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Looking for information about sailing from Pensacola to Destin via the ICW? Never sailed down there and I'm considering chartering a Beneteau 331 in Pensacola and sailing over to Destin. The charter company rep told me it is 50 nautical miles from Pensacola to Destin and that it would take 10 or 11 hours to make the passage. This seems a bit long to me when I look at Google maps.
Ten or eleven hours (about 50 miles) is a good estimate for Pensacola to Destin in that boat.
I don't know where you are picking the boat up but from Bayou Chico or the Seville area to the entrance to Santa Rosa Sound will take an hour or so of SW sailing across the bay before turning almost due east toward Destin about forty miles away.
The traffic level will depend on the day of the week and the weather and if it is nice and on the weekend you may encounter quite a bit. This year has been very wet and if the weather is good you may expect a mass exodus from the many marinas in the area into Santa Rosa Sound.
The sound looks narrow on the chart but there's lots of good water although some shallow areas require that close attention be paid to chart and depthsounder.
That is about the correct number of hours. We have made it in less time running offshore but we had a nice wind and a longer water line length. If you go down the ICW you will have to motor a lot of the trip. Check with the charter company there are some short bridges along the way. Enjoy the trip.
BTW. The trip from Pensacola to Biloxi is a very nice adventure. Protected water and good sailing.
Bob
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