We're in Florida!

Our last night in Fairhope was spent on Jan and Joe's m/v 5th Quarter for a spaghetti dinner with Andre and Olga from m/v Mystic Bond. Pictured is everyone minus Joe, the photographer. We met these boaters from the Florida Keys and Nova Scotia back in September in Joliet, Illinois so it was fun to reconnect.

We all left Fairhope on Tuesday and headed down Mobile Bay to the IntraCoastal Waterway (ICW). We were excited to be sailing again though we had to douse the sails too soon as the ICW channel is quite narrow at that point.

We were told we needed to stop at LuLu's at Gulf Shores, AL, a "must stop" for Loopers. So we all had "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" at Jimmy Buffet's sister Lucy's place. It's a fun place with great food and atmosphere so it was well worth the stop.







We anchored for the night in Ingram's Bayou near Perdido Bay just off the ICW. The highlight of the day, besides the cheeseburger, was seeing our first dolphin! The lowpoint was running aground (though briefly) in the ICW, in the channel - crazy tides!

The next day was sunny and in the 70s again (sorry Wisconsinites!). About mid-morning we crossed into Florida - another milestone. The three of us got slips at Palafox Pier Marina in Pensacola - hooray for floating docks! We hadn't seen those in a long time and there can be some mighty big steps onto your boat with the fixed docks. History lesson: Pensacola is the City of Five Flags; over the last four centuries, Spain, France, England, the Confederate States of America and the United States of America have ruled Pensacola. All Navy, Marine and Coast Guard aviators start their training here. I never quite managed a picture of the Blue Angels in formation but trust me, we did see AND hear them. We also saw the Coast Guard doing maneuvers and plucking people out of the water by helicopter.


The next day we parted ways with the other boats that don't have a mast. There are several 50 ft. bridges that prevented us from heading to Ft. Walton Beach via the ICW. We headed to an anchorage near Pensacola near historic Ft. McCrae. A very pretty anchorage but we hit a sandbar coming in that somehow wasn't where it was supposed to be! We hit pretty hard and came to a dead stop. I have two bruises to prove it; I was down below and was thrown a couple of feet into a post. Hopefully that's the first and last time that happens!

On Friday we got an early start and headed out into the Gulf of Mexico. We weren't sure what to expect but it seemed reminiscent of Lake Michigan in regard to the wave action. (Ginger got seasick!) We had to motor-sail a lot of the way but after 47 miles we arrived in Destin, FL.

The white sand on the beaches coming in to Destin reminded me of snow, but thank goodness it wasn't! Since they didn't have any slips available, we ended up tied to the fuel dock at the Harbor Walk Marina. There really aren't any facilities for $1.75/ft. dockage so we weren't too happy but had no choice really. It's a big sport fishing marina. There was a lovely sunset from the boat though.



On Saturday morning we headed back into the Gulf. The wind was pretty brisk but, guess what? It was coming out of the east, directly where we were headed (sound familiar sailors?) So, more motor-sailing; we tried tacking for awhile but knew we'd be out of daylight by 5pm so we mostly just blasted right into it - not happy! The best part was encountering three dolphins who wanted to play. They'd go from one side of the boat to the other, swimming under the bow - too fast for me to get a good picture. The worst part was seeing our Packer windsock sailing off our stern! Not a great time for a man overboard drill but after two tries, we managed to snag it with a boat hook and pull it back onboard - yay team!

We set the anchor in a hurricane hole near Panama City just at dusk. It's called Smack Bayou but could be called "Jellyfish Bayou" - they were everywhere. I thought they were fascinating since I'd never seen one except in an aquarium. They were transparent and about 10 inches across. There were two sunken hulls in the bayou too; one sail and one power boat. Not sure what the story is on them - very strange. We spent two nights at anchor there after getting beat up on the Gulf.

We headed into the Panama City Marina early Monday am when the wind picked up and we weren't so comfortable at anchor anymore. And.... that's where we are now and finally have internet access again - hooray for civilization! Paul even got to watch Monday Night Football on cable and we walked to a place for dinner. Here's a picture from last night after the front moved through. Can't get enough of those sunsets! To be continued.... and GO PACKERS!!