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St. Andrews, Panama City

Jan 18

2 min read

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No drama to report so if that's your thing, stop reading here!


As the Bosun reported in his most recent log, we had a smooth, super-enjoyable trip from Destin to St. Andrew's Marina in Panama City. I'd only add that both the entrance to and exit from the long narrow channel through the cypress swamp were punctuated by Royal and Forster's Terns diving and swooping to catch the tiny fish we were pushing up in front of us. They created quite a scene--a beautiful demonstration of nature's ability to be beautiful and vicious at the same time.


At St. Andrews, we are tied up to pilings along a rickety dock in the midst of fishing boats with the one next to us unloading 3000 pounds of snapper and grouper as I write. Much of this City-owned marina was destroyed by Hurricane Michael in 2018 as was its sister marina, Panama City Marina. The few slips that remain here are dedicated to the commercial fleet. Thanks to a public-private partnership, St. Andrews Marina is now just starting to be rebuilt. For the moment, Panama City Marina is fully closed. We are fortunate to have the slip we have which is available only because the commercial boat that usually docks here is out of the water for maintenance.



We had planned to be here two nights as we wanted time to catch up on some cleaning and reorganization chores. However, the massive cold front moving across the country is about to come through and we decided a third night made more sense than cruising through likely thunderstorms and heavy rain. It turns out that this part of Panama City is lovely. The marina affords a walkable neighborhood with a terrific coffee shop (Amavida), pleasant bar, a variety of restaurants and a waterfront park with a 300 year old live oak in addition to beach access.


Built in 1887, St. Andrew Church has served several denominations in the neighborhood while surviving countless hurricanes throughout its century and a third long history.



Robert Lee McKenzie's home and office are also in the neighborhood. Though not of the means or capacity of Henry Flagler who envisioned Key West as the transportation gateway to South America and built the Overseas Railroad, McKenzie envisioned this port as Atlanta's gateway to the Panama Canal. He acquired and developed land for a railroad terminal and persuaded J.B. Steele of Atlanta to build a rail line that connected through to Atlanta. And, thus the town was named Panama City.



Only because I like it, I leave you with this sculpture of pelicans completed on what I suspect may once have been a live oak. See you in Port St. Joe's.



Jan 18

2 min read

11

62

0

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