say my name in the marina store and turned around to see who it was. I didn't recognize the woman but she recognized us from our blog photos and we knew her "electronically" by her AOL screen name. Come to find out she also knows Mo ("MOTU") and had taken Mo to Wal-Mart when she passed through Panama City about a month ago. She offered to do the same for us but we declined since we really didn't need anything very badly. At any rate, it was nice to finally meet Greg, learn her "real" name and put a face with it.
We left Smack Bayou Tuesday about 11:00 a.m. and went over to the marina to top off with water and pump out. We then made a two-hour offshore run in about four-foot waves to Crooked Island - not a pleasant trip! But the water was calm in the anchorage and it was another beautiful eighty degree day so we put down the dinghy, went over to the beach and strolled around looking for shells and listening to the pounding waves for a couple of hours before returning to the boat for the evening.
There appears to be a good weather window for crossing the Gulf on Thursday and Friday before a cold front moves through and shuts everything down for several days, so we are planning to leave Crooked Island later today and go as far as White City. Tomorrow we will proceed to Apalachicola with a stop at Miller Marine to top off with fuel before continuing on to St. George Island where we will anchor for a few hours and then head out into the Gulf later that evening with plans to make a 140-mile crossing to Crystal River.
This should put us in Crystal River sometime Friday afternoon before the cold front hits but it also means we will be traveling non-stop for more than fifteen hours, about nine of which will be in total darkness. Needless to say, I am more than a little apprehensive about the journey, especially since our auto pilot isn't working, but we either need to go now or be delayed several days due to the cold front. So, as things stand right now, that is our plan. The next couple of days are going to be challenging so please keep us in your thoughts as we set out across the Gulf and pray that the wave forecast of one-foot or less is accurate!
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