Great Loop & Cruising Adventure Blog

Today we traveled to Panama City Beach, Florida. Our timing could not have been better. A front came through the day after we arrived bringing high winds and big white caps, even in the marina. It was reported that there were up to fourteen-foot waves on the Gulf. Good time to be tied up to a dock. We planned a three-day layover at Bay Point Marina which was touted as a good stop and we have to report that it was. They have a couple of swimming pools and a hot tub as well as a golf course for those interested and the marina staff drops off a newspaper and weather report every morning.

Lisa’s second cousin, Norma and her husband Herb have wintered in Panama City Beach for twelve years and we wanted to get together with them as we did on our last trip. This has become one of top visits of our trips since they are great people and we always have a lot of laughs when visiting them, we kind of relate to both of them in a special way. We had them to our boat, they lent us their car and also had us over to the condo, on the Gulf, for a wonderful dinner with their friends from Canada, Joy and Lionel.

Some people call this cut, in the Panhandle, from East Bay to Apalachicola the Grand Canyon of the Florida ICW but we don’t think it is really anything like the arid canyons of out west but for us it is more reminisant of the sand dunes in the Leelanau Penninsula near our hometown in Michigan.

This is my (Lisa’s) favorite part of the trip south. The winding cut through this portion has a more intimate feeling than some parts of the waterway. The cut is narrow and you feel as if you can almost reach out and touch the colorful sandy dunes.

As we got almost half way through this cut a fog bank appeared in front of us and lasted quite a few miles. The only thing we could figure was that for some reason in this area the water became warmer than the rest of the cut since the air temp remained the consistant all the way through. The water was silky smooth and like a reflection in a mirror the sandy cliffs revealed their beauty for miles upon miles. The sight simply took our breaths away.

Lisa asked me to write something about fuel economy as I am always explaining to her how much we’re saving in fuel this trip so far, versus our last trip.

In 2005/06 Lisa and I paid an average of $2.86 for gas doing the first 2,300 miles of the Loop and fuel prices were going up. So far in 2008, on our second Loop, we’ve averaged $3.50 for diesel fuel and prices have been going down. Here’s how it breaks down from Charlevoix, Michigan to Panama City Beach, Florida:

We’ve spent 22 percent more per gallon but we’ve spent 47 percent less in total fuel purchased because our average fuel burn per mile went from just under 1 MPG to just above 3 MPG, a 200 percent increase.

Put another way, after we’ve traveled another 1,200 miles we will have spent more in fuel on our last trip than we’ll spend on one entire 6,000 mile Great Loop adventure. Now, that’s a great deal. 

While waiting for the turkey to cook we took the dinghy down for a tour of the harbor and a walk on the beach. It was the perfect day. Just a slight breeze, no bugs and lots of sunshine. We stuck our toes in the Gulf and squished our toes in the fine, white sand.

Once settled into our anchorage Lisa prepared a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, home-made pumpkin pie, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes.

We put the roaster on the back deck to keep the heat and moisture out of the boat which also left more room in the kitchen to prepare everything else. The temperature today was in the high seventies and we were able to have the doors and windows open all day and into the night. We got our small little Christmas tree out and put the mini lights on. It added to the mood of the day in our little home on the water.

Jim watched the Lions loose and we both called family to chat. It was a very special way to spend the day, one we’ll never forget, however, we both agreed we would prefer to be with our families on Thanksgiving to share with them everything we are thankful for.

Thanksgiving day was spent motoring another six miles to the harbor in Destin, Florida to anchor out again.

On our way we came across a school of dolphins playing in the crystal clear, sandy bottom, waters in the Destin Channel. We had five dolphins playfully swimming in front of, beside and under our boat, as Lisa captured it all with her camera. Remember what we said about nature providing entertainment?

The next two days we took it a little slower not wanting to hurry through a beautiful cruising area. We only traveled six miles each day. Our first overnight stop was to tie up to the Fort Walton Beach’s free dock. Everything we needed was within walking distance and it was time to get off the boat to stretch our legs. Lisa said it was time to find a hair salon and it was nice to just walk the two blocks into town to find several to choose from.

Lunch was consumed at a cute little Thai restaurant. We had some really hot spicy stir fried food that really hit the spot.

Again we were treated to a long sunset that looked like hot embers in a fire. Who needs to seek out entertainment when nature provides us with endless hours of fascination.

With the leak fixed we were able to leave early this morning for an anchorage by Elgin Airforce Base, Santa Rosa Island, which is six miles west of Fort Walton Beach. We were just on the other side of a barrier island which is the only thing that separated us from the Gulf of Mexico. We are seeing more and more dolphins now as we head east on the ICW.

We were close to the landing path of those gigantic military transport planes, the ones that carry tanks, trucks and troops. Our Military pilots must have been practicing their landing skills as we watched no less than fifteen land that evening about 30 minutes apart.

As the sun set into the clear western sky, the horizon came alive in brilliant oranges and yellows. As the sun was setting, we were surprised by Taps being broadcast on a, very loud, speaker system - however we could not see any signs of life from where we sat in the water. We like these kinds of surprises it usually makes an anchorage or dockage in a new place that much more memorable. It is starting to warm up where we don’t need the heat on and lately we have been able to leave the portholes open at night.

We developed a transmission oil cooler leak and luckily found an authorized Cummin’s dealer in Pensacola to handle the warranty repair.

It was a beautiful cruise toward Pensacola. We are starting to see a lot of white sandy beaches and windswept bushes and trees.

The repair was completed the afternoon of the day we arrived at the Pensacola Shipyard so we would be back on our schedule only one day or so behind.