Inside on the ICW
The Gulf of Mexico is tempestuous, a smooth mirror one day and a
Maytag washer the next. But cruisers needn’t fear its moods because
the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) affords the option of sailing inside
on a system of bays, sounds, rivers and canals.
Since a west wind is blowing 15-20 and the sea is choppy, we sail
briskly through Santa Rosa Sound, two miles wide and 30 long,
flanked by stands of pine and oak to the north and sugar-white sand
dunes to the south. Santa Rosa Island is part of the Gulf Islands
National Seashore, which is why this place is so attractive to
nature lovers.
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Walking to Destiny |
it
reminds them of the spaceship in the opening scenes of the spoof
film "Spaceballs." Tugs, barges, dredgers and other beefy work
vessels are common along the ICW. When the Brooks Bridge comes
into view we know Fort Walton Beach lay just ahead. Sailboat masts
bristle along the sandy shore as competitors gather for the Corsair
Nationals. Corsair owners are unfolding their trailered trimarans
and launching them from the beach in the state park adjacent to our
destination, Deckhands Marina on Okaloosa Island.
Some of the Corsair racers practice in Choctawhatchee Bay, about four miles
east, an expansive body of water ideal for cruisers looking for a relaxing day
sail. Depths average 16 feet and the bottom is forgiving.
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The catamaran doesn’t heel. It’s more akin to effortlessly steering a big raft. Warm wind at our back, stereo blasting some Bob Marley tune, we revel in the here and now. The kids dance and fool around on the foredeck. We’re rapidly decompressing from the relentless
pressures of home and morphing into escape mode. It feels
damn good.
Keeping an eye out for sandy shoals, we drop a
lunch hook at Manatee Point near Standard Mile 213, a local
favorite for overnight anchorage. The ICW traffic, albeit
sparse, keeps us entertained.
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With Destiny secured to wood piers, Christine and I
celebrate by downing a couple of cold Red Stripe beers and
take in the sights from the cockpit, glad to be in a new
place for a day, maybe two. The kids fish from the dock and
play with a bold heron that steals the tiny bait they’ve
snared with a cast net and placed into a plastic bucket. It
becomes a game that lasts for hours. |
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