Weather forecast for March 15, 2018:
Big Lagoon, ICW, Pensacola, Florida
Sunny, low 55 high 63.
Northwest Winds, 10 to 12 knots
Captain’s Log: March 18, 2018
Big lagoon is a short 13nm cruise down the beautiful ICW from Barber Marina. We covered the distance, under power, in approximately 90 minutes and dropped anchor at Redfish Point in about 13ft of water shortly after 2:00pm.
This was our first anchorage in clear salt water and we were excited to finally be out of the muddy waters of the river systems and Mobile Bay. Our view to the south was beautiful; the white sands of Johnson’s Beach (Gulf Islands National Seashore) and the ruins of Fort McRee stood before us. To the northeast, looking across the lagoon, lay the Pensacola Naval Air Station, home of the Blue Angels. To the northwest, we could see traffic on the Gulf Beach Highway.
Our good friend Jeff has a house on the Gulf Beach Highway that we could not quite see from our anchorage; it was hidden by trees and a taller condo building. We used Jeff’s house as a retreat, a very comfortable Airbnb property, several times in the past while the boat was high and dry at Turner Marine.
After securing the boat it was time to relax. I strung the hammock between the main mast and the staysail, climbed in and enjoyed a scotch on the rocks that the XO had prepared for me.
The gentle rocking of the boat, caused primarily by the wakes of various craft moving along the ICW, kept the hammock slowly swinging. As I moved my gaze across the lagoon I noticed a center console powerboat, about 25ft in length, cruising slowly along the sandy shore of Johnson’s Beach. Something not immediately apparent caught my eye about the helmsman, alone on the boat. As he passed by, at about 100 yards from our bow, I could see that he was completely naked. I’m sure that we will be seeing many more birthday suits as we move further south.
Dolphins could occasionally be seen swimming around us, their dorsal fins gently breaching the smooth water. The tranquility of the lagoon would occasionally be broken by the incredible roar of a jet engine; which was the audio queue to look towards the northeast in the hope of locating the fighter jet responsible for the din.
It was just lovely; our first real taste of cruising in paradise.
Our friends and fellow Vagabond 47 owners, Nate and Glenda, live in Pensacola. We reached out to them via text messages hoping to arrange a rendezvous aboard Perfect Love but, being working stiffs, their schedules could not accommodate such a short notice invitation.
Later, well after the sun had set, we went topside, sat on the deckhouse and gazed at the stars; they were brilliant. After checking tomorrow's weather forecast, one last time, we decided that is was a 'go' for Destin in the morning. We hit the sack early, feeling very tired, very satisfied and excited about our upcoming first off-shore hop.
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas.