Happy Thanksgiving! We pulled out of Destin Harbor by 8am. We had to make about sixty miles today to get to our next destination of Panama City Beach. We had made reservations as we knew no one would be around today since it is a holiday. They had told us to tie up to the fuel dock when we arrive, which had power and water available, and they would see where to move us to on Friday if we stayed another night. Our friends on Trinity had reached out and really wanted us to anchor with them and Sirius for Thanksgiving, but we were already a day ahead of them, so we had to decline.
We left the harbor following the same track we brought in. We made it out with no issues and followed the Intracoastal waterway. In the open waters across the Choctawhatchee Bay we were fighting a current. The bay is about twenty five miles across from where we started. This had me a little worried as we were down to 6.5 knots and lower. At this rate we wouldn’t make our destination until after dark. As soon as we left the bay though, we started to pick up speed in a narrow part of the waterway. Alright! maybe we will make it by dark! We continued on and soon came to more open water on the West Bay which connects to St. Andrew Bay. This open water didn’t have as much current, so we kept our speed pretty good, but it was a lot of twisting and winding to follow the marked channel. It is something to look out and see nothing but water, but you can only stay afloat in the channel as everything else around you is really shallow- two and three feet shallow! Since we’ve already run aground once, I am doing everything I can not to do that again.
After an eight and a half hour trip, we arrived to the harbor where we reserved the dock. We slowly made our way in, being careful to follow the buoys. It is counter-intuitive to go as close to shore as the buoys are, but that is where it is deepest. We passed by about twenty feet from shore, but the depth stayed around nine to ten feet. We found the marina and saw the fuel dock where we were told to tie up. We docked with no issues and left room for another boat if required in front of us. Now that were were tied up and secure, it was time to make Thanksgiving dinner.
Dinner consisted of Tofurkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, brussels sprouts and stuffing. Lauren can work magic with our small kitchen and she really outdid herself! She had to prepare one item at a time, except for letting the Tofurkey roast in the oven. Mashed potatoes first, then the vegetables and stuffing. We put the table together in the salon and even had candlelight. We enjoyed our dinner and gave thanks for being able to enjoy this meal, our supportive family and friends, and will remember this Thanksgiving for years to come!
We retired soon after with full bellies and a possible plan for tomorrow. We were expecting to stay here two nights, but we think we will anchor out tomorrow instead and save some money. Our friends on Trinity and Sirius will be catching up with us tomorrow as they plan on staying here at this marina, but we will be close by…