11/07 To Panama City, FL

The winds had come up during the night.  That meant a choppy crossing of Choctawhatchee Bay.  We were taking the waves on the nose as we headed east across the bay.  Most of the waves were 3-4 feet.  The dolphins made use of our wake to ease their way through the water. 

Eventually, we went under the Choctawhatchee Bay Bridge and the waves calmed down.

After a while we entered a 22 mile section known as the Grand Canyon.

This man made portion of the Intracoastal has steep sand sides.  It was quite a change after the openness of the bay.

Finally, we crossed West Bay toward Panama City.  Here is a good example of the buoys we have seen in FL.  There are so many birds that have left presents on the buoys that they have been turned white.  Both the red and the greens are white.  You need to make sure of the shape for your navigation.

We had been having an electrical problem that we wanted fixed before we crossed the gulf.  The fellow that was recommended by the marina got and installed a new alternator so we can be on our way in the morning.

For dinner, we walked the short distance to Hunt's Oyster Bar.  What a treat. 

We were seated at the bar right in front of the shuckers.  They never stopped.  They just kept shucking and shucking.  One of the shuckers told us someone ate 21 dozen oysters at one sitting.   The oysters were excellent!   I managed to eat a dozen and a half and a salad. 

Tomorrow, we head to Apalachicola.  We are watching Eddie's Weather WAG.  Eddie is an AGLCA member who reports the weather for the crossing from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs.  This portion is expected to take about 21 hours of continuous cruising across the gulf.  Right now Eddie is thinking an overnight crossing on Thursday to Friday morning will be best.  He does daily updates and we will follow his advice.

Lat 30 degrees 10.12 North
Long 85 degrees 42.21 West