OK we'll go to Baypoint but just for one day!

After our busy day on the Gulf of Mexico we were in the mood for a little R&R from sailing. We were anchored at The Panama City Beach Marina where they raise the boats out of the water and keep them under little Quanset hut like roofs. (see pics). Another unusual thing they do here is around 4am they have someone hired to drive in reverse around the marina with their vehicle going "BEEP, BEEP,BEEP,BEEP...... They stop the odd time to lift something (maybe a Sherman tank) and slam it back to earth. I may have heard this the odd time at home and not known who did it. Now I know. After hearing this one night, I didn't feel like waiting for a second to see if this was some sort of tradition. We called over to our friends at Baypoint and asked if they had room at this Marina. Greg (who secretly wants to be a marina manager so his wife says) said c'mon right in. Leslie says call when you get close' they will instruct you.

We untied and started off to find this out of the way marina. As we started into this channel leading to the marina we had no idea that 20 other boats felt that this was a good time to come screaming towards us and past us from all sides, from behind and from ahead. No rules governed their behavior. My ADD picked this time to kick in and in the flurry of chaotic activity. I located a part of the channel where the length of my keel exceeded the depth of the water. Surona plowed to a halt in the middle of unleashed pandamonium. Having cultivated my share of sea bottoms in my time I was familiar with this activity. I calmly cut the wheel to the left and then to the right. We moved slightly ahead but it took a few minutes to aim the boat in the right direction. We needed deeper water but it is so deceiving, Its all flat on top! We met another friend who told us that in his experience sailing was what you did between groundings.

We eventually made it into Baypoint Marina. Once again here were the walls of white fiberglass. Yesterday some one was delivering a boat to a boat show in Orange Beach Alabama. They had just come across the Gulf from Clearwater in 20 hours in a boat they said will sell for just over two million dollars. Very pretty. I pictured myself running aground in that baby.

What a bunch of people. Everyone has time and everyone has stories. I expect to see George Woods standing here talking. If he ever came here he would never get away. It doesn't matter how big, how new or how little your boat is. Like I said I am into my third day here. I intended to stay one day. I just met a guy who intended to stay one day and a month later he is still here!

We are off to check out "Hunts" oyster bar. Someone lent us their car. They say they know Cliff from Meaford. Apparently at one time these people were going through the channel in Killarney when unbeknownst to them all their anchor chain came loose and paid out. He noticed the boat slowing down so he poured it on! He dragged the anchor and a couple hundred feet of chain until he came to a stop I think, somewhere around The Sportsman Inn. He tore up a waterline feeding George Island. So into every day a little rain must fall. These things happen.

Can't think of anything else to write about.

His boat name is Roy El. Maybe some one reading this has met them. If you did you wouldn't soon forget them.