Waiting for a weather window....
11/17/2013 We knew we ought to leave Panama City Marina before 7a.m. to deal with a rambunctious Gulf of Mexico and make it through the tricky entrance to Destin Harbor before dark. Winds were from the NE at 14 knots, and waves 4 - 6 ft. knocking Aventura on her stern quarter. Getting slapped around drained us both. Destin Harbor has great anchorages. Exactly what we needed to turn in for the night early with an expectation we'd be able to play tourist the next day. Maybe dinghy in to one of the many restaurants and take a walk around. I woke up to rain and
had to move my yoga practice inside (mostly use the cockpit for daily yoga), and it
rained all day. A time to read, make
soup, watch Oceans Eleven and putter around.
11/19 We left Destin Harbor before 7 a.m. for an early start to Pensacola
Bay. Finally, a beautiful day and
beautiful for sailing. Winds were out of the NE at 18 - 23 knots,
and we slid along on a beam reach at 7.5 - 8.5 knots most of the way. It was exhilarating! Probably all sailors would want to sail more
and motor less, but, alas, this is not the case.
We decided to go into Palafox Marina in Pensacola, a great marina and close
to much. We took turns on the bike
getting groceries, went for coffee, walked the streets, took care of laundry
and other maintenance on our cat, and enjoyed Pensacola.
11/23 Then on to Ingram Bayou, one of our favorite anchorages. Location: 30 deg. 19.167' N/ 87 deg. 33. 298' W. A great storm hole along the Alabama Canal
(ICW). Never ever tired of Ingram
Bayou. Beautiful, small and intimate feeling.
Weather forecasts have been worsening as time goes on. After much deliberation, we decided to head
for the Pascagoula, MS area, the first place we could duck into for a several-days
nasty weather block. We left Ingram
Bayou before dawn, around 4:30 a.m., and headed for Mary Walker Marina,
Gautier, MS. We wanted to have time
while still light to negotiate the new-to-us Pascagoula River. 61 NM later, we made it, but not without some
drama. Fog set in during our crossing in
the Mississippi Sound, and the Pascagoula River wormed its way around, with plenty
of little tributaries that would have led us into dead ends in the swamp. Plus a slight grounding which Mike backed out of. On the exit, we will take the shortcut along
a canal that crosses the marsh to take us back to N. Pascagoula River and out
into the Gulf. That's the way to get to Mary Walker Marina: just past the Hwy 90 bridge (80 ft. clearance) at the entrance to the River, cross the marsh, turn north into Mary Walker Bayou, the Marina is on the south side. It's really simple.
Now at Mary Walker Marina we feel safe from the strong winds, currents,
cold and rain. The Marina is part of
Gautier, MS, just across from Pascagoula. The people at the Marina couldn't be nicer,
especially the manager, Sylvia. She even
loaned us her car to get groceries down the street. Tiki Bar & Restaurant is just a block away. Good food at a good price. We have taken walks that included George
Martin City Park with its piers that jut out into the marsh. The view from our cat, which is snugly
ensconced in a slip wide enough for us (20.3 ft. beam)...what a surprise! And the weather window has been pushed back...we have to wait for a window, then on to Gulfport or Long Beach Marina as a last stop before New Orleans, our home port. Weather!!!
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