Bravo! Adventure
December 9
ICW Mile 162 Wolf Bay
I'm up at 6:30 to do what needs to be done. Surprised to find that Doug's not
up yet. I look around and find that there is no fog, so we should have no delay
on that point.However, the sky is overcast. All is quiet. Well, not exactly.
I guess I'm not the only one with snoring potential. I climb back up into the
bunk. Even though I was up until about 1:00 AM working on the log, I've had
enough sleep and click on my reading light. (This is the same light that mysteriously
seems to get turned off in the middle of the night after I've fallen asleep
reading.)
This was a good anchorage. Peaceful and calm. The single bow anchor and a slight current kept us pointed north, with Orange Beach off our stern. Doug descends into the engine compartment every morning to check engine oil and to do a visual inspection of things before starting the engine. The engine compartment is a wonderful place for a person with technical interests.
Checking engine oil
Climbing out of engine compartment
We're off around 7:30 AM. Marinas are frequent now. Had we not stopped at Dog River Marina for the maintenance issue yesterday, we'd have gone into Pilot Cove Marina, home of the world's best hamburger. The lament of a vegetarian on passing up this unusual opportunity is short lived.
8:08 AM
We enter Florida. The planned destination is Destin harbor. This will get us
just into Choctawatchee Bay. We would have the time to go further, but weather
may become a factor and we'd prefer the protection of the harbor to searching
for an anchorage.
We listen to the weather. Things could be getting interesting. The wind has picked up and creates a constant clicking of the bow flag. (Doug puts a rubber band around it at night, since his head is right below it when he's in bed.) The inlet at the west end of the Gulf Islands National Seashore momentarily exposes us to the Gulf of Mexico. The water is a bit choppy here, but drops back soon as we move east.
We study the guide book and find that only one of the Destin harbor marinas can accommodate our length. Doug asks me to call the Harborwalk Marina and ask for a slip for the night. The number in the book seems to go to message so I get the correct number from information. They have two slips available and are now awaiting our arrival around 4:00 PM. $1.55 / foot with a 40 foot minimum comes to $62. The cost for anchoring: $0. But we're happy to have access to laundry facility, groceries, and a selection of restaurants for dinner, all within walking distance. Also, I now have five days of log to post since we haven't been at a marina since December 4, so I hope we'll have Internet access.
At the west end of the national seashore is Fort Pickens, originally constructed around 1830 to protect the naval station at Pensacola. The fort was used in the Civil War, but became obsolete toward the end with the development of the rifled canon which was more accurate. The guide book tells how in 1886, the captured Geronimo and some of his band were transferred here and given free reign of the facility. They became a local attraction and the community protested the transfer to Fort Sill, Oklahoma less than two years later. In 1899, a black powder storage blew up and destroyed one corner of the fort, leaving the appearance lopsided to this day. Today, the area is part of Fort Pickens State Park. Fort McCrae, on the other side of the inlet was long ago consumed by the natural forces.
The water is getting a little rougher in the southern part of Pensacola Bay. 1-2 foot waves. We've secured much of the stuff that could move around. Much of the stuff on the galley counter is put into the sink. Other heavier items have non-slip material under them. All surfaces have a rim at the edge to prevent things from sliding off. We take frequent splashing on the fore windows and the wipers are going. Doug closes the ventilation hatch above us since water was starting to come in.
Dolphins are with us briefly again today. This time a pair of them are out front leading us along.
We thought we had entered the eastern time zone somewhere along the way today. But the mobile phone was indicating one hour earlier. So we pulled out the Florida AAA map and found that the eastern time zone starts at the Apalachicola River, which separates Alabama from Georgia and then comes south. Actually, the time zone line heads west about 20 miles north of Apalachicola. This really makes a person wonder why the Florida panhandle west of Apalachicola isn't part of Alabama.
We arrive at the Harborwalk Marina without dificulty at around 3:30 PM. Doug directs the process of securing Bravo! The forecast includes winds that are already growing and rain is expected.
Bravo! at Harborwalk Marina, Destin, Florida
The folks in the marina allow me to connect to their fax line for Internet access, so I download email and upload these daily logs. The manager loaned Doug and Jules his pickup truck so they could drive to the grocery store. When we met back on the boat, I spotted a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. Apparently Jules had never had this experience and Doug was taking corrective action. Somehow the snowman on the box didn't seem to fit with the balmy air temperature.
Jules' first Krispy Kremes
Another indication of the strange way Floridians get into Christmas was noted on the short walk back from the restaurant where we had walked for dinner:
Santa, dolphins, and Rudolph the red-nosed sailfish
It's good to be in a harbor this evening with the high winds. Apparently a front is in the New Orleans vicinity and moving this way. We'll need to check the weather carefully in the morning.