Recomendations On FL Panhandle Marinas

[dougshipl]

Looking to relocate our 46 sailboat that draws 6' from the East coast of Florida to the Panhandle. Mast is 64' from waterline. Looking for a safe and enjoyable area to keep boat from between Orange Beach AL to Tampa. Any recomendations? All thoughts greatly appreciated.
Thx DS

[Frogwatch]

From W to E starting at Apalachicola.
The old city marina at Apalachicola is very cheap. The new Marina is up river and better protected. Apalachicola is very nice with access to Lake Wimico, st George Is and Dog Island.

I like Carrabelle because it has several marinas. You probably cannot get under the bridge to get waaaaa upriver but there are several marinas below the bridge. Carrabelle has great access to Dog Island.

Alligator harbor: Hard to get in and out of but well protected. Very limited number of slips

Places on Ocklocknee Bay: Very difficult to get in and out of due to very shallow water

Panacea: A nice little place with a long entrance channel. Well protected.

Spring Creek: A real "local knowledge" place. Cheap, "old Florida". One very shallow spot. Long winding channel.

Shell Point: no real facilities but has the Apalachee Bay Yacht Club and nearby marina. Draft over 4.5' may have trouble on low tides.

St Marks: Semi-Fresh water. Very historic. Try Shell Island Fish camp, dilapidated docks but a cool place on the Wakulla R. On the St. Marks R there is Shields Marina. Deep water. It is 5 miles from St Marks to open water to sail

Steinhatchee: A nice place with deep water access.

Cedar Key: Unfortunately sailboat hostile but it is a cool place. No place to put a sailboat unless you are seriously determined

[dougshipl]

Cool. Thank you Frogwatch. Any thoughts on Panama City or Destin areas?

[Frogwatch]

I don't know anything about Destin but have been to Panama City numerous times but only sailed there once. Numerous marinas. Access to Shell Island and the rest of the bays there. Once watched nasty chop in the channel between Shell Island and St Andrews State Park so getting to and from the Gulf might be dependent on tide and wind. Panama City Beach is the so-called "Redneck Riviera" but Panama City itself is not so bad. It does have a new airport so airfares might get lower.
Another option is St Joseph Bay, one of my fav places. There is a new municipal marina at St Joe and the bay is deep and clear with great snorkelling. Lots of scallops in the summer to find. It offers access to the state park that occupies most of the peninsula with anchoring in Eagle HArbor.

[nofd843]

Bridge height will be your biggest issue, I believe several of the local bridges (Destin to Pensacola) are around 50 ft.

[hutch5151]

Your best bet would be Pensacola Bay or Panama City. Both have large ship channel entrances and are not bridge restricted. Both have numerous marina's, great bay sailing and are great sailing communities.

[solman55]

Pensacola bay is pretty good as long as you watch your depth I am at Bahia Mar Marina which is a great place on the inside of Bayou Chico the only thing with getting in there is your 6 ft draft. But if you watch out you can get through. I like it because I am not far at all from the gulf which is where I usually go so I can sail to Pensacola beach, destin, etc. The nice thing is that the only bridge is the big 3 mile bridge and if you go out to the gulf there is no obstruction.

[nolatom]

Pensacola is a nice town to visit, but a couple of miles from seabuoy to the downtown marinas (suburban ones are closer though).

Destin and Orange Beach are much quicker in/out, and both are fun towns too, with most marinas pretty close to the stores and shops. I don't have any specific names for you as I've just dived from there rather than cruised, but if you ask around or search the web you should find some.

[dougshipl]

Excellent - thank you all

[Perithead]

I have my boat slipped at the city marina is Panama City, I think it is a fantastic marina that is filled with great people, a few liveaboards and many active sailor and powerboaters. The peirs for the larger boats like yours are gated off so that just anyone cant go near your boat. There are also storage rooms on the piers that I believe you get with your slip ( I am not on a pier for the larger boats so I'm not sure). Rent for my 29' is about $287 a month and that includes all the power and cable and free pump outs and other things.

The people at the marina are all very nice, I know them all by name and they know me. The marina director lives aboard his Hunter and can be found easily throughout the day. The dock hands are very nice and fun to joke around with, one is a German guy named Vulker who would do anything for you. They have security at night with is a plus.

THe marina is located near downtown and right beside the local civic center with things going on there pretty often which is nice. There are good little resturaunt and breakfast spots within walking distance.

The bay is excellent with great beaches and access to the gulf is a straight shot out of the marina, you can see the into the gulf through the pass from the marina.