We left Pensacola about mid-morning on Thursday and motorsailed most of the way to Destin. Finally around 1400 the winds shifted to the southeast allow us to get some sailing in. We pulled a lure all the way and never had a bite. Having never been into Destin I called on Ch 16 for some local info and talked with the captain of Sea Horse. The channel through Old Pass into the Lagoon was charted at 6 feet but we'd heard it had been dredged. To make things a little more nerve wracking we were entering at low tide but we never saw less than 8 feet all the way in. Plenty of room to anchor in 9 feet, the anchor dug in well and we were set for the night. The only downside is that the bands played really late, Sharon said it was 0330 when they finally stopped. I never heard a thing, but then I could sleep through a train wreck. Up at 0615 and raised the anchor, it came up clean, just a bit of sand that fell right off with just a splash of one bucket. The trip to Panama City was much the same, wind on the nose, very light, seas were flat so we motored all the way, only getting to fly the jib for the last two hours. We had much better luck with the fishing, we caught 5 Bonitos and a Spanish Mack, all were about 3 to 5 pounds. They aren't good eating but sure fun to catch.
We aren't normally marina people, preferring to anchor out more often than not. Our son, Randy lives near Panama City and we wanted to leave the boat in a marina for our visit. The Panama City Marina is very nice, good protection from the weather, good security and very nice staff. They also offer discounts for Active Captain/Boat US members.