Friday, January 6, 2017 - At 8:00 am we left Paradox Pier Marina after much discussion about the weather forecast for today. It is overcast with some occasional light rain. The winds are 9 - 11 knots. We cruised through Santa Rosa Sound into Choctawhatchee Bay which is 30 miles long. With the wind it was quite choppy but we could still maintain a speed of 25 knots. At 11:00 am we are through the bay into into a canal for 15 miles. This section is narrow and scenic. From here we enter West Bay which is another wide body of water allowing us to make good time and then at mile 285 we are in St. Andrew Bay which is our home stretch into Panama City. At 12:30 pm we are at the Panama City Marina fuel dock filling up and getting a pump out. After we were done that we docked on a long wall. Rick the dock master was more than helpful getting our lines and fenders set up.
We need to go to a marina store to get a replacement American flag. As Frans and I start our walk there with a cold brisk wind blowing this truck pulls up to us. The driver, Charles says he knows that we are from the marina and he will take us were we want to go. We tell him about the marina store and he says he is going to West Marine and would that work for us. So in we get and off we go. Charles is a retired aviator and charter fisherman who has lived in this area for 12 years. He gives us a great history lesson and after we leave West Marine he takes us on a scenic tour and shows us his favourite place for supper. He offers us his vehicle for the evening so we can go there when ever we are ready. There are some truly amazing people in this world. Frans and I took him up on the offer and had a great seafood dinner at the Captain’s Table. After we got back to the boat the winds picked up and the rain started about 8:00 pm. Another cold and damp evening.
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| Cruising through the canal |
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| West Bay Creek Bridge |
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| Panama City Marina |
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