Niceville, FL

2/11-14/2020

On February 11 we departed the resort and continued east.  It was foggy this morning, and when the visibility increased to about a half mile we thought it would lift for the day so we departed.  That was probably a mistake.  The photo below shows one view of the channel markers.

After leaving the resort we transited across Santa Rosa Sound.  The dolphins here were really active.  The photos below show some of their antics.  At times they would jump out of the water to play, and at others they would jump out with their side towards the water, and their body arched to maximize the splash.  I don’t know why they do this, but they are fun to watch.

We thought the fog would lift, but it was not to be.  As we moved further east and passed through Fort Walton Beach the visibility decreased below 100 feet.  The radar clearly showed the markers, and we were able to follow our GPS to stay in the channel, but it would have been better to get some sightseeing.

When we arrived at the marina in Niceville the fog was especially thick.  When we got to the first set of markers showing the channel we couldn’t see the next set.  This marina is known for a very narrow and shallow entrance and we didn’t want to run aground there.  Luckily we saw them at the last second and were able to find our way into the marina.  They were only about 50 feet apart, so that gives an idea of the visibility.

We will stay at this marina for a few days hoping for better weather.  We will need to go across the Gulf of Mexico in one straight trip to avoid the shallow water in the Big Bend region.  This means an overnight in the open ocean, something we haven’t done yet.  We are beginning our planning for this necessary trip.