New Orleans to Florida II

Sat. 11/3/2012
Our friend Margie arrived for a couple of days of arts fest and sailing.  The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival 2012 was good.  Compared to 2 yrs. ago when we happened to have sailed to Pensacola and encountered the Fest, it has really grown.  More arts and crafts vendors, food and entertainment options, and many more people, from the coastline and beyond.  Enjoy the pictures!

Sun. 11/4/2012
It was a sunny and mild day for sailing, which also meant mild and variable wind.  But it was great for enjoying the trampoline and deck areas.  Dolphins! and a leisurely lunch while playing with the sails (Capt. Mike's sport).  More home cooking, wine/beer and Cable. AVENTURA stood to the test of providing comfort for additional folks besides just us. Two cabins with queen size beds, only one head but large enough for a 6 ft. man to shower and move around, a good size salon with wrap around view, and a good size cockpit too, not to mention trampoline and other seating.  Oh, and the galley is quite sufficient.  We love our 37 ft. Lagoon.

Mon. 11/5/2012
Margie left and we had hoped to continue our trip eastward but the forecast was for heavy winds and sea.  Given a 58 ft. mast, we couldn't opt to use the Santa Rosa Sound (somewhat protected) all the way to Destin.  We would have had to make a run outside in the Gulf.  The trip would have been at least 10 hrs. with no place to take refuge if the weather deteriorated further. And Destin Harbor is tricky when there's  low visibility, low tide and poor conditions.  So we decided to stay another couple of nights playing tourist in Pensacola.

11/7/2012
We left for Destin at just after 7:00 a.m. hugging the coastline at not more than 2 mi. out so as to avoid fetch and under full sail (full 110% foresail and slightly reefed mainsail).  We have a Schaefer in-boom furling system that allows reefing at any point. And Capt. Mike decided to use the whisker pole to extend out the foresail since we had the wind on our back port quarter sometimes as much as 16 knots.  Boat speed reached 8.8 knots.  Very nice.  Along the way we passed Pensacola Beach, Navarre Beach and Fort Walton Beach, reaching Destin Harbor around 4:30 p.m. in time for the sunset.  Anchorage:  30 deg. 23.392 min. N, 86 deg. 29.747 min. W, a quieter spot on the lagoon.  Destin Harbor is known as a party town for its many  eateries, hotels and bars.

11/8/2012
We left again around 7:00 a.m. not being able to shake the numbness of an extremely cold night, in the 30's.  We headed for St. Andrew's Bay, which was another similar run as the day before:  50 NM along the coastline.  This time passing by Sandestin, Grayton Beach, Seaside, Seagrove, Rosemary Beach and Panama City Beach on the way.  We sailed into the wind, which is not the most favorable tack for Cats.  Winds exceeded 16 knots at times and we made 7.5 knots under sail only.  We entered St. Andrew's Bay and immediately turned into Grand Lagoon to anchor just off St. Andrew's State Park.   Position:  30 deg. 8.297 min. N, 85 deg. 40.244 min. W.

11/9/2012
Again we woke up to very chilly weather but it warmed up quickly, enough for us to lower our dinghy for a row over to the state park.  We visited an old turpentine still and walked a trail.  Then off to St. Joseph's Bay and Port St. Joe Marina, a favorite among sailors.  We motored the 35 NM to our destination with the wind directly ahead, managing around 5.5 knots and arriving around 3:30 p.m., which was really 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.  We are really looking forward to this stopover. In addition, Port St. Joe represents the furthest point we have been since we began sailing the Gulf Coast.