Still at Panama City Municipal Marina

We are still here at Panama City Municipal Marina. Elaine and I have spent time with my mother and John. They have been showing us all around the area. They have also have provided us with transportation to West Marine and Wal-Mart. These are two essential locations.

 We went to Pier Park in Panama City Beach. This is a real neat area of shops, restaurants, and bars located on the with sand beach and clear water. Elaine and Ann did some shopping while Greg and I did some people watching from the benches.

After watching people for awhile, Greg and I found the Back Porch and $2.00 happy hour prices for their drinks. We didn't have to forced to hard. The place was air conditioned and had some great Rum Punches and you could not beat the price.

My mom and John joined us a little while later and back onto the street we went looking for the tourist bargains that are everywhere. (sure).


After shopping it was time for some walking on the beach and in the water. The beaches are sugar white and the water clear with a lite emerald tint.  Even found a reminder of my old job. This is a great job for a deputy.




We were planning to sail to Port St. Joe and to Apalachicola for a visit. Port St. Joe did not have room for two large boats at this time so we decided to stay here and just drive there.

Port St Joe is nice but Apalachicola is a really cool place to visit. We do plan on taking the boat there another time and staying awhile. It is a real old fishing and oyster town. The oysters from here are delicious and are shipped around the world. There is a place here called the Tin Shed. It has every kind of Nautical item you could want both new and used. It looks like they salvage anything useful from ships, yachts and small boats. A great place for and boater to visit.  We did get to stop in and eat at the world famous " Boss Oyster" The food and service was very good. Of course I had grilled oysters. They had a sampler that had four types of there grilled oysters.






Took a day and dinked over to St Andrews to pick up an item for a friend. It is a three mile across the bay and it was a little choppy. But it was a fast but rough ride. Stopped at St Andrews Marina to use there dinghy dock. This area has a lot of charter fishing boats available for any type of offshore or bay fishing you can imagine. Even caught myself a shark while there.






The Panama City Municipal Marina is in downtown Panama City historic district. You can walk from the marina to many shops, restaurants and bars. The area is not a tourist area so the prices are normal and not inflated. They have a lot of different events that go on there to like Friday Fest( hot rods, custom cars, vendors and bands), antique walks, flea markets, farmers market, and seafood market.

Saturday nights the restaurants have live music outside so we walked to Millie's for some cold beer, fellowship with friends and fellow cruisers. The music was good and we stayed till the band quit.

We are paid up till July 25th so we do not have to be in a hurry. But we are thinking about leaving and heading to Pensacola between Friday the 19th to Monday the 22nd.

Right now there is another thunder storm raining all over us. At least the boat is clean.

Wedding at Panama City, Florida

We said good by to Joyce and Fred Taylor from s/v Neon Moon, pulled up
anchor and headed to Palafox Marina in Pensacola to get a slip for a couple nights and refuel before heading across the Gulf to Panama City, Florida.

Right before we entered the marina a storm with high wind gusts hit. So I called the marina and told them we were going to let the storm blow by and then we will enter and take a slip. So we did circles for about 15 minutes until the weather cleared and the wind calmed. The Asst. Harbor Master met us at the slip and grabbed lines and assisted until we were secure in the slip. We then helped Greg and Ann on Nauti-Gal into their slip. Palafox Marina is a really nice marina, modern, floating piers, easy access fuel dock, restaurant / bar on site, and located in the heart of the Historical District of Pensacola. There are a lot of nice sights and places to eat within walking distance. After we were secure in the slip it was time to hook up the power and water.

As I went to hook up power I found that one of my power cords had been damaged. It was almost 4:00pm so I called West Marine to see what time they closed on a Sunday. They told me that they closed at 5:00pm, so I told them I was on my way and asked them to wait for me. Greg needed some parts too so we got a cab and arrived at West Marine about 10 minutes before closing. They told me that they were expecting me and was going to wait. Greg and I got our parts and headed back to Palafox to make our repairs. I got the cord fixed and the air conditioners on. Elaine was now happy.

The next day we walked around and the area and found it to be charming with all the historical building restored and occupied.  The area is very dog / animal friendly with lots of green space to walk your dog. Everybody would walk by the marina and down the streets with their dogs on a leash. It was also very easy to get Hilde off the boat here. The marina is also very secure from the general public with self locking gates.

The next day we made a Wal-Mart run for more provisions and a few other thing that we needed. That evening we found a nice bar and grille that had live blues music jam and some great seafood with very reasonable prices. Was definitely not a tourist location.  We got there right before the music started and glad we did, The place was packed before we left with people waiting for tables.

After a good nights sleep we untied the boat, re-fueled and headed to the Gulf of Mexico. We were greeted by Dolphins as we entered the Gulf of Mexico and headed

East to Panama City. We had a good weather window with winds around 10 knots and seas about 1 ft. to 3 ft.. The wind was on the nose of the boat so it was a motor all the way. We have become a trawler...... But we were averaging 7 + knots for the trip, but it is still about 12 hours across the Gulf. The autopilot was acting up so I hand steered all the way. My crew was working very hard too navigating and holding the cockpit cushions down.



We arrived at the Panama City pass from the Gulf into St. Andrews Bay at about 10:00pm. A ship had just come out and the pass was not clear with no other ship traffic. There was no moon yet so the pass was a little dark but it is an easy pass to enter day or night in almost all weather. As we were crossing the bay, the moon popped out and lit everything up. We went across the bay to an anchorage that was recommended on Active Captain. I dropped the hook in about 10 feet of water and it set good. Now it was time for a nice Barefoot Babe Rum drink. The anchorage was smooth and we were only sharing it with Nauti-Gal and a sport fisher that had anchored before us.

The next morning I dinked over to the Panama City Municipal Marina and secured a tie along slip. We then moved Barefoot Babe to the marina and secured her. My mother Mary Ann and her fiancé John met us at the dock. Once we got the boat cleaned and we took a shower, John and Mom took us out to eat a pre-wedding dinner at Peppers Mexican Restaurant. They have great food and margaritas. The margaritas are always 2 for 1 which is really nice since they are so good. We discussed the wedding and they wanted to get married on Saturday at 6:00pm before the sunset. This was Wednesday so we had a few days to get the boat from looking like a cruising boat to looking like a clean yacht with white decks fit for a wedding.

The next few days were taken up clearing the decks of extra fuel
cans, water cans, bikes, lines, and carpets. Then the boat got some really good scrubbing with boat soap and then with magic eraser to brighten things up. Of course we found time to do dinking to some of the locale establishments to have some food and libations. We found Bayou Joe's, a locales establishment, up the Massalina Bayou. It had good food, cold beer and a sassy waitress. It is a shack that is built out over the water of the Bayou and the tables are all outside by the water. Great setting for a sundowner at sunset.

Bayou Joe's has a dock where one boat the size of Barefoot Babe could dock and have dinner or drinks. But you have to go under one of the last bascule bridges left in the state of Florida.

The next day Mon and John wanted to pick up Elaine and I to take us around to see some of the area
and to see their house. They took

us to Mexico Beach for lunch at Toucan's on the beach. They had some very good fried oysters and shrimp. After lunch we did a little gift shopping and in one of the shops I met Jojo a Blue and Gold Macaw. Jojo and I became good friends fast and wanted to leave with me. I told Jojo the ark was full and he could not go. I had to bribe him with a treat to get off my shoulder.

John and Mom also took us over to Port St. Joe to see the town and marina. The town was a cool small Florida town. The marina was a typical Florida marina with fixed piers and short 1/4 finger piers. There was a side tie pier for transients, but there was no room for both Barefoot Babe and Nauti-Gal. So we opted to stay at Panama City for the week.

Saturday the day of the wedding the weather was not looking good for an evening ceremony on the bow of Barefoot Babe. So the wedding couple decided to move it up to 3:00pm to avoid any rain. The sky cleared just for John and Mom.

Once everybody arrived I performed the marriage ceremony for John and Mom on the bow of Barefoot Babe. She wanted to have it done at the dock and not on the bay. It was really a special privilege for me to do this for them. Could feel the eyes getting a tear. But it was beautiful for them and I pronounced them husband and wife to all the friends and family there. What a great day.

Elaine was the photographer and Greg and Ann the witnesses. I signed the marriage license and the are all legal Mr. and Mrs. Beard of Florida.

We are Now at Anchor in Pensacola Florida

We left Houma early so we could make to New Orleans before dark. So far we had managed to be at anchor or tied to a pier before dusk and as all sailors like to do, make it in time for a nice sundowner. The trip down the ICW was a bit slow at times but for the most part we were able to do about 7 knots with a favorable current.

We had talked to the tows and had found out that the Algeirs locks were out of order and that all water traffic was being sent through the Harvey locks. Most commercial traffic use the Algiers. As we got closer to the Mississippi we started to see tows and their barges pushed against the bank everywhere so I was not sure if we would even be able to get through. I was hearing the lock tender assign numbers as high as 105 to pass through the locks. Well being a persistent I kept going around all the town and through the bridges until I got near the lock. I called the lock tender on the radio and told him our intentions to go to New Orleans and requested to be locked through. He came back on the radio and had us standby near the lock entrance. He said he had a tow about to leave the lock and for us to pull in as soon as it passed us. When the tow passed we pulled in and attached a line to a bollard. The mighty Mississippi River was running high and fast so we were going to be raised about 10 feet. Once we were raised to meet the level of the river, they opened the gates and off we went down the Mississippi River under the famous bridge and along the waterfront by the French Quarter.

We had to go back in at the Industrial locks to continue East. We got to the locks at the bridge curfew time and had to wait for about 2 hours and then the lock tender was a real ass hole. But once we got through the lock and bridges, we headed towards Pontchartrain Landing Marina. Pontchartrain Landing looks like a resort for R/V's and boats. It is beautifully landscaped with a pool, waterfall, hot tub, nice open air bar, restaurant and a shuttle to the French Quarter. We ended up staying two nights.

We met another couple, Stephen and Gail on s/v Gail Merry. They had just bought a brand new Hunter from Nauti-Share in Kemah Tx., hired a captain from Hitchcock, Tx., and was headed to Miami Florida. Well they hired a real Captain Ron. He was supposed to take them from Galveston to Florida offshore. As soon as they got offshore he got so sea sick he was incapacitated. They went in at Sabine Pass and then took the ICW. There captain had never been in the ICW and it was a nightmare. Their generator had quit along the route and the captain did not have any repair skills. I went to his boat and showed him where his through hulls and strainers were, cleared the strainers and then checked the raw water impeller on the generator. The impeller had been destroyed due to lack of raw water flow. He fired the captain and send him home.

The next day we all went to the French Quarter had some drinks and a good time. We had a really nice New Orleans seafood dinner at one of the fine restaurants and them headed back to the marina.

After getting fuel the next morning we headed East to Gulfport Mississippi. We went to the small craft harbor. Right before we headed up the channel we were hit by a squall that brought up 6 foot waves and 45 knot winds with driving rain. Two cats got seasick and everything in the boat thrown around. We finally got into the marina and hooked up. The wind had blown all the water out of the harbor and it was almost impossible to get off the boat. The harbor was all brand new with hundreds of slips ad only $1.00 a foot, but it was hard to tie up to in a low tide / water situation. Very friendly and helpful staff through. We did not do anything in Gulfport and I would like to spend more time there in the future. It looks like a really nice town.

The next morning we headed to Dauphin Island and anchored for the night off the North side of the island in about 8 feet of water.

The next morning we pulled up anchor and planned to stay go to Orange Beach Al. and stay at a marina for the night. As we were headed there, my friend Dauphin kept texting me about his sister Joyce headed towards Pensacola on her boat. Then Joyce started texting me saying that her and Fred were anchored at Ft. McCree by Pensacola. Well when we got to Orange Beach it was so busy with boats that we decided to go on. We got to Ft. McCree and was met by Joyce and Fred (their boat is Neon Moon) in their dinghy to lead us in the entrance. Being a Saturday the anchorage was full and a party was everywhere on the beaches and in the water. We decided it was to busy and decided to anchor off Redfish Point which is located next to Ft. McCree. This is a real nice anchorage with many sailboats. Most all of them have dogs and cats aboard too. The water is clear and the beach is beautiful. We were treated to a fantastic super moon for the night.

Not sure what our plans are for today except to visit with Joyce and Fred and tell stories on Dauphin, her brother and my friend.