This past Sunday, Wil and I took our boat out for the first time this year. The weather was absolutely perfect! The sky was nearly cloudless. The temperature was mild. The water was flat. The boat ran like a charm.
We launched out of Navarre, at the public boat ramp adjacent to Juana's on Santa Rosa Island, just over the Navarre Beach Bridge. The boat ramp is wide, the parking plentiful, and the launching is free! We cruised toward Destin, enjoying the sights along the way. At an easy pace, it took about an hour to get to Destin Pass.
Normally, we don't take our small boat (19 ft.) out into the Gulf. But when the water is so flat, the Gulf is irresistible. So, we headed out through the pass. Just a few yards outside the pass, the dolphins appeared. Just outside Destin Pass is the place most likely to see dolphins. Five dolphins were frolicking in the water. Actually, I can't be sure they were "frolicking," but on such a gorgeous day, it seemed that way.
We followed a group of two and then another group of three, back and forth, and around and around our boat. They are fast swimmers and change direction quickly. Our small boat is maneuverable enough follow them around. They swam just under the surface, easy to spot in the clear emerald water. They seemed to play with us as they swam around, darting close, then speeding away. The area was busy with boats, big and small. Parasailers were out and the beaches a couple of hundred yards away were thick with tourists. None of this seemed to faze the dolphins.
Eventually, the dolphins swam a bit farther away, perhaps to play with other boaters, and we took a short cruise down the coast. I took photos of the crowded beaches in front of the condos. It struck both Wil and I that most of those people on the beach had saved up and spent a lot of money to come to Destin for a vacation. And yet, there we were, only a short way from home. It struck me how lucky we are to live in a place where many people come to vacation.
Former Pensacola mayor Vince Whibbs coined this phrase to describe Pensacola, "Where thousands live the way millions wish they could." This phrase described the whole Emerald Coast area. That was the phrase that popped into my mind as Wil and I talked about how lucky we are to live where we do.
We anchored our boat at Crab Island, which is not actually an island, but a huge barely submerged sand bar. It's a favorite place for boaters to anchor and play in the shallow water. There were quite a few boats there, but nothing like the crowds that will appear when the weather gets really hot. Then the boats are crowded so close together you can practically jump from boat to boat. There's a floating snack bar with live music in the summer, a floating water slide, a floating trampoline, and tiny boats and wave runners that motor around selling ice cream and pizza.
It wasn't that crowded and commercial last weekend, as the weather was still relatively calm and most of the Spring Break crowd have already departed. Still, it is a great place to stop and people watch. We were amused by the big black labrador dog that kept jumping out of a boat and into the water to play fetch. We were more amused by the marine patrol writing a ticket for people in a pontoon boat that probably didn't have the required safety equipment.
You see young women who look amazing in their bikinis and older ladies who shouldn't be wearing them anymore. The young men are showing off their physiques, trying to impress the ladies. The older gentlemen in baggy plaid swimsuits patiently captain pontoon boats full of family. Huge yachts skirt the edge of the island, too large to venture into the shallower water. You see a lot of beer, a lot of people sunning themselves, and many different kinds and sizes of boats. You don't see enough people using sunblock or enough people who use good boating etiquette.
After we ate our picnic lunch, it was time to head home. It was a pleasant cruise back to Navarre. We trailered the boat, flushed the engine, drove to a self-serve car wash to wash the boat, then put the boat back in the storage yard. For us, it was a fun cruise, just the first of many we will take this spring, summer, and fall.
Boating in Santa Rosa Sound and in the Gulf is a common event for us. And, anytime we want, we can drive a couple of short miles to the beach and walk along the sugar white sands. I can even walk a hundred yards or so through my own neighborhood to the edge of the Sound. I own more swimsuits than I do winter coats. We live the way most people can only occasionally vacation. I never want to forget how lucky I am to live in this paradise.
