Beaten up ... need advice for sailing Florida panhandle

[1oldbuzzard]

Greetings from Port St Joe.

I have been here for a little over a year due to family illnesses. I even ended up getting a job in Port St. Joe. I LOVE this town and may actually retire here someday.

So. To business. if you can get under the bridges this time of year, and we have had some SERIOUS low tides, do so and stay intracoastal. Otherwise. most any wind condition that will show wind FROM shore will be ok. I am on an Islander 32 sailboat and we hit a good overnight trip from Pensacola to P.C. We went a little further inland to St. Andrews Marina and loved it. Then a day run to Port St. joe because our height is 51'.

Then intracoastal to Apalach (as the locals call it) for a week where we were fogged in for 5 days. Stay at the Hotel Marina with floating docks or anchor across the river anywhere outside of the red buoy. Plenty of clean white sand bottom and a clean anchor.

Then you will be open bay intracoastal water to Caribell to wait out a crossing.

I live at the marina at Port St. now and can be your harbor host is you like. P.M me if you get this far or want some more/specific info.

P.S. When you cross from P.C. to Port st. Joe offshore you will pass Tindell air force base. There are restricted zones you cannot cross if they are conducting excersizes. This can screw up your passage. They will announce on vhf 16 when it it going on. If you can get under that 50' bridge at Tindell, do so. could save you days waiting for another weather window.

Welcome.

[bob fleege]

Wait for the north wind and just go a couple to 5 miles off shore. Go Pensacola to Port St Joe 24 hrs. You can then go ICW to Apallachicola. Stage then possibly behind Dog Island and when weather looks good head to CLEARWATER...watch out for shallow water there. After going under bridge go ICW and then to Clearwater Marina. You can then go ICW inside or outside as the weather dictates as you head south!!

[a64pilot]

Just stay well South, out to sea from the Cape San Blas shoals, even when deep enough to be safe, the shoals can make for some ugly seas.

[Seeking Solace]

I've sailed that stretch as recent as last June. The winds are out of the South in summer and the North in winter. The first week of December I sailed East for about 23 hours and with the light wind hadn't made it to Destin. There is a missile test range just South of Apalachicola. I highly recommend you avoid this area. Ten miles outside the box last year we had a test nearly scare us to death.

Panama City to Port St. Joe, then South to Venice. There is no huge tidal surge to worry about on the Gulf. The Atlantic is very different. The ICW is boring, slow, and shallow.

Where are you going?

[anacapaisland42]

Of course...you can always drop your mast
Bill

Originally Posted by edhuckle

Hello all:
it is mid-winter and the Gulf has been nasty for weeks. We have been going in the Intracoastal Waterway from Houston to here (Pensacola). Due to bridges we now have to go outside. Our first attempt (to sail from Pensacola to Port St. Joe) was a total disaster and suffered in terrible conditions overnight before turning back. The weather predictions (on many sites) were for 10-15 knots of wind (from SE then clocking to S) of wind and 1-3 foot waves. However it was blowing over 20 from the East and the seas were more like 6-9+ with very short period.

So, here is the question: Does anyone know the best wind direction and wave conditions to sail eastward from Pensacola? Seems like a North wind would be better for waves but this time of year the Norths produce cold, strong wind with Small Craft Advisories.

Thanks in advance.

[J Clark H356]

I’m interested in the missile test area south of Appalachicola. I sailed through there several times. What happened during the test?

[Seeking Solace]

Originally Posted by J Clark H356

I’m interested in the missile test area south of Appalachicola. I sailed through there several times. What happened during the test?

There wasn't much I could say about it other than we're sailing along (actually motoring) and there was a very loud boom that we felt the percussion from. As I scanned around, thinking we'd hit something, I realized two rockets had collided in the sky to the North on our position. It was two converging vapor trails with a large semi-circle in the sky. Shortly afterwards there was a large troller that appeared on the horizon that trailed us for the remainder of the day. Although we were headed to Pensacola, a shortage of food, fuel, and water forced us to turn to Panama City.

[zeehag]

we sailed a seidelmann 37 in gom fro a near year. we found the gom is ass. when noaa , aka not one accurate assessment, predicted conditions we learned to watch for opposite conditions .... and make sure if you see tug n tows tied and sleeping, you do same, or "death" happens. they are your best predictor of conditions. they not move--you anchor down well in wolf bay or ingrahams lagoon. or lulus or wherever it looks safe . we were best able to sail north and south when fronts come across from mexico. can get wild, but the sailing was good fun.
psj is a nice place, as is appalach. white city is also a good place.
stay out of mobile bay in severe and extreme weather. gets reallly nasty. short water in weather is horrible.
otherwise we had a great time.