City Dock in Fort Walton Beach, Florida to Pearl Bayou anchorage in Panama City, Florida
Day #135: Up at 5:15 A.M. cold (34 degrees) and overcast. The rain finally ended about midnight-finally. Engines were started at 6:15 A.M. At 6:35 "Bay Tripper" and "Island Girl" walked "Parrot Bay" around the end of the pier to get underway as we were in very shallow water at the dock. As Mike tried to maneuver the boat the starboard reverse did not work again. At 8:30 A.M. we were in Choctawahatchee Bay it was 38 degrees the winds were kicking up 1-2 foot waves and we had fog. At 10:00 A.M. we exited the east end of Choctawahatchee Bay after having 2 foot waves on the beam a bit uncomfortable ride. We than went into a section called "the ditch", a narrow canal that is lined with pine trees that cause the water to be a brown color. At 11:00 A.M. we saw our first blue sky. At 11:50 A.M. we did a speed pass of the tow "Kimberly Ann". At 12:00 P.M. we came out of "the ditch" heading into West Bay. We saw dolphins as we headed into West Bay. As we left West Bay heading into St. Andrew's Bay near Panama City, we first started to see the destruction from Hurricane Michael. As we got to Panama City the destruction is continuing to become worse; multiple boats up on the shore, trees twisted and homes have no roofs to being totally destroyed. There is evidence that work is being completed ashore and in the water to repair damage from Hurricane Michael. As we passed through Panama City there were dolphins. At 2:30 P.M. we anchored and rafted with "Bay Tripper" and "Island Girl" in Pearl Bayou. We traveled 72.4 miles (total miles 2122 for the trip). At 3:00 P.M. Ken and Bruce helped Mike work on the starboard reverse. They believe that we have the starboard reverse working. At 5:00 P.M. we had leftovers aboard the boat. At 5:30 P.M. Mike and I participated in the annual condo meeting via phone.
Friday, November 16th: Scipio Creek in Apalachicola, FL (they are full at this time but I need to call back Friday morning -we are anticipating that loopers will be leaving heading to Carrabelle, FL). Attempting to call a few other marinas to see if they could accommodate us for one night).
Saturday, November 17th: We will leave Apalachicola, FL at about 1:00 P.M. heading toward Dog Island (this is where all of the other loopers will be heading) We will leave Dog Island around 3:00 P.M. Most loopers will go to Tarpon Springs, FL but we are going to head to Clearwater, FL which we are hearing is much easier to get into than Tarpon Springs (but it is about 20 miles further). We will be on the water for approximately 21 hours and 46 minutes.
Sunday, November 18th & Monday November 19th: Clearwater Municipal Marina to sleep! It sounds like we are going to be celebrating Thanksgiving with "Island Girl" and "Bay Tripper' in Sarasota.
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Our first sign on Hurricane Michael.
In "the ditch" the water is brownish from the pine trees.
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As we came into Panama City this is the first marina that we came to it was totally destroyed.
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Continued destruction in Panama City.
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"Seven Artic" ship repair facility in Panama City.
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Dolphins playing in our wake in Panama City. (This is my first picture of dolphins as they are very camera shy).
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| As we progressed farther into Panama City the destruction continues to become worse. |
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| "North Star" is being righted as it was a victim of Hurricane Michael. |
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| There was a small marina near Pearl Bayou it is destroyed and some of the boats from the marina are onshore in the bayou where we are anchored. |
