Day #107 - Destin, FL
November 15th, 2008Had a rough night at Beach Marina in Pensacola. Not much sleep for the Captain or his first mate. The predicted thunderstorms never appeared, but the winds from the front were STRONG, 25-30 mph. With the set up at that marina, the docks and the boat were fighting against each other all night. Andy was concerned in the night and ended up moving to the couch in the salon to keep an eye on things. When we got up this morning the winds were still strong. We researched and charted trying to determine if the passage to Destin was still a good idea.
We pulled out of the marina and into the narrow channel to begin the trip at 9:30. The waters were rough and the channels tight. We made the turn to go under the bridge and into the GIWW and the waters were calmer than we had anticipated. Seas were 2-3 feet and the wind was on our stern. Made the trip very comfortable. The weather has changed with the passing of the front. Yesterday the high was 79, today, although sunny, the high is 60 degrees.
The trip down channels brought you very close to shore. At some points the channel buoys were no more than 100 feet apart. Very little boat traffic. We only passed three other boats the entire trip. The sand is still as white as sugar and the skies sunny and blue as is the water.
Kite surfers were everywhere. In this bay we counted 12.
There is still some evidence of Hurricane Ivan as seen in the picture above. Not sure how long the sailboat has been like that, but the house looks to have been in disrepair for some time. Passed several residential areas and the towns of Navarre Beach and Ft. Walton Beach among others.
Glad to report the price of diesel has fallen below $3.00 a gallon. Much better than the $4.89 we paid at the beginning of the trip. Hope it lasts, especially since the stock market is in the tank.
The seas got really rough for the last hour of the trip with 3-4 foot waves. As we turned to come into the Destin channel and under the bridge, it was really rough. We made it safely into Harborwalk Marina in Destin and the Captain did a masterful job docking the boat in the high winds and the narrow, stern in slip.
Went up to the harbor walk and explored for a bit. It will probably an early night as neither of us got much sleep last night. Off to Panama City in the morning which will be a fairly long day. Another great one today on the water. Beautiful in Destin!
We went to the boardwalk to watch the sunset. Dolphins gave a show at the same time. On the boardwalk they fired a canon as the sun went down. Heard lore from a Navy man sitting next to us. When the sun sets, legend has it that it is like an 18 gun salute when someone dies…it is in recognition of the dying sun. I like that explanation.
