Day 73, Ft Walton Beach, FL

HURRAH! We made it to Florida in one piece and still speaking!

These 2 little guys thought they would tag along beside us


We left Bear Point Harbor at 7:30 to a cloudy misty and windy day. We have at least 300 paper charts on our boat but wouldn’t you know not for this section. We didn’t find any available and thought it’s a short distance we’ll be fine. And we ARE fine but it was a challenge to follow the (ATONS) markers. The 8” chart plotter screen limits the overall view of a given bay. Pensacola Bay, is large, has many routes along with many Aids to Navigation (ATONS). We didn’t realize how many bays we would be crossing and that you could travel quite a distance before you saw a marker with a number to reference. We had boats coming from all directions who obviously knew the water but none were going our way. Thank goodness we had an electronic chart plotter to show us not to go out into the Gulf like we contemplated doing.

All day we had the pleasure of Dolphins in and out of view off one side or the other of the boat. Lucky for me, Tom was driving when these 2 dolphins decided to tag along beside us and I was able to watch them. One did actually turn his head and look at me as if to say,” Did you get the picture? Where’s my reward?” SO exciting –where’s the bathroom?? The rest of the day was smooth water but we have determined 50 miles a day is too long at 8-9 miles an hour. We were going against a strong tide current all day. This really knocks your boats performance in distance for the day, not to mention fuel consumption.

Currently we are tied to a Free city dock at Fort Walton Beach. First, there are very few instructions of where it was located and how to safely get to the dock. We accomplished getting securely tied to pilings on the outside of the dock but we were too far away for my short legs so we untied everything and moved to an inside tie up. We are at a city park within walking distance of downtown and restaurants. The city staff called on our cell to assure everything is O.K. and to instruct us that they will alert the local police dept that were are at the dock, They will offer security checks through the night. Very pleasant city employees and she also offered instructions for dining and provisions if necessary. No amenities but, hey it is free, with walking access to town.

After dark we walked about 3-blocks to downtown Fort Walton Beach business distric. We were pleasantly surprised to see quite a few services available. We found a wonderful little restaurant called "Big City Bistro". Atmosphere was exactly what we liked and the quality of food was not disappointing. Very please with our find. There was a Publix grocery store a block away, however we did not need provisions. Nice downtown area and close to boat. Ft Walton Beach community put a lot of money into this free city dock for use by traveling boaters hoping to capitalize on thier spending. Hope it is a successful venture.