Baytowne Marina - mile 239, to St. Andrews Marina - mile 287
48 miles today

Sunday April 7 2013
We left our slip at 7:45 am. Before leaving the marina we stopped at the "pumpout station".
For the non boaters most cruising boats have a "holding tank", the toilet sewage can't be pumped into the water except miles offshore so it is held in this tank to be pumped out into a sewage treatment station on land. It is not a fun task, a vacuum hose from the dock is connected to a hose fitting on the boat's deck, once connected the tank is vacuumed dry. Usually it is not too much trouble, sometimes it can get very messy. Like the time about 5 years ago when a hose from the tank backed up and showered me with its contents. Luckily there was a shower stall on the dock so I grabbed a change of clothes and got cleaned up pretty quick. Today it didn't go that bad, but the marina's vacuum pump was acting up so it took about 45 min. to complete the pumpout.
Once we got away from the pumpout station were on our way eastward on the Chocktawhatchee Bay. It was cool and clear but breezy. At the east end of the bay we continued the ICW in a canal mostly dredged through pine forests, it is sandy land so there is a lot of erosion which makes for some interesing landscape. From this section the ICW enters West Bay and on to Panama City where we entered the St Andrews marina where we will stay tonight and Monday night.

To see our location in Panama City click on the link below
http://fms.ws/Be1xB/30.16802N/85.70398W

Leaving Chocktawhatchee Bay into canal

A dredged portion of the ICW

This section of the ICW is often called "The Grand Canyon"

Gumbo at St Andrews Marina

 

For the boaters:

A Nordhavn 62 trawler

A cruisers Dreamboat, at Baytowne Marina

Saturday April 6, 2013
Baytowne Marina  Sandestin, Fl

We spent the day on the boat getting things ready to depart for Panama City Sunday morning it is breezy but finally warming up some high today was 73.
Below are a few pictures take around the marina today

Boats at Baytowne Marian

                                                                 Gumbo at the dock

                                                             Sunset over the dock

Day 5 Saturday March 31  Range Point mile 195 to Baytowne Marina mile 239
44 miles today
We raised the anchor and departed Range Point at 7:45 am it was calm, warm, and hazy with a few clouds. At 11:30 we passed under the Ft Walton Bridge mile 222 and into Choctawhatchee Bay. On the bay there was a light chop a the winds out of the SE  @ 5-10 knots. We arrived at the Baytowne Marina on Horseshoe Bayou at 1:30 PM. We pulled into the assigned slip, secured everything and walked over to a restaurant for dinner. 
Baytowne is a development connected to the Sandestin resort just East of Destin, Florida made to look like a village with lots of shops resaturants and bars.  This weekend combines Easter with spring break so there are lots of people anywhere you go.

To see our locatin click on the link below:
http://fms.ws/BZesm/30.38847N/86.32769W

Sunrise from Range Point

Sand mound at Range Point

 

 

One or the markers along the ICW it makes a good perch for these Cormorants

There are quite a few military installations in this area. This radar dome is a well known landmark

A small white sand strip along the ICW

 

 

Day 4  Saturday March 30
 Dauphin Is. Marina mile 128, to Range point mile 195, near Pensacola Beach. 67 miles today.

 It was clear with light winds today. We left the marina at 7:40 AM, Mobile Bay was glassy all the way across, that was nice as it can get rough near the pass out to the Gulf.  Being Saturday of a holiday weekend there were lots of boaters out on the water, many clueless of the rules or just crazy. Our friend Ted saw us passing The Wharf Marina in Gulf Shores Alabama and came out to the dock to give us a wave. We'll stop to see him on our return trip. As we approached Pensacola there was lots of chatter on the radio between boaters and the Coast Guard about a boating accident in Pensacola Beach. Seems a boat traveling very fast jumped the wake of another baot and broke apart as it hit the water, several passengers were injured and one man killed. When we passed the scene about an hour after the accident several tow boats were on hand dragging pieces of the destroyed boat to shore.
We anchored for the night in 6' of water at Range Point, a couple of miles East of Pensacola Beach.
 To see our location click on the link below
http://fms.ws/BZEYj/30.35225N/87.06856W

Sunrise over Dauphin Is. Marina

Oil well platform on Mobile Bay

Pensacola Lighthouse

Lots of boaters on the water enjoying the white sand beaches

Picknickers on a small Island on the  ICW

A tow boat dragging part of the hull of the wrecked boat to shore

Sunset over Santa Rosa Sound taken from Range Point.

Day 3 Friday March 29 Cat Island mile 67 to Dauphin Is. Marina mile 128.
61 miles today.

When we woke up this morning skies were clear. As I started to raise the anchor a heavy fog bank rolled in, visibility was almost 0 so, we had to wait until it the sun burned it off around 10 AM. We raised the anchor and headed east, winds were very light and there was just a light ripple on the water. There were lots of dolphins out and several groups came to the boat to play in the wake as we cruised along. When we got to the  eastern end of Dauphin Island we entered the narrow channel and arrived at the marina at 4:45 pm. we had dinner at Barnacle Bill's a seafood restaurant on the marina site the food there is good.
To see our position click on the link
http://fms.ws/BYXSh/30.26390N/88.11356W

Sunrise over Cat Is.  before the fog closed in.

A pod of 4 dolphin in our wake

Two more, maybe mother and baby came by later. It is interesting, they hear the boat vibrations and they come swimming straight to the boat to follow in the wake or bow wave, often jumping and diving as you see above.

Day 2, Thursday, March 28   
   We left the Boomtown Casino bulkhead, mile 5 West of Harvey Lock, at 8:20 am. Weather was fine a clear sky and light wind. The Algiers lock which handles most of the large commercial traffic is down for repairs so there are a lot of tows backed up in Harvey. Some will have a couple of days wait to get through. Since we are a small boat we were moved ahead to fit into the lock along with one tow (a tow is a tug with barges), a couple of light boats (tugs with no barges) a small sail boat and an outboard work boat.
In the lock the water level was raised about 9 feet, the gates opened and we exited into the Mississippi River for the 5 mile run down to the Industrial Canal Lock at mile 5 East of Harvey Lock, from here to Carabelle Fl. all mileage is expressed as EHL.
We waited about 30 min to enter the Industrial lock, once the westbound traffic exited we entered and were locked down about 9 feet into the Industrial Canal and Intracoastal waterway  to continue our trip Eastbound.
At mile 35 we left the canal and continued into the Mississippi Sound. The Sound is semi protected by barrier islands and runs south of Gulfport and Biloxi Ms. and on to Mobile Bay. Conditions stayed good with very light winds and a light chop. About 7 PM we and anchored just north Cat Is. (mile 68 EHL) in about 8' of water.  Conditions stayed nice all night.

 To see our position at Cat Island  click on this link
http://fms.ws/BXugp/30.24105N/89.10281W

Some of today's pictures below

Waiting for westbound traffic to exit Harvey lock, raised RR and hightway bridges in the foreground

Inside Harvey lock with 2 light boats, a tow, and sailboat, out of view. all boats are held in place with a line placed over pintels indented in the wall, the line payed out as the boat boat goes donwn.

New Orleans landmarks the St Louis Cathedral and Cabildo

Paddlewheeler Natchez

Abandoned oilfield stucture at Rabitt Is. CSX train in background.

 

Huge cable reels westbound along the Ms. Sound

Sunset over Ms. Sound

Day 1 Tuesday March 27  Houma mile 57 to Boomtown Casino mile 5
53 miles today
Last night Ray and Tena Riche dropped us off at the boat, after dinner and a couple of glasses of wine. 

To see our home slip loctation in Houma, Louisiana click on the link below

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.57683,-90.72437&ll=29.57683,-90.72437&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

  We cast off lines and pulled out of the slip around 8 AM, it was a bit cold but sunny and calm. There as was a lot of commercial boat traffic on the Intracoastal Waterway but we made good time and 52 miles later arrived at the bulkhead of the Boomtown Casino. We tied up there and had dinner at an  Asian restaurant in the casino,  it was quite good.  We usually stop here the first night of a cruise as puts us in a good position to enter the Harvey lock on the West side of the Mississippi River tomorrow morning.

We traveled 52 miles today to see our position click on the link below or cut and paste it on your browser. http://fms.ws/BXEB_/29.84695N/90.06091W

                      Above: Leaving our slip in Houma.

 

An old Cemetery along the Inracoastal Waterway in Lafitte, Louisiana

 

This is a new floodgate and pump station, one of the largest in the world, just completed to protect the area near Harvey La. from a hurricane storm surge.