After sleeping in and then reading the weather forecast next morning in Sandestin when we got up, to our great consternation it became clear that a weather window for crossing the Big Bend was opening a mere 24 hours away. We really wanted to get across as soon as possible so that we could take care of some things before Christmas and required easy access to the Tampa airport the following week. That meant that we had to make it all the way to either Apalachicola or Carrabelle (the jumping off points for the Big Bend crossing) in the next 10 hours - before sunset - in order to make the daylight crossing at dawn the following day. We'd been in contact with another boater that said he was doing the crossing the day after and said that it would be no problem to get from Sandestin to Apalachicola in one day despite the fact that we'd be traveling through the worst of the devastation of Hurricane Michael - apparently the waterways were clear and we could go fast enough to cover the 110 or so miles to Apalchicola. Without that information, we were dubious about making such a long trek but it seemed clear that it was doable. So suddenly, we had some urgency to pack up, stow everything and leave asap - and were on our way out of Baytowne Marina by 10am.

The Choctawhatchee Bay was a lot smoother than the day before and we crossed it at maximum speed until we got to the narrow GICW canal that would lead us to Panama City. Of course along the way, we saw a good number of dolphins - but none trailed us (we were going too fast) - and you could see them cavorting in the distance and then jumping high out of the water in the wake we left behind. It was once we reached the West Bay, St Andrew's Bay and the East Bay - the bodies of water surrounding Panama City - that the devastation of the hurricane was in full evidence. A good number of the houses had had their roofs torn off or had suffered significant damage.

Most of the marinas in the Panama City area were still closed - although a few reportedly would let you tie up for the night on the docks remaining but with no power, water or fuel. As we progressed further eastward via the East Bay and back into the GICW canal north of Mexico Beach - where the hurricane eye wall hit with Category 4 force - we saw that nearly all the foliage from the trees and in some places whole forests were knocked down. The waterways however were clear and salvage operations seemed to be in place here and there.

It was a long narrow trip through GICW after East Bay; and by the time we reached Lake Wimico where the canal broadened out into a shallow lake, the signs of major damage seemed to have faded. After crossing the Lake we entered the Jackson River which shortly thereafter joined the Apalachicola River that would lead us down the little port town of the same name. As we arrived in Apalachicola, we had to make a 180 degree turn to go up the Scipio Creek for about a half mile to the Scipio Creek Marina where we fueled up and tied the boat up for the night.

We took the fading hours of daylight to walk about this charming and attractive Old Florida town, replete with 19 century buildings, mansions, wrought iron porches and inns.

We ate dinner at the antique Gibson Inn (above/bottom, far right) and headed back to Salty for an early night in anticipation of the 180-mile trip across open water the next day.