Days 186

Panama City FL - Apalachicola FL

• Start 6:11 AM
• End 3:05 PM
• Underway 7:55 Hours
• Distance 58 miles
• Total Miles on Trip 3907
• Av Speed 7.3 knots
• Weather Sunny , 64 Degrees, Wind 6 Knts NNW

Another beautiful day on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The winds were light and for the most part off our port beam. We had too many dolphin sightings to count. The problem with the dolphins we see they are very camera shy. They do tend to freak me out when the swim across our bow, only ten feet away. It looks like we are going to hit them, but we never do.

We did not get to see much of Apalachicola. Once we got to the dock, the boats tied up, and the power cords hooked up most of the shops were closed. Had we realized how much the town had to offer, we would have spent two days here and only one day in Panama City. (If we could have gotten a slip for two nights)

There are not many transient slips in Apalachicola. We stayed at the Apalachicola Ice Dock which only had room for three boats. The dockmaster made a scheduling error and overbooked by one boat. We ended up rafting off of Mark & Karen (Kay Dee). The other marina in town (Waterside Marina) was fully booked, and much more expensive. We paid $2.00 a foot and Waterside was charging $4.00 per foot. We spoke with Dan (Online), who was staying at Waterside. Not only was the marina very expensive they were not able to get off their boat. There was so much Water Hyacinth in there slip they could only pull part way into the slip and could not reach the dock.

After we were settled on the dock we walked to Oyster Brewing Company. I asked if they served mix drinks, their response; "Nope but go down the street to Tamara's order a drink, ask for a to go cup and bring it back here." It was definitely not a response we would ever hear in New Jersey.

Our next stop is Carabelle FL. Carabelle is the starting point for our trip through the Gulf Of Mexico. We have two routes available to us. The first route is called the Rim Route. On this route we will hug the shoreline and it is a three day trip covering about 200 miles. The second route is call "The Crossing" it is 160 miles straight across the Gulf. There are advantages and disadvantages for both routes. Once we get to Carabelle we will make our final decision.

Carabelle is only 26 miles so we get to sleep in, and leave around 8am.