Traveling the Great Loop

Dec 3-Dec 25th, Today’s Run: 57 miles

We were not surprised to see fog when we got outside Baytowne Marina. It was about 8:00 in the morning and the last two days had been a mix of warm and cool temperatures with lots of rain. How dense the fog was, would be determined en route. After leaving the marina, we started across Choctawhatchee Bay following the GIWW buoys; visibility varied from a few feet to about half a football field.

Fog density varied but for the most part it remained thick. It is easy to get disoriented when you cannot visualize a straight path and we wandered outside the channel.

Becoming disorientated is probably different for everyone; it can be difficult to trust even the electronics if you are unfamiliar with losing your visual path. Your brain questions everything and trusts nothing. We were a little rusty, it had been a few years since sailing in dense fog. Luckily, we didn’t go aground.

We think the solution to motoring in channels during foggy conditions is to use the auto helm and vary direction with a dial, degree by degree. That way, you probably won’t oversteer.

The fog lifted later in the morning. But our day was not complete until I drove us onto a sandbar while motoring down a narrow, winding channel towards South Point Bay Marina. There was no fog, I missed one of the turns.

For a couple of minutes, we were stuck pretty good. But with continuous short bursts in reverse, I eased her off the sandbar. I had to be careful not to backup too far into the shallows behind me! It had been quite a day.

En Route:

Oceaneering manufactures cables that can exist in depths of 3000 metres/ 10,000 feet / (1.8 mi), During the build, they need to take into consideration the conditions the cables will be living in such as  water temperature, salinity and hydrostatic pressure.

If engineering feats interest you, watch a 25 min. video entitled, A Tour of Oceaneering’s Panama City Umbilicals Facility. It’s well worth your time. click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EoDIL4VSv8

Panama City

Casco Antiguo, also known as Casco Viejo, or the ‘Old Quarter’, is Panama City’s historic district. There are no other locations in the city resembling a ‘downtown’ area.

A little piece of history: The first European permanent settlement on the Gulf Coast, came about in 1827. Salt production, fishing, sawmills, and boat building supported 3 small communities including the village of St. Andrews, now located within Panama City.  St Andrews became a port of entry for exporting cattle, pork, lard, cotton and lumber. In 1906, a wealthy businessman (who had earlier purchased the recipe for Coca Cola*), donated money for the completion of the Andrews Bay Railway, (Dothan Alabama to Panama City). A deep-sea harbour plus a rail-line, drew workers and their families to the site. Like other upstarts, certain events continued to develop the area. For instance, after World War II, Tyndall Field, a military base, was established nearby. Actor Clark Gable, who played the part of Rhett Butler in Gone with The Wind, was an officer there and subsequently put Panama City in the spotlight. 

*Asa Candler Sr. purchased the soft drink recipe in 1888 from a chemist who had created the recipe to be used as a tonic.

How did the city get it’s name? Not everyone agrees that Panama City derived its name from an indigenous language meaning “abundance of fish”. The Panama City Library acknowledges three dominant local figures, especially George West, a typesetter and a printer of newspapers, for attracting people to the area during the time in which the Panama Canal was under construction, (1903-1914). Florida’s Panama City, is the nearest mainland port to the Panama Canal, which at the time, was providing thousands of jobs to Americans. George West envisioned a successful Florida city, and he thought that  by naming it the same as the Central American city, it would attract entrepreneurs and families to settle here.

Before leaving the boat in South Port Marina to return home for the Christmas holidays, we had the boat lifted for a hull wax and a coat of Propspeed, an underwater growth preventative.

During the two days the boat was out of the water, we stayed in a beachside hotel and walked some of the 27 miles of beautiful beaches, shopped at West Marine, and ate at restaurants that served wonderful meals of fish.

Before I Go:

Returning our rental car: As we stood at the counter, the agent asked:” Did you carry a firearm in the car? Have you removed it from the car? While most Canadians have never held a gun in their hands, with a chuckle, Mike replied, “No, we didn’t carry a gun in the car.” The agent, sensing his flippant response: “You would be surprised what we find in those cars!”

A conversation with our Uber driver: A former taxi driver from  another state, our Uber driver works for three app services Uber, Lift, and the delivery service, Door Dash in the winter. “Can’t beat it man”, he says.

“We can’t carry under 18-year-old passengers unless they are accompanied by an adult. They do back ground checks city, county , state, federal, motor vehicle. We’re not allowed to carry a weapon, although there was an incident where a driver was held up and his car stolen. But money doesn’t change hands with this app which makes us less likely to be held up and more drivers are installing cameras.”

“Winter is slow, it makes it tough to cover all the bills; come March, I get caught up. I work largely the beach area, but I do airport, Destin, Pensacola; I love the long trips; it can be a days work in just a couple of hours.

“I grew up in Alabama; love Northern Florida.” ” What do you like about Florida compared to Alabama?” I asked. “ For starters, everything is for sale here on Sundays. Cullman County Alabama was a dry state when I was there; a 45 min ride to another county to buy alcohol! I feel a little freer in Florida. Alabama had no lottery”

“I’m trying to swim out of an ocean of debt. By 2025, I’ll be paid up. Here, I control my income, determine how much money I make. I don’t sleep a lot in the summer. I’ll work for 12 hours then the [app] system kicks me off and I’ll take my break; get some chow, take a nap, then get right back to it. Sometimes, I work to 3 in the morning. I haven’t had a boss in 6 years, no time clock, no W2 tax paying job for 6 years. I still owe taxes and still pay them, but none of that withholding situation. I started out driving for ********,  in a week I was bringing home what amounted to a 2-week paycheck. So, I decided this is what I was going to do for a living.”

He confesses that he made too many mistakes. [Working for a food delivery service], “You have to do the shopping and deliver, and I got dropped by the company regarding a customer’s request for alcohol which is allowed, but the customer wasn’t home when I arrived, and I left the delivery at a gate. (Rules dictate that he was to ID the customer before leaving the delivery).  “The driving apps, are so much easier. 87% less work, and much more fun.”

“I’ve done over 7000 rides since summer of 2021.”

After returning to the boat: