The Florida Panhandle
Moving forward, we departed Pensacola on Tuesday morning, 11/27. Our destination over the next few days is Carrabelle, Florida. This is a 210 mile journey. Unfortunately, as y’all know, 6 weeks ago the Panhandle of Florida was devastated when the worst hurricane in its history, Michael, blew through. This will affect our stops in marinas along the way. Not too many survived the Hurricane.
Because of the damage to the marinas in the Panhandle, our stops along the way to Carrabelle need to be very well thought out. There is a storm coming in on Friday, so being in Carrabelle that day is important. We know that in Carrabelle, they still have a marina left and we will probably need to stay put there for several days.
Destin, Florida is our first Port in the Panhandle. A 50 mile trip from Pensacola taking us across Pensacola Bay and into the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway. We traveled across The Santa Rosa Sound, past Santa Rosa and Okaloosa Islands, and arrived to our dock for the night at Ships Chandler in Destin. We tied up in very strong winds. This place is not really a marina so to speak, but it did have electricity. Jim went to pay for the night and texted me that I needed to walk to the end of the dock and take a peek at the shenanigans going on. I found a guy, who, at the fish fillet table, was skinning deer heads! He had his boiling pot set up and was boiling them clean. I was hoping to see a manatee or a kitten, but nope. Deer heads!
Ugh
We left early the following morning for a 66 mile journey to Panama City, Florida. We entered Choctawhatchee Bay. This Bay is very big and reminiscent of our time up on Lake Michigan. The waves were not as big, but it still had that kind of feeling. Once off the Bay, we had a very long, arduous trip down a skinny man made canal called West Bay Creek. We begin to see where the hurricane whipped through leaving many mature trees broken like matchsticks. There were few homes, but the ones that were there had damage, mostly to their roofs. We left the creek and headed into and area called West Bay, another large open water Bay that took us down into Panama City. Heading into the marina, the devastation to these marinas was obvious. Docks were gone. There were sunken boats, and tattered buildings. The Lighthouse Marina, our safe harbor for the night was hit really hard. When we got tied up, we were forced to move because the power pedestal did not work. It’s not surprising, considering the damage we can see to this marina. We can’t fault the marina itself. Mother Nature had her way with this area in Florida. It is sad. We walked to dinner with Jody and Tom on Braveheart, and Mike, on Dash Away. The sides of the roads are covered in debris. There is a FEMA Disaster Relief Center in a parking lot. There are cranes, and wood chippers, and boats on shore that got swept up from their slips.
We had a nice dinner, nice company, and a nice walk.
Early the next morning we departed for Apalachicola, Florida. As we entered into the inlet from the Gulf, a huge tanker was approaching us on our stern. He was going pretty darn fast. Jim, I think, likes to push the envelope sometimes. He put the Happy Destiny into full throttle and we moved in front of said tanker.
Tanker Captain called us on the radio and told us his intentions. He asked us to hurry up and cross in front of his bow, which is just what we did. The pictures don’t really do this justice. We were both moving very fast!
As the tanker crossed our Starboard side, dolphins were having so much fun jumping in his bow wake. I love this! The dolphins play in the Happy Destiny wake too. I’m not sure there is anything I enjoy watching more.🐬
Our 65 mile trip today took us through the hardest hit area of Hurricane Michael’s wrath. There aren’t many words to be said. I’ve never experienced a hurricane and I hope I never do. I think about it sometimes. I live on a boat. The boat is in the water. We are clearly in the path that a hurricane might take. As we traveled the waterway today, the realization that in the blink of an eye, our home might get destroyed. We saw so many sunken boats, destroyed homes, toppled trees. I guess if we were in the way of a hurricane we would secure the Happy Destiny the best we could and high tail it to safety. I’m not the girl who is going to stick around and wait it out. After what I saw today, I don’t think that is very smart. Mother Nature usually wins.
We arrived in Apalachicola and got tied up at Scipio Creek Marina. There are few slips to be had. We were grateful to get one of them. Our friend Brian on Tomcat has been here for a few days at another dock. He had a golf cart that he was able to use. He was nice enough to give us a lift to the Piggly Wiggly. We had Mike on Dash Away over for dinner. Brian couldn’t come because he couldn’t have the golf cart out after dark, per his dock master. He was unfortunately quite a walk away from where we were at. I enjoy making meals for these guys that are all alone. They also seem to enjoy a home cooked meal. Brian tells us “I reckon I’ll just put me somethin in the microwave”. 😂
The last leg of the Panhandle journey is a short 30 mile trip to Carrabelle, Florida.
Carrabelle is the rendezvous city where Loopers gather and wait for a good weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico. Dolphins greeted us as we made our way into the marina. More signs of hurricane damage were all around us.
We arrived to The Moorings of Carrabelle, got some fuel, and got settled in our slip. We will be here a few days, maybe a week. There is a storm blowing through this area for several days. High winds and lots of rain. Our next adventure is to cross the Gulf of Mexico. There are two ways of doing this crossing. In a good weather window, boaters will leave Carrabelle and make a 185 mile run to Tarpon Springs. This route entails cruising all night long. You want to be approaching land as the sun rises to be able to see and avoid all the crab pots that line the shores of Southwest Florida. This is a crossing that you want to do with a buddy boat or two. That way you aren’t traveling all night long alone. Safety in numbers. Jim and I have decided to forgo that route and take the more scenic route around the Big Bend of Florida. We still need the good weather window, but our trip across the Gulf of Mexico will only be 80 miles. We will land in Steinhatchee, Florida and continue traveling South. The waters can be pretty shallow through some of these areas, which is why many take the direct route across the Gulf. Jim believes we will be just fine, for the draft on the Happy Destiny is only 3 1/2 feet. The worst thing that could happen is we tap the bottom somewhere.
So now we wait. Jim and I have walked the town, where most everything is closed and shut down. There are a couple of restaurants that we have already dined at. We found a seafood market and purchased some fresh fish. There is a market across the street from us, which is nice. The town is so small, that the Police Station is actually in a phone booth. I don’t quite understand that one, but here’s the picture to prove it!
The Christmas season is upon us. Again, it’s different for us this year. We won’t be with the kids and grandkids, but Aimee has put up my mothers Christmas tree and the Santa is up and running. This makes me very happy. I’d like to string some Christmas lights around the boat, and maybe a little Charlie Brown tree. We’ll see.
Jim and I wish you all a joyous holiday season. Be safe and be happy. Thank you for joining us on this adventure.
We get by with a little help from our friends. ❤️
Seasons Greetings from our home to yours.
