January 5 – 25, 2020
With the holidays behind us and the Christmas decorations put away, well most of them anyway, we sat by the fire on a cold, windy and rainy day at home pondering the thought of returning to the boat. It just didn’t seem right. It’s supposed to be nice, sunny and warm when one thinks of boating.
Despite our reluctance, we packed up the truck and headed to Orange Beach on January 5, 2020. The weather upon arrival was as hoped, sunny and warm. The next day we provisioned the boat and checked all the mechanicals. We were ready to go Tuesday until we looked over the weather forecast and it called for several days of high winds, 4′- 6′ waves in the bays and possible tornado along our path. So we stayed where we were, secure in our slip, at The Wharf until Sunday January 12. We are really beginning to like this place but this is a voyage not a pilgrimage to establish citizenship in Alabama, not that we don’t like Alabama, we do.
Sunday morning arrived with lingering cloudy skies from the storm that passed over us on Saturday but conditions were improving enough to make our way to Pensacola. It was a fairly uneventful trip, arriving at the Palafox Marina Complex at 12:30. Took on fuel and a pump out before we secured to the assigned slip. Along the way the skies opened up to a beautiful clear blue and warm temps.
On our approach to Pensacola we noticed a black sailboat off in the distance moving at a speed that is not normal, even for a power boat. Later we learned the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic challenge for the America’s Cup is training on Pensacola Bay and based 300 yards from our marina. The black sailboat that flashed by us is their latest entry called Defiant, locals claim it has been clocked at 70 mph.
The weather was perfect for a long stroll through Plaza DeLuna and along Palafox Street with all the shops, restaurants and sidewalk cafe’s. That evening our good friend from First Baptist Atlanta, Danny C. came by and we enjoyed dining on the patio at Jaco’s.
Monday morning we awoke to dense fog, so dense we were not going anywhere that day. The forecast said it would not lift until Thursday, ugh. (#20. Disappointments are inevitable, discouragement is a choice.) Tuesday morning, same thing. With an absolute latest departure of 10am to get to our next destination before dark, Bluewater Bay Marina in Niceville, it was not looking good again. But wait, while watching the America’s Cup crew rig the boat for practice (they train in all weather including fog) we notice a lifting of fog, around 9:45am, enough we could see Gulf Breeze about 3 miles away. So we decided to make a go for it. Well that wasn’t such a smart idea as the fog closed back in on us half way across the bay, leaving us with less than 1/4 mile visibility. At times like this I was glad I had been practicing use of the radar on clear days so I could identify what I see on the screen with what I see in real life, the difference today is I can only see what is on the radar screen. So we eased our way through the thick fog, the buoys appearing on the screen and as we got closer they could be spotted by eye. By the time we got to the Gulf ICW it was lifting again and continued to improve the balance of our trip to Niceville where we arrived and were secure in our slip by 4:30pm.
The highlight of the trip from Pensacola to Niceville was the abundance of dolphins that came along with us, they played in our wake, jumping clear out of the water, some doing summersaults; putting on a terrific show for us.
