First stop in Florida Ft. Walton

We were up and ready to head out early from the anchorage at Ingram Bayou but the fog would keep us there for an extra hour and a half. Overnight, several boats had joined us. Once the fog lifted, Dave pulled the anchor and I put Mystic in forward gear. Well, at least I tried to put her in gear. I couldn’t get the throttle to budge. After several attempts I asked Dave to take a look. He could get the throttle to move forward but it wouldn’t engage in gear. We re-anchored in order to check things out. This had never happened to us before. The throttle had felt tight or sticky but it had always slipped into gear. Dave fiddled with it for a bit and was finally able to shift. We were back in business, heading East along the ICW toward Florida. We talked about taking a closer look at the throttle issue when we got to Ft. Walton.

Welcome to Florida

Cruising along with Mystic

Trimaran Heading West

Fishing off the bridge

Para-Sailing

We crossed several big waterways today, Perdido Bay, Big Lagoon, Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa Sound. The weather was gorgeous but we were fighting a big head wind. This makes for choppy waters and no sailing; but a great day to be on the water! We both had to be attentive the entire nine and a half hour journey. Several pods of dolphins joined us including a pod of about six.. I tried to take photos with some success. They wanted to ride our bow wake! I’m not sure who had more fun, the dolphins or us! What a great show they put on. I took the new Canon camera up to the bow, hung on for dear life and filmed these beautiful animals as they danced in our wake. This was the highlight of the day!

Dolphins swim in our bow wake

We had to pass under several stationary bridges. The Navarre Bridge is about 49 feet off the water. Mystic needs 45 feet to clear these bridges. If you do the math, it appears we were good to go but as we approached the bridge, it looked like we were going to hit. Dave slowed the engine but I panicked a little so he threw it into neutral; we would coast underneath. With only five feet to spare, the view from Mystic looked like we were about to crash. Dave told me to do a 180 and turn back west. That was the easy part. He attempted to put Mystic in forward gear, but just like earlier, it wouldn’t go. We were in trouble. I steered Mystic in what was now a tail wind in a channel that was only about 100 feet wide. We were drifting out of the channel when we decided to let out a little of the jib to stabilize us and to give us some momentum. It was just what we needed. Dave fiddled with the throttle and then fiddled under the engine cover. He was able to get forward gear  to engage. We turned east again and easily passed under the Navarre bridge, only to see a big barge getting ready to pass from the other direction. It was a good thing we put that sail out. It would have been disastrous to be under the bridge when a tow was trying to pass.

Our view approaching bridges

We decided to keep going with our original plan of tying up at Fort Walton city dock; instead of stopping to figure out what was wrong with the throttle. It’s a free dock and the town is within walking distance. There are several marinas nearby should we need to have repairs done. It was the right decision. The dock is at a city park where homeless folks feel safe. We feel safe here too!

We were the only boat tied to the Ft. Walton City dock but we were greeted by people fishing on the pier and a liveaboard who told us that he takes his dinghy into town each day to sit in the shade of the park. Dave began to troubleshoot the throttle gear issue but decided to call our mechanic Brent in Mobile, Alabama for advice. Brent was pretty sure the problem was with the throttle cable being out of adjustment. He explained how to adjust it and how to adjust the engine idle. It took only about a half hour for Dave to fix the problem. Engine is purring and the throttle slips into gear consistently. How lucky are we that it was an easy and inexpensive fix! Dave definitely owes Brent a beer or two!

Ft. Walton Free City Dock

Sunset/Moonrise at Ft. Walton

We were able to explore Fort Walton while we were there. It’s a cute little tourist town with a Camelia Garden and Indian Mound Replica. It has a nice Microbrewery called Props (short for Propellers). We walked over the Ft. Walton Bridge (50 feet off the water with a low railing, YIKES) to the beautiful white sugar sand beach and sat for a couple hours. The signs said “NO SWIMMING” near the pier; too dangerous!

Ft. Walton Beach

No Swimming

Props Microbrewery

Props Taps

We had a great respite at Fort Walton, our first Florida stop, spending two nights on the dock. Our second night, we were joined by a Looping trawler, My Dream. Sue and Ted Cole have been cruising for 10 years. They invited us over for dock tales. Also at Ft. Walton City Dock was Garry and Chrissy from Turner Marine. We were surprised to see them. Chrissy seemed to remember us and didn’t growl or bark when I approached the boat. It seems that we are becoming part of a greater community!

My Dream Aft View

My Dream Bow View

Ted & Sue Cole

Garry & Chrissy

Ft. Walton, FL

Little Chapel

Cement Art

Just Run It Runing Store!