Shipmates:
Blisters or not we are in the Destin FL area with the boat. Not a great place to sail - at least for me. The bay is very large - but very shallow too. Have not yet found wide open areas of deep water. Tried to go into the gulf 2x the waves at the mouth of the bay are unbelievable - thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I turned around in fear both times (under power). Here are some pics
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tangentair:
edited to conform with no more than 3 picture policy
Excellant photos, have you tried St. Andrews Bay in Panama City Beach, not far away. I have a house there but have not trailed the boat yet from N.Y. ,too far for me. Where are you from?
I don't know the area around Destin that well but with most areas you'll find once you exit the mouth of the bay and head a bit into the Gulf things calm down somewhat... assuming the Gulf is calm. If you do venture out again just make sure you know the forecast and the best way back to protected waters. Plus this is the time of year the popup thunderstorms can ruin your day. They usually start to annoy me around 2 in the afternoon.
I watched a video on sailing on the west coast of Florida and they said that there are vast tracts of state lands that was bought from "I think it was" Kimberly Clark along the pan handle that are perfect for gunkholeing, swiming with manatees, finding shark's teeth, camping, and it is apparently lightly used - don't know how far you are from there. But I also remember when I lived in Fl that this time of the year head out early and expect storms by 2.
Bob how long are you there for? You could head west down the ICW to Pensacola Bay, Down that way you have Fort Pickens, only way to get there now is by boat or walk. Do a search for B.E.E.R Cruise 2008 good places to go. if you would like to stir up some power boat folks, pull up your daggerboard and head under the Destin Bridge, as soon as you come out look to your port side you will see a bunch of boats anchored out, the place is called "Crab Island". The water varies from 2' to 3', anchor out get the snorkel and mask and start lookin for crabs they are all over that place, oh these are Hermit Crabs, the kids love it. They have a Floating restaurant and a good ole ice cream boat that runs around. Hope you have fun.
Hey! DDB...could you post a Lat/ long of your sailing area...I would like to look it up on GOOGLE EARTH...It seems you are in an enclosed area or bay with some access to the ocean. Puggsy
Men:
I am indeed near point "A" posted by Hart previously. As you can see the entire Bay fills and empties via that narrow pass which is also very shallow. Even the normally calm gulf poses quite a challenge to those trying to exit the bay to open water - I have given up after 2 tries.
Crab Island has been a lot of fun. Though most of us have been stung by Jelly Fish there.
Also the open end of Destin Harbor is a great place to beach the boat and enjoy the marina life on the north side and beach life on the south side.
I motored around in shallow water with the GPS and never saw more than 12 feet. Then I visited my good friends at West Marine - shoulda went there first day. They gave me a free chart that shows where all the deep water is for sailing - i did not need to "Lewis and Clark" the bay myself.
He also told me about the National Seashore that begins just to the west of point "A". It is allegedly undeveloped barrier islands with great camping, exploring, marine life activity etc - If I had known earlier - I would have spent 2-3 days trolling around back there - bummed i just learned of it yesterday. It runs from Destin to navarre the waterway goes all the way to PC - this is also the area that Tangentair referred to in his earlier post
