Apalachicola to Panama City

Our blog post from Apalachicola to Panama City seems to have disappeared so here it is again. Side note: The main reason we have been heading towards Panama City is so that I could attend Gulf Coast State College. We have planned to stay there for 2 years while I complete a degree.

We departed Apalachicola on an incoming tide and a northerly breeze. We motored against the wind with the plan to get far enough along the ICW to avoid the strong current when the tide changed. This all worked pretty good but with very little chance of sailing as the tall trees blocked the wind. The scenery was spectacular though and, apart from a few boats and kayaks during the first hour or so, the ICW was deserted.

A barge heading to Apalachicola

The old railway bridge just north west of Apalachicola

Our first stop was at Lake Wimico where we decided to stay the night anchored out in the middle to avoid mosquitoes and sand flies. The lake is shallow and we anchored only a short distance outside of the channel in about 4’ of water. A peaceful night interrupted only by hooting owls against a background of a million frog calls.

An early morning departure in absolutely still conditions was just amazing. The lake was a mirror with the surrounding trees perfectly reflected in the water. We motored slowly down the channel enjoying the quiet scene. The tall trees lining the ICW seemed even taller in the still of the morning. We also saw several alligators and many birds along the way. We were constantly surprised by how few other boats we saw when it seemed like such a beautiful place. Not complaining though, more for us to enjoy.

Lake Wimico early in the morning

The ICW just west of Lake Wimico

Signs of  a time gone by

Osprey nest

Our next stop was in East Bay, only a short distance from Panama City. We thought it would be nice to have one more quiet night before arriving at a place we know is full of boats.

After a leisurely departure and a few hours of sailing we arrived at Pearl Bayou just west of Tyndall AFB. The bayou is deep and has good holding but the sand flies are bad and we couldn’t stay out after sunset.

Pearl Bayou, beautiful but so buggy!

We headed on to Panama City Marina for supplies the next morning. Panama City Marina is nice except when an easterly breeze is blowing! We had a hard time docking in pitching waves but eventually got tied up with some help from Ricky, a very helpful and pleasant employee from PCM. There are good clean laundry facilities at the marina and it is only a short walk to downtown. Unfortunately the only grocery store in walking distance has since moved so a car or trolley trip is now needed for restocking food supplies. The trolley stop is just a block away though and the #2 goes directly to Walmart for $1.50. Another good thing about the marina is that the first 6 hours are free, enough time to go shopping, do laundry, and get water topped up (for us at least).

All cleaned up we decided to head over to St Andrews StatePark for a few days (We had a few weeks to kill before I started college). The park is great and was just as we remembered it from when we lived here several years ago. The anchorage however can be quite rough due to major boat traffic. We anchored close in in shallow water and used a stern anchor to keep the boat facing the oncoming wake. This minimized the rolling and we were also in shallow enough to wade in.

We cruised around the area to several anchoring spots with occasional visits to the Panama City Marina over the next few weeks. When the time came to settle for a semi-permanent spot while I attend college we went into Masalina Bayou and found a nice sheltered spot in 4’ of water to drop the anchor.  

Anchored in Masalina Bayou

This may be the last blog under Seawindcat.blogspot for a while. I'm going to do a blog about my studies though. An associate in sUAV(drone) Technology at GCSC. I will post a link here for those interested.