Nov 18 Bluewater Bay Marina (Niceville) to Pearl Bayou Anchorage

Nov 18

It was a nice mixed day on the water.  We left the marina early – at 7:15 and headed out the bay.  Great weather, 50’s and sunny to start and quickly into upper 60’s lower 70’s.  Just a light breeze so no real wave action to consider.  Florida weather for sure.   The trip today was a mix of venues.   Some of it was open water, some of it was man made cut canal.  Made good progress covering another 50+ miles.   

Somebody's having a good time  driving the boat!

 The morning was uneventful.   We made it to the area called the “Grand Canyon” which is the man-made cut.   Interesting area with odd geological formations on both sides.

Cliffs in the Grand Canyon

 As we exited it we had to pass a small tow but as we’ve come to expect along the coast from the tow captains - no communication - so we just picked a side and told him our intentions.  

Tight passing but "We're clear, Captain" 

 Once back on the bay we were greeted again by pods of dolphins.   We kept seeing groups of 3 to 5.  We could see them ahead of us and then see then coming towards us but then figured we were going too slow for them to have any interest in us.   Finally found a pod as we were approaching Panama City that found our bow wave of interest.  

Three what???

Oh - them!!

  I’m sure we’ll have more as we continue on our trip.   This was exciting for us as it was our first up close encounter.  Video attached.

Dolphins on the bow

  

https://youtu.be/23K4838c5oA


Finally made it to our anchorage for the night -Pearl Bayou.  It’s a nice location.  Very well protected and if the sun didn’t set at 4:45 local time we would have dropped the dingy and  gone exploring. You can still see some of the effects of Hurricane Michael from last year as the trees are pretty worn down.  Watched a few fighter jets from Tyndall AFB doing fly by maneuvers.  The sunset was uneventful as the sky was too clear and we simply went to twilight.

   Nice dinner cooked on board.  Some Trader Joe’s Mushroom Ravioli, a fresh vegetable stir fry and a bottle of white wine.  Our vegan friends Russ and Jax would be proud of us!!  Hopefully we’ll sleep that wine off and be able to get up at a decent hour in the morning.  On to Apalachicola.

Journey for Nov 18