a JOB- Need reality weather check

[happy 57]

Hey guys, I might have a job!!! It's near Ft. Walton beach in the armpit of Florida. I've never visited the area but it's Florida. What is the weather like down there as opposed to Ohio. We get 1, maybe 3 to 4 weeks of 90+ days with high humidity up here. I LOVE it. And I've been to Florida in August (Biscayne Bay, Marathon, Key West) and it wasn't bad at all.
So what am I missing?
The company says I can live on my boat 2 miles from the plant. Great, I can ride my bike to work. They also say the Gulf sucks for boating with 6'ers all the time. I said "Yahoo! I've got a sailboat and those waves are about what we get in Lake Erie."

 

[kloudie1]

Ft. Walton Area

I think you’ll find Ft. Walton to be a fine place to be..if you like the beach scene. Sailing at this time of the year is GREAT. The water is really pretty off shore. The water in the bay is kinda cloudy but a nice place for sailing too. It sometimes gets pretty light in the heat of the summer. Summer is pretty hot, especially August/September. Lots of thunder thumpers over the summer.. some pretty violent, but scattered..Small probability of hurricane hit in the summer. If you live on board, ya gonna need an air conditioner to sleep at night..and a heater for the winter. Good bug screens are necessary when opening up in the fine weather. The whole area from Panama City to Pensacola is a great sailing area .. a couple of low bridges (50 feet) just west of Ft. Walton, but you can go outside to get around them. One is the bridge at Destin, so if you are over 50 ft, ya have to choose to be on teh bay or teh gulf side.. Don’t know what you are sailing, but a draft less than 6’ is good and less is better. Lots of neat places to explore! Lots of military prescence in the area.. (Air Force & Navy) good museums at Panama City and Pensacola.. Lots of good fresh sushi and other seafoods.. GO Enjoy ! Use this link to look at sailing waters..
http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/

Zeahag posted about Niceville, florida.. Just around the corner from Ft. Walton..

 

[kloudie1]

Ohhh. summer is in the 90's.... 90 days of 90 degrees and 90% humidity! Not really that bad but pretty hot compared to Ohio.

 

[Patrick17430]

Ohhh. summer is in the 90's.... 90 days of 90 degrees and 90% humidity! Not really that bad but pretty hot compared to Ohio.

Your not getting any sympathy from Texas. Its freaking hot ! And the Gulf of Mexico is a washing machine . But its better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick Just do it ! If you don't like it , hoist the sails

 

[SeaRanch]

No the Gulf is NOT always "6'ers", sometimes it is smooth and other times it can be 8'ers +.
Go to NOAA maps (on the internet) you will find that Ft Walton is on the Choctawhatchee Bay, a very large bay that has great sailing and access to the Gulf (bridge height is 48', more or less). Sailing in the FL "Panhandle" is year round.
Ft Walton has a very active yacht club (check out their website) and there are many yacht clubs along the Gulf Coast (internet "Gulf Yachting Association").
Three of us (sailboats) will be "motorsaling" to Choctawhatchee Bay next weekend for a couple of days of relaxation. Two friends of ours just spend 9 days "touring" Choctawhatchee Bay in their sailboats.

Yes is gets HOT and yes it gets Humid. July topped out at 100 deg and coldest can get down to 28 deg (to us that is VERY cold!).

Biking 2 miles to work? Be prepared for rain.
Come on down!
Bill

 

[hutch5151]

You are coming to one of the best sailing areas in all of Florida. Plenty of marina's available with reasonable slip fee's. Great coastal sailing all year long in the bay. Alan's Marina on Boggy bayou or Bluewater Bay Marina on Rocky bayou are some of the better marina's. There are a lot of Yankee's down here because of the Airforce Base (Eglin) so you will be right at home. And, YES, you eventually acclimate yourself to the summer heat and humidity.