Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019
We set out from Sandestin on a clear blue morning. The trip took us from Choctawhatchee (pronounced CHALK– tuh – HACH – ee) Bay, through the “Little Grand Canyon” of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) to West Bay, then Grand Lagoon, St. Andrew Bay and on into Lower Grand Lagoon to our stop for the night at the Lighthouse Marina. The trip totaled about 49 miles taking just over six hours.
Wait a minute – Florida is fairly flat and kind of sandy and wet. You may be asking, “What the heck is this ‘Little Grand Canyon’ thing all about?” We’re glad you asked! When the GIWW was cut between Choctawhatchee Bay and West Bay, they encountered A LOT of sand. Both ends of the channel are about 10 feet below sea level and slowly rise to, uh-oh, 40 feet above sea level! That height lasts for about 4 miles which means they had to dig at least 50 feet down through mostly sand to create this section. Also, you travel between 50 foot high walls of sand for quite a while! (Who knows – could these be bluffs!?) This locally became known as the “Little Grand Canyon.” We read that we should watch for bald eagles along this part of the GIWW, but sadly, we saw not one. However on Grand Lagoon, we observed a couple of dolphins jumping through the air as they rushed over to see us and rode our wake for a little while! Since we haven’t had any luck with dolphins sticking with us before, we thought maybe they were older dolphins or young ones in training. No matter – it was exciting!
After leaving the GIWW, we found ourselves approaching the very narrow entry channel to Lower Grand Lagoon, where Lighthouse Marina is located. The channel entry was at least 100 yards wide, though much of it is only 1-2 feet deep. Fortunately, a 20 foot section of the channel was deep enough for us to pass through after waiting for the kayakers to get out of the middle of it, while avoiding 2 go-fast fishing boats also passing through this narrow inlet. (We guessed the other 80 yards of the entryway was not to the kayakers' liking, or they enjoy being at the scene of a 3-boat collision) Though this marina is a bit out of the way, they’ve had a steady flow of transient boaters this year due to the after-effects of Hurricane Michael. The marina had diesel fuel, power, water, really nice people and a fantastic restaurant called the Grand Marlin. If you are nearby, we highly recommend it!
https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/Miscellaneous/NWS_83-9.pdf