Big Bend Crossing

We arrived in Pensacola early evening on Christmas, and rented a car to get to Panama City. After caffeinating we made the uneventful drive in the dark, taking the inland way, and got to the boat about 10p. We were up early to provision and return the car because we had a window starting as early as that afternoon, staging near Port St. Joe. It took a little too long to leave the day after Christmas, so we settled for a trip to the fuel dock and positioning ourselves for an early departure. This was our last sunset in Panama City.

I got up long before sunrise for my last shower for a while, and it was clear and the stars were bright. Should have left then. By sunrise a thick fog had formed, and it was interesting getting out to the gulf. We passed Port St. Joe late morning a decided to keep going while the weather was good, which meant little wind or waves, but quite a bit of fog. We ran all night at a fairly slow pace to conserve fuel, but by mid morning the next day we had to add our reserve jugs of diesel to the tank. We were close enough to pick up the pace with our remaining fuel, arriving at the Turtle Cove Marina about 5:30p on December 27th. It was a pleasantly uneventful first crossing in our boat, about 33 hours dock to dock.

The marina was nice and within walking distance of sponge docks, an interesting little area with  shopping and restaurants. We decided to stay put, so this is the boat's home for the next four weeks.