Headed to Panama City, FL - Need Advice

[jwfoster4]

We will be headed to Panama City / St. Andrews next week. Trailering over from Pensacola to stay Tuesday 7/8 through Sunday 7/13. My parents and sister are bringing their RVs and have sites at St. Andrews.

Do you know anything about the ramp at St. Andrews? Is it long enough to launch my 270? We will be on the hook for most nights, but would like to tie up at the dock some during the day. I saw a few piers on Google Earth. Does anyone know what they are like?

Where are the good spots to back in at Shell Island? We plan to make several trips over to the island.

I have been coming to PC and St. Andrews for 40 years, but this is my first trip ever with my own boat. We have taken the Shell Island shuttle over from the park every year. We are very excited to finally play in the area and not be "stuck" on land

Also, we would like a good seafood lunch at a tie-up restaurant,

 

[fwebster]

The St. Andrews Park ramp is one of the best in the area. I see boats as large as a 270 every week at the ramp area. The docking space in the basin at St. Andrews is limited and available on a first come first serve basis and I think is basically for launch and retreival purposes. I believe the long docks in the lagoon are for the commercial operation of the tour boats.shuttles, but I'm not sure.

The island is 12 miles long......so take your pick as far as a spot to anchor. Be sure to bring 2 anchors since there likely isn't enough to let a boat swing on a front anchor only in the more popular places. There is good clean water almost anywhere, but watch for the grass flats. The water may look green, which makes you think it is deep, when in reality it is only a few inches deep because the green you see is sea grass. Most people use the west end of the island where the dunes are visible.....about 1/2 way down the island to the area once used by tour boats ( this is a nice spot because the island is narrow there and you can anchor in protected bay water and walk across to the ffront side and enjoy the surf. ....then all the way at the other end of the island near the Tyndall pier.

Here's a heads up..if you travel with a dog, dogs are not allowed on the Federal part of the island which is aproximately the eastern 1/2 of the island. Dogs are only allowed on the private part of the remainder of the island, which is near the center where you anchor and walk across. The Park Rangers will not ticket you if you keep your dogs in the boat, in the water or in the wet sand at the water's edge, but they do enforce the not pets, no alcohol and no glass containers rules everywhere else.

I haven't been able to get there since Opal in '95, but the area called the "Kiddie Pool"...behind the jetties on either side of the pass is nice for anchoring and exploring. Be careful....the entrance isn't marked and it is shallow.

We are not blessed with much restaurant access from the water. The best spots will be The Boatyard- accessible at the dock at Lighthouse Marina; Hooks- which is the bottom level of the Treasure Ship, phone Treasure Island's dockmaster and ask for availibility of a transient slip for lunch 850-234-6533 ext 39 .....both of those are in Grand Lagoon. Bayou Joe's in Massalina Bayou - its a dump, but the food is Zantac good and tying up there is a trip since you literally tie up to the exterior wall of the restaurant and crawl in to a table. Uncle Ernie's is located at St. Andrews Marina in St. Andrews and they own their own dock so space isn't a problem .....probably the best one of the water front restaurants too.

Get yourself a chart that shown depths and believe what it tells you. Once you get out of marked channels, there are places all over the area where the bottom will jump up and bite you.

Finally, this area is loaded with commercial traffic (you are supposed to guess or know where their route is and, therefore, where they are going and how to pass them) , rental pontoon boats (the drivers have no instruction, have never heard of the rules of the road and most likely have never run a boat before 10 minutes prior to the time you have to dodge them) jet skiis....1/2 have no clue and the other 1/2 are on a tour that will stop willynilly, anywhere and everywhere to wait on stragglers or to watch a fish, and rental kayaks that sit so low in the water that you cannot see them in a 2 ft swell. So don't get in a hurry, observe the rules of the road and try to figure out the traffic patterns and follow them. Also, get in the habit of always passing Deep Water Point at an idle or fast idle because you cannot see what is approaching from the other side and always keep a look out for the kayaks.......it is a wonder we haven't mowed down at least those who are in the dark green and blue boats.

Otherwise, PC is a great boating area and you will have a blast.