Choctawhatchee Bay Crossing

 

Pensacola Bay at sunrise 12/5/2020

Well today started EARLY (6:25am) from our unnamed marina in Pensacola.  But what a fabulous cruising day!!  OK, it was 40° with a 37° “feel like” temp (anywhere but Florida describes “feels like” as a wind chill, LOL)!!  But eventually the sun broke the horizon, the clear blue sky and mild temps were a welcomed relief from previous days.

Heading due east was a simple route even if it was sprinkled with continued hurricane destruction and earnest attempts of recovery.  Way to Stay Strong Panhandle!!  It was too cold to get clear pictures, sorry! But seriously, haven’t we seen enough bad stuff…

Choctawhatchee Bay, FL 12/5/2020 at 12:45pm

Crossing the Choctawhatchee Bay [including towns Ft. Walton Beach, Niceville, Miramar Beach (north), and Freeport] can be quite uncomfortable in a north wind.  But today we were so blessed to have perfect weather…clear, sunny skies, flat water with an easterly wind.

My prayer:  Dear Lord, Please use the Choctawhatchee Bay recipe for our Gulf Crossing. Thank you, Love, Robin

By 3:15 pm we were anchored safely on the east end of the bay (ICW mm 250) – just east of the Clyde B Wells bridge and our buddy boat Hearken was with us.

Royal Reds Shrimp Scampi cooked in "Granny Ann's Pan"

While I don’t typically post pictures of food because well, it’s food for crying out loud!! How special can it be?? But today is different…Royal Reds (shrimp) from Joe Patti’s Seafood in Pensacola made a special appearance!!  Probably the BEST Shrimp Scampi (with linguini) I’ve made!!  All credit to the shrimp…and maybe we skipped lunch!  Regardless, it was delicious and if you’re in Pensacola (or within 100 miles) a trip to Joe Patti's Seafood is worth the effort – if only for the experience!!  Try it – you’ll like it!!!

Sunset 12/5/2020 East End Choctawhatchee Bay FL

Not long after dinner was ready the sun was setting!  It never gets old to see a different sunset (or sunrise) everyday!!

Continued cruising on Sunday…eventually making our way to Carrabelle FL for the highly anticipated 5^th crossing of the Gulf of Mexico (6^th for Charlie, thanks Forever Friday).  We appreciate you riding along and look forward to tomorrow!

Stay healthy and God Bless