Day 154 & 155: Along the GIWW to White City

December 20, 2023

Day 154: December 19: We checked the weather again and right now it looks like the first best day to cross the Gulf from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs will be December 29th. If that remains accurate, we have quite some time to kill; we do not want to get to Carrabelle, only to sit in a marina. So we will take our time to get to Apalachicola, anchor for a few days then proceed to Carrabelle. Timing is important.

Caught the sunrise in Destin Harbor before getting UW about 7:00 a.m.

There was a bit of a current flowing as we left Destin and headed back through the Brooks Bridge. I turned around to make sure Summer Fling got through without a problem as the wind and current can always be tricky. With both boats safely through, we cruised out onto Choctawhatchee Bay. It was a bit choppy until we reached the much narrower section of the channel. Two other Loopers, "Thataway" and "My Brown Eyed Girl" fell in behind us soon after we left Destin and ventured onto the bay. Once in the smaller waterway, things smoothed out completely; we didn't pass any other vessels except this small work boat the entire time.

We traveled 47 NM in just under 6 hours across the bay, into a narrow section of the channel and back into the larger Grand Lagoon. About 2.3 miles north of the GIWW we pulled into a good anchorage in Burnt Mill Creek. Another Looper "Roaming Holiday" was there and we waved as we passed by. It was a good spot with great hold in about 10 feet of water.

Our route from NEBO

Day 155: December 20: A cold morning and a gorgeous sunrise. I think about being home; how many sunrises and sunsets have I missed. This journey continues to bless us with these moments.

We hauled the anchor and got UW at 7:00. Once again dolphins were playing around the boats. I was standing at the bow when suddenly one jumped completely out of the water, a full belly flop; a Kodak moment we missed! Throughout the trip they performed their stunts; at one time 3 were gliding along the port side while 3 more were frolicking along the starboard. We just can't get enough of them.

The waterway was calm with no boat traffic until we reached the St. Andrew Bay area. Also called the Panama City inlet, it provides easy access to and from the Gulf of Mexico between Pensacola and Port Saint Joe. Here we passed commercial activity, tugs, a few more pleasure boats and a vessel owned by the U.S. Air Force. She was traveling off our starboard before pulling in behind us and in front of Summer Fling. She then veered toward starboard again. Assuming the captain wanted to pass we slowed down. Sure enough, given the chance, he went ahead, picked up speed and disappeared. We were happy to have her beyond us.

The unmistakable thunder of military jets suddenly erupted. We looked up and saw one, then two, shoot straight up, disappearing into the sky high above us. It didn't surprise us when we saw the land to our starboard was called Military Point.

We passed through East Bay into Wettappo Creek; a long, remote, swamp-like stretch. Frank mentioned later on that there seemed to be more fallen trees along the banks than we had seen in the rivers. No wildlife to speak of either. It felt desolate and remote.

After traveling 46 NM in about 6 hours, we tied up at a free dock in White City. There is a sign that says no overnight mooring but locals told previous Loopers that no one cares. One Looper boat stayed 4 nights recently. True enough people just waved and chatted.

There are two small ramps used by the fishermen, a small park that at one time was a Corp of Engineers facility. There are several floating docks to tie to. It's very shallow but we managed to get in safely. The area was busy with fishermen in and out, kids playing ball and several people walking dogs. We walked about 1/2 mile to a country store where we picked up a few provisions and two Hunt's pizzas. For country store pizza, they were delicious!