Arrival in Panama City
07 February 2014 | Panama City Marina
We set sail from NAS Pensacola on Wednesday morning at 0645 with partly cloudy skies and winds from the northwest at 10 to 15 knots. We motored out to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico and as we rounded #6 buoy in the Pensacola Pass we set our jib and cut the engine. It was a wonderful sail down the Florida north coast. At times we hit 7.5 knots and the beach kept the seas smooth, just what we'd hoped for with these winds. We sailed all the way to Destin and anchored in the gulf in about 18 feet, using the condos as a wind break. The southerly swell that we'd had all day had died down by 2200 and we sat at anchor all night with only the wind blowing through the rigging and the snubber line rubbing to keep us awake. Next time I will rig the snubber differently. At 0600 on Thursday we raised anchor and set our jib for the sail to Panama City. The forecast was for continued winds from the northwest and it did not disappoint us. The surprise was that it got a lot colder than predicted and we also had unforecast rain showers. The winds held and the autopilot did an awesome job allowing me to stay below with an occasional peek outside for other boats. We arrived at the entrance to St Andrews Bay at 1330 and motored into Panama City Marina. Mary and the staff there are awesome, we have free wifi, electric and water and a $.10 discount on fuel, though we didn't use a lot we will take the opportunity to top off the tanks since our next fuel stop will likely be in Tarpon Springs or Clearwater. We are staying the weekend in Panama City with our son, Randy and his family. We'll be back on board Sunday afternoon and make our way out to Shell Island to anchor and prepare for our next leg on our way south.