69 minute read
HOME COOKIN’ From
HOME COOKIN’
BREAM DANDY
If you bring beans to a fish fry, they’d better be baked
by STEVE BORNHOFT
The bream bit on wigglers and grasshoppers with equal amounts of enthusiasm, and before long, I had a nice mess harvested from ponds dug and maintained by Jack Finch, who lives not far from Bear Creek in northern Bay County.
Jack and his wife Linda are people whose generosity is so extraordinary that it is hard to know how to answer it, not that they expect anything in return. Jack granted me access to his ponds — “Take as many fish as you want,” he said — and also insisted upon cleaning the catch for me. He led me on a tour of his property, including outbuildings containing tractors, all manner of tools, projects in progress and a Gulfgoing boat equipped with the biggest outboard motor I ever have seen.
Linda had much to show me, too, starting with a length of cypress tree, upright in her family room, that is festooned with dozens of fishing lures, all removed from snags in the creek. “Take one,” she said, and I selected an old-timey, wooden plug, a Devil’s Horse, that has fooled speckled trout in salt water and largemouth bass in fresh water for generations.
She directed my attention to shelves filled with ceramic angels and then explained that she has survived both cancer and a stroke and has a shunt that runs from her brain to her chest cavity. Medical intervention notwithstanding, she is convinced that she is looked over by a guardian angel, whom she acknowledges with her collection of figurines.
I would leave the Finch property with the lure, venison sausage and a carpenter bee trap fashioned by Jack, along with the bluegills, which were destined for a fish fry at the home of a friend.
I come from a place where Friday suppers of walleyed pike are a tradition, but especially in the South, fish fries are a special type of communion that brings together within a man his youth and his latter years; requires beer; invites storytelling; and is laced throughout with an appreciation among participants for nature’s bounty. There is, thankfully, no talk of the one that got away, and if a big fried bream is placed on a platter, it is likely to be ignored. They flat don’t taste as sweet or as good as the smaller ones.
FISH LINGO Bream is an umbrella term that may be applied to panfish including bluegills, stumpknockers, shellcrackers, warmouths, red-breasts and paints, but not to crappie, which are sometimes called speckled perch. Bluegills are the most common of the bunch and occur throughout the country. Up North, folks call them sunfish.
Brunch By Day Bites By Night
3375 W County Highway 30A, Santa Rosa Beach | (850) 660-1594
↑ Fresh from the fryer, these bream were caught not far from “grease.” Hush puppies make for a traditional complement.
Once, I attended a fish fry at a neighborhood Cheersstyle bar called Low Places. Spanky, who sold Budweiser beer, was there with a plate in front of him when a dustup developed outside the tavern. He neither wished to miss out on the fight, nor leave his fried bream behind. He placed the whole (beheaded and breaded) fish in his mouth and, seconds later, withdrew nothing but bones. Damnedest thing, like something a cartoon cat might pull off.
Used to be, I’d fry fish with a cooker fashioned from a tire rim by an old fishing buddy, Ike Holmes. I gave that cooker away when moving one time, and I wish I had it still.
To the home of host Clyde Anderson, I brought the bream furnished by Jack, lemons, canola oil, the requisite Zatarain’s seasoned Fish Fri coating, tartar sauce and fresh green beans. Man, folks were just not having the green beans. Shakin’ their heads. Asking me if that was the way we did things up North. And, finally, sending me to the store to retrieve coleslaw and hushpuppy mix.
It all went down pretty good. Clyde’s outdoor kitchen, overlooking a bright blue bayou, provided the perfect setting. We tossed fish bones into the water down the hill from the kitchen and watched as blue crabs finished off what little sustenance remained on them.
For now, I am called by some “Mr. Green Beans.” That’s OK. At four syllables, it is too long to last. And, besides, I’ve been called a lot worse.
I am not likely to share the green beans story with Jack Finch when I next see him, but I am sure to send his wife one more angel. In such a way, I may redeem myself. EC
takeaway 30A Grub 2 Go
YOU’VE SPENT A LONG, LUXURIOUS DAY AT THE BEACH,
and as the sunset nears, the last thing you want to do is battle traffic and the dinnertime wave. 30A Grub 2 Go provides the best-case scenario by allowing you to experience local cuisine from the comfort of home.
Shanda Williams, co-owner of 30A Grub 2 Go and a long-time vacationer on 30A, saw a need for a delivery service that was not only fast, efficient and friendly but also specialized in offering locally owned options. Alongside her business partners Jeff O’Rear and Scott Hancock, they set out to form a company that centers around the experience of everyone involved — from the delivery drivers to the restaurant staff to the customers.
Through the 30A Grub 2 Go app or website, customers can select from a variety of restaurants. The restaurant receives an alert to prepare the order as the driver is on their way for the food pickup. The app allows customers to track their driver’s progress.
There are many ways that 30A Grub 2 Go sets itself apart from other food delivery services. They ensure your delivery is never canceled by always having available drivers. They do not take a percentage off the price of food from the restaurant; they only charge a delivery fee to customers based on distance.
The company is actively seeking restaurants that pride themselves on service and efficiency to join in on the partnership. “We want everyone to experience the same quality that they would from ↓ visiting a restaurant — fresh, hot food and exceptional service,” said Williams. (850) 460-4766 “We are a family-oriented company, and 30AGrub2Go.com we want everyone involved to feel that and to know that we will always go the extra mile.”
Thank you from
We can do fundraising, festivals, schools, athletic events, corporate events, resort and park amenity, & so much more!
p. 850.567.5057 e. wscott@kona-ice.com www.kona-ice.com
EMERALD COAST MAGAZINE’ S2021 BEST
THE EMERALD COASTof Best ARtist Brendan Parker
BEST BEST BEST
OF THE EMERALD COAST
Life on the Emerald Coast is an exercise in small-town living. The pace of development is accelerating, and impressive visitation numbers seem at times to be multiplying, but the region’s economy is one dominated by assorted small businesses, each working to achieve what we might call “besthood.” The winners in our 2021 Best of the Emerald Coast readers’ poll know full well that good reputations are far more easily lost than won. These are businesses that cultivate the respect and admiration of their customers by reliably and professionally providing products, services and experiences that meet and exceed expectations. They groom their employees to be outstanding representatives of their brands and, by extension, the region as a whole. Together, they account for a special brand of Emerald Coast hospitality. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rattle local, national and global economies, the best businesses on the Emerald Coast persevere, adapt, survive and even thrive. We encourage you, our readers, to patronize and congratulate them.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS!
BENEFITTING: Junior League of the Emerald Coast SPONSORED BY: Grand Boulevard Sandestin, Silver Sands Premium Outlets, Proffitt PR, Agency Four, Land•Air•Sea Productions, Distillery 98, Trulieve and Idyll Houncs Brewing Company
Rowland Publishing’s Best of the Emerald Coast event has long been a sustaining contributor to the Child Clothing Project of the Junior League of the Emerald Coast. While “Emerald Coast” conjures up images of frolicking vacationers and magnificent Gulf-front homes and towers, our area is home to thousands of people who struggle to afford essentials. Many are folks who work to enhance the quality of the Emerald Coast experience for others. While circumstances prevent us from gathering together in a Best of the Emerald Coast event this year, we encourage everyone to give generously to the Child Clothing Project by participating in what we are calling our “Give Your Best” campaign. Your contribution will help provide clothing and meet other basic needs for hundreds of local children. For details on how you can Give Your Best, please visit EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/best-of-the-emerald-coast.
ENTERTAINMENT
ARTIST/ART GALLERY Brendan Parker Art
Contemporary, mixedmedia works and ethereal epoxy resins.
Miramar Beach (850) 803-3677 brendanparkerart.com
DJ DJ30A
Hypnotic beats for happy feet at your wedding, party or private event.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 225-1149 dj30a.com
Celebrating spring with grand wine tastings, gourmet food pairings and bottomless brunches.
The Village of Baytowne Wharf, Miramar Beach (850) 267-8180 sandestinwinefestival.com
GOLF COURSE Raven Golf Course
A 6,900-yard, par 71 marvel among the pines of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.
Miramar Beach (850) 267-8155 sandestin.com/golf/ raven-golf-club
MUSICIAN/VOCALIST/BAND Will Thompson Band
A melodic mix of rockcountry-funk by a fifth- generation musician.
Lynn Haven (850) 896-3584 willthompsonmusic.com
NIGHTLIFE/ LIVE MUSIC VENUE AJ’s Seafood & Oyster Bar Raw oysters, libations and live music right on the Destin Harbor.
Destin (850) 837-1913 ajsgulfcoast.com
PLACE FOR A DATE Cruisin’ Tikis Destin
Love stays afloat with a tiki boat sunset, sandbar and harbor cruises.
Destin (850) 200-0573 cruisintikisdestin.com
PLACE FOR KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTY Urban Air Destin
Stress-free, indoor bashes with trampolines, obstacle courses, climbing walls and more.
Destin (850) 687-4178 urbanairdestin.com
PLACE TO TAKE THE KIDS Emerald Coast Science Center
Entertaining education through interactive exhibits, exotic animal encounters and outdoor fun.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 664-1261 ecscience.org
PLACE TO WATCH A SUNSET Barefoot’s Beachside Bar & Grill
Seafood, handhelds and happy hour on the sugarwhite sands of Sandestin.
Miramar Beach (850) 267-9500 hiltonsandestinbeach.com
RADIO PERSONALITY Gilligan, Z96.5 Cumulus Media
Enthralling the Emerald Coast with music and mirth since 1999.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 243-2323 z96.com
RESORT The Henderson
Epitomizing luxury with fine dining, spa services and rooms with a seaside view.
Destin (855) 741-2777 hendersonbeachresort.com The Village of Baytowne Wharf – Sandestin Wine Festival
Over more than 30 years, the Sandestin Wine Festival, held annually at The Village of Baytowne Wharf, has earned its standing as a highly anticipated event in South Walton and as a perennial favorite among “Best of the Emerald Coast” readers’ poll participants. In four days that include dinners with celebrity chefs in addition to wine tastings, novices learn about winemaking and identify favorites among the tremendous variety of wines available, ranging from Acrobat to Zivo. Wine aficionados enjoy meeting winemakers and asking questions about the fine points of their craft while securing hard-to-find selections. Festival proceeds benefit multiple charities.
TENNIS FACILITY Hidden Dunes Tennis and Pickleball Center
Six championship Rubico clay courts for seasonal events, tournaments and USPTA-led instruction.
Miramar Beach (850) 269-2590 hiddendunestennis.com ART by Brendan Parker
“I never really know how it’s going to turn out or how many layers it will take until it finally just happens and it’s finished … that’s what keeps it interesting for me.” — Brendan Parker
Will Thompson Band Will Thompson is a fifth-generation musician who grew up with family members eager to teach him how to play. At 18, he sold everything he owned and took out a loan to buy equipment for recording music he had been writing on his guitar. He would step away from music making for a time after winning a recording contract and losing some of his creative license. That separation didn’t last long. Today, he is working on new music, a mix of rock, country and funk, that is soulful at every turn.
Osaka Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse & Sushi Bar
Osaka has been Northwest Florida’s go-to hibachi source for more than 20 years. It’s perfect for special occasions, date night or any time you want to treat yourself to flying shrimp or a flaming onion volcano. The family-owned restaurant was born in Tallahassee and has two locations along the Emerald Coast in Destin and Panama City. Each offers the Chou family’s close attention to detail and organic local produce, fresh Gulf seafood and high-quality beef.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
APPETIZER Bijoux New Orleans-style fine dining with duck confit, blackened brie and crab beignets.
Miramar Beach (850) 622-0760 bijouxdestin.com
ASIAN FUSION Domo Café
Chinese cuisine meets Japanese fare with signature sushi rolls, nigiri and takeout favorites.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 374-8799 facebook.com/domocafe850
ATMOSPHERE Old Florida Fish House
Coastal fare al fresco on Santa Rosa Beach’s Eastern Lake.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 534-3045 oldfloridafishhouse.com
BAKERY Black Bear Bread Co.
Fueling your day with freshly baked tartines, biscuits and breakfast sandwiches.
Grayton Beach*, Miramar Beach (850) 213-4528* blackbearbreadco.com
BAR/TAVERN The Red Bar
A local favorite with famous bloody marys, ice-cold draft beer and your go-to wine.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 231-1008 theredbar.com
BARBECUE 98 BBQ
Pulled pork, beef brisket and sausage platters smoked to perfection.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 622-0679 98BBQ.com
BEER SELECTION/ CRAFT BEER The Craft Bar
A casual atmosphere boasting seasonal drafts and draughts you can take home in a crowler.
Destin*, Fort Walton Beach, Miramar Beach, Panama City Beach (850) 460-7907* thecraftbarfl.com
BLOODY MARY Stinky’s Fish Camp
Enhanced by home-stewed tomatoes, signature seafood seasoning and a pickled okra and green bean garnish.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 267-3053 stinkysfishcamp.com
BREAKFAST Donut Hole Bakery Cafe
Plate-sized pancakes, crabmeat benedicts and custom omelettes for the ultimate Southern breakfast.
Destin*, Inlet Beach, Santa Rosa Beach (850) 837-8824*
BREWERY Idyll Hounds Brewing Company Thirst-quenching pale ales, pilsners and porters are always on tap.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 231-1138 idyllhoundsbrewingcompany.com
BRUNCH Blue Mabel
Praline caramel-drizzled beignets, shrimp and grits and bottomless mimosas are a must.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 744-0040 bluemabel.com
CAJUN/CREOLE The Louisiana Lagniappe Barbecue jumbo shrimp, baked oysters and fresh Gulf grouper done bayou-style.
Destin (850) 837-0881 thelouisianalagniappe.com
CHEF Nikhil Abuvala, Roux 30a
Bringing 20 years of experience to his “coastal meets modern” culinary creations.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 213-0899 roux30a.com
CHINESE Dynasty Chinese Cuisine
Street-style starters, everyday Chinese and signature chef plates for an indulgent night in or out.
Miramar Beach (850) 837-6675 dynastydestin.com
CRAB CAKES Sarah K’s Gourmet
Freshly made with “100% jumbo lump crab and no filler,” these babies are an international hit.
Destin (850) 269-0044 sarahks.com
CRAWFISH NOLA Boiling Co
From Louisiana to your front door, NOLA native Chef Jason serves ’em “steaming hot.”
Mobile Catering/Delivery (850) 672-2847 nolaboil.com
DESSERT Jackson’s Steakhouse
End on a sweet note with after-dinner drink flights, toffee-topped chocolate mousse and deep-dish cheesecake.
Pensacola (850) 469-9898 jacksonsrestaurant.com
DISTILLERY Distillery 98
Smooth, signature vodka made from locally sourced, wild ingredients and corn.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 919-2400 distillery98.com
FINE DINING Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood
A New York-style steakhouse featuring fresh seafood and gourmet, seasonal dishes.
Miramar Beach (850) 622-1500 seagars.com Shunk Gulley Oyster Bar
Shunk Gulley Oyster Bar, a seafood and casual fare restaurant on Highway 30A, is named after a legendary fishing reef. It offers classic coastal cuisine and genuine Southern hospitality and features live music daily in its panoramic bar area with views of sugar white sand beaches. Shunk Gulley received a 2021 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice award, an honor reserved for businesses that consistently deliver outstanding experiences to diners around the globe and earn great traveler reviews. As challenging as the past year was, Shunk Gulley stood out by continuously delighting diners.
Blue Mabel
Mabel Strickland was a star cowgirl on the grueling rodeo circuit for 25 years beginning in 1916. Known to be as gentle as a dove to friends and family, she was also tough enough to wrangle a stout calf to the ground. The Blue Mabel honors her memory, but its palettepleasing offerings are anything but tough. Executive Chef David Cunningham exercises his passion for cooking seafood and game over open flames in a style unique to the Gulf coast.
Great Southern CafÉ
Concocted as a medicinal cocktail to ward off disease in Cuba, an authentic mojito relies on four crucial components: alcohol, mint, lime and simple syrup. However, history doesn’t bar creativity. What distinguishes the Great Southern Café’s mojito is the imbiber’s freedom to pick his poison. Refresh yourself with the popular Titojito, made with Tito’s Vodka and fresh oranges, or opt for a classic — white rum muddled with your choice of nine tropical flavors, including watermelon, guava-pineapple and mango.
FRENCH Bay Cafe French Restaurant
A taste of Paris with escargot, steak au poivre and flaky, buttery croissants.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 244-3550
FROZEN TREAT (ICE CREAM, YOGURT, GELATO, SNOW CONES) Kona Ice of South Walton County Creating the snowcone of your dreams with “Flavorwave” technology.
(850) 567-5057 Freeport kona-ice.com
TIE GLUTENFREE-FRIENDLY Got Baked
Boasting an all-keto inventory of pizza crust, sandwich bread and lowcarb confections.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 598-7438 wegotbaked.com
TIE GLUTENFREE-FRIENDLY Blue Mountain Bakery Gluten-free and vegan-friendly, try the cinnamon crumb cake and keto power bowl.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 267-0400 bluemountainbakery.com
GOURMET/FOOD SHOP/ SPECIALTY FOOD STORE Modica Market
gourmet groceries, craft libations and seasonal lunch specials.
Seaside (850) 231-1214 modicamarket.com
GROUPER SANDWICH Shunk Gulley Oyster Bar
Fresh grouper, tartar sauce, heirloom tomato and coastal slaw come together on a toasted challah bun.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 622-2733 shunkgulley.com
TIE GUMBO Dixieland Chicken Co
Authentic and hearty, it’s the choice side for your Cajun-fried chicken combo.
Destin (850) 353-2464 dixielandchicken.com
TIE GUMBO Sports to Geaux
Chicken, sausage and all the fixings with a side of crusty French bread or crackers.
Freeport (850) 520-0429 facebook.com/sportstogeaux
HAMBURGER McGuire’s Irish Pub
Custom ground from angus steak trimmings with over 25 ways to try it.
Destin*, Pensacola (850) 650-0000* mcguiresirishpub.com
TIE HAPPY HOUR Angelena’s Ristorante Italiano
Italian birra and wine by the glass, signature cocktails and curated samplers of salumi and formaggi.
Pensacola (850) 542-8398 angelenaspensacola.com
TIE HAPPY HOUR Marina Cafe
Half-priced wine, domestic beers and the chef’s choice of sushi rolls from 5–7 p.m.
Destin (850) 837-7960 marinacafe.com
HEALTHY MENU OPTIONS Clean Eatz
Smart meal plans, nutrituous catering options and an extensive cafe menu.
Shalimar (850) 613-6880 cleaneatz.com/locations/ shalimar-fl
Family-friendly, teppanyaki dinner experiences with complimentary soup, salad, fried rice and veggies.
Destin*, Panama City Beach, Tallahassee (850) 650-4688* osakahibachiandsushi.com
ITALIAN Mimmo’s Ristorante Italiano
Destin with authentic pasta, pizza and meat dishes.
Destin (850) 460-7353 eatmimmos.com
MARGARITA Cantina Laredo
A perfect mix of Agave Blanco Tequila, Cointreau Orange Liqueur and fresh squeezes of lemon and lime.
Miramar Beach (850) 654-5649 cantinalaredo.com
MARTINI Cafe Thirty-A Only $6 every Tuesday and Thursday night. Choose from over 14 variations on the rocks or straight up.
Seagrove Beach (850) 231-2166 cafethirtya.com
MEDITERRANEAN Aegean Restaurant
Ambrosial dolmades, gyros, souvlaki and daily dessert specials.
Miramar Beach*, Mary Esther, Shalimar (850) 460-2728* aegeanfl.com
MEXICAN/LATIN AMERICAN Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant
Authentic Mexican classics, Gulf ceviche and premium cervezas.
Destin*, Miramar Beach, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach (850) 650-7734* mypepitos.com
MOJITO Great Southern Café
Fizzy refreshment from your choice of nine signature flavors.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 231-7327 thegreatsoutherncafe.com
NACHOS Burrito del Sol
Baja, Southwest, chipotle or barbecue-style with melty cheese and your choice of protein.
Fort Walton Beach*, Destin (850) 226-8016* burritodelsol.com
NEW RESTAURANT (6-12 MONTHS) Ovide
Elegant, fine dining marries Gulf Coast ingredients with classic French techniques.
Miramar Beach (850) 351-3030 hoteleffie.com/dining/ovide
ON-SITE CATERING Townsend Catering Company Decadent hors d’oeuvres, entrees and buffet options for an unforgettable event.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 622-0663 townsendcatering.com
OUTDOOR BAR Ara Rooftop Pool & Lounge Artisanal cocktails, fine wine and sweeping views atop Hotel Effie.
Miramar Beach (850) 351-3033 hoteleffie.com/dining/ara
OUTDOOR DINING The Bay Seafood, sushi and craft cocktails right on the Choctawhatchee.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 622-2291 baysouthwalton.com
Bud & Alley’s Waterfront Restaurant
Bud & Alley’s, founded in 1987, has grown with the community of Seaside. Newly expanded, it maintains its commitment to serving fresh takes on coastal classics, including its very fresh tuna dip.
OYSTERS Boathouse Oyster Bar
Chargrilled, baked, steamed or raw, build your own dozen for the ultimate combination.
Destin (850) 837-3645 boathouseoysterbardestin.com
PIZZA Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
New York-style, made-toorder pies in a coal-fired brick oven.
Miramar Beach (850) 837-3095 grimaldispizzeria.com/locations/ grand-boulevard
RESTAURANT IN BAY COUNTY Firefly
Casual fine dining with a romantic atmosphere and inspired cuisine.
Panama City Beach (850) 249-3359 fireflypcb.com
RESTAURANT IN ESCAMBIA COUNTY The Fish House
A harborside haven with daily local catches, steak and the world-famous Grits à Ya Ya.
Pensacola (850) 470-0003 fishhousepensacola.com
RESTAURANT IN OKALOOSA COUNTY Beach Walk Cafe
Fine, deckside dining with an upscale menu of surf, turf and gourmet desserts.
Destin (850) 650-7100 beachwalkcafe.com
RESTAURANT IN WALTON COUNTY Grayton Seafood
Locally sourced, seafoodcentric recipes make for “Grayt Food & Tall Tales.”
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 714-2155 graytonseafood.com
ROMANTIC/SPECIAL OCCASION RESTAURANT Restaurant Paradis
Coastal cuisine with a twist and a fine wine list served in an intimate dining room, lounge or patio.
Rosemary Beach (850) 534-0400 restaurantparadis.com
SEAFOOD MARKET Destin Ice House
The premier source for seasonal catches, offering crabs, oysters, shrimp and ready-to-bake seafood pie.
Destin (850) 837-8333 destinice.com
SEAFOOD RESTAURANT Dewey Destin’s Harborside
Hot crab dip, daily specials and fish served grilled, blackened or fried right by the Destin Harbor.
Destin (850) 837-7525 destinseafood.com
SEAFOOD STEAMER Old Bay Steamer
Family-style shrimp, crab and shellfish steamers in a casual setting.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 664-2795 oldbaysteamerfwb.com
SHRIMP SALAD Stewby’s Market
Local ingredients combine with shrimp from Bon Secour for a light, zesty appetizer.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 226-8448 stewbys.com
SPORTS BAR Shades Bar & Grill
Cold beer, pub fare, 17 HD TVs and a projector set the scene for game day.
Inlet Beach (850) 231-9410 shades30a.com
Grimaldi’s Pizzeria Stand outside Grimaldi’s, and you’re at the Grand Boulevard Town Center in South Walton. Inside, you’re in Brooklyn. Fold it, cut it or wolf it down, and you’ll see that Grimaldi’s knows its way around a New York slice. Brick-oven pizza with fresh mozzarella and house-made dough — it’s no wonder Grimaldi’s has won more awards than any other pizzeria in the U.S. Pizza never goes out of style, but with Grimaldi’s seasonal creations, you’ll never run out of new things to try.
STEAKHOUSE Ruth’s Chris Steak House
An upscale eatery renowned for its customaged USDA prime beef and signature side dishes.
Destin (850) 837-7884 ruthschris.com/ restaurant-locations/destin
SUSHI Bamboo Sushi & Hibachi Restaurant
Classic and regionally inspired rolls, fresh sashimi, nigiri and housemade poke.
Crestview, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville* (850) 678-0771* bamboo-sushi.com
TACOS Red Fish Taco
Savory meat, fresh salsa and queso in soft flour, grilled corn or crispy streetstyle tortillas.
Blue Mountain Beach (850) 994-7443 redfishtaco.com
THAI Thai Elephant Authentic Thai Cuisine
Saucy noodles, aromatic curries and stir-fried entrees in a low-key atmoshpere.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 660-6711 thaielephantsrb.com
TUNA DIP Bud & Alley’s Waterfront Restaurant
wine-marinated smoked tuna and fresh herbs served with crispy, homemade lavash.
Seaside (850) 231-5900 budandalleys.com
WATERFRONT RESTAURANT Boshamps Seafood & Oyster House
Gulf-to-table, Southern fare and custom cocktails on the Destin Harbor.
Destin (850) 424-7406 boshamps.com
WEDDING CATERER SunQuest Beach Weddings, LLC
All-inclusive catering packages offering a sample of local seafood, prime steaks and regional delicacies.
Miramar Beach (850) 830-9359 sunquestbeachweddings.com
WINE LIST/WINE BAR The Wine Bar
A comprehensive selection of international and domestic wines from the big and bold to the soft and fruity.
Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Watercolor* (850) 231-1323* thewinebarfl.com
WINGS Buffalo’s Reef
Crispy, deep-fried traditional and boneless delights tossed in your favorite sauce.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 243-9464 buffalosreef.com
SERVICE PROVIDERS
ACUPUNCTURE CLINIC Tortoise Clinic of Chinese Medicine
Time-tested techniques for stress relief, hormone regulation and fertility treatment.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 267-5611 thetortoiseclinic.com
AESTHETICIAN Melissa St. John – Anti Aging Skincare Clinic
Revitalizing your skin with physician-grade skincare products and medical spa treatments.
Destin (850) 654-1194 theplasticdoc.com
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE FACILITY Healing Hoof Steps
Improving lives with equine assisted activities, therapy and team-building workshops.
Crestview (850) 764-1005 healinghoofsteps.org
ARCHITECTURE FIRM DAG Architects Inc.
Dedicated designs with a lifelong community impact.
Destin (850) 837-8152 dagarchitects.com
AUDIO/VISUAL PROVIDER Five-Star Audio Visual, Inc.
Providing premium, in-house audiovisual solutions for your property or event venue.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 275-4242 five-starav.com
AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIP Lee Auto Holdings, Inc.
Premier customer service, maintenance and parts specials, this dealership carries the latest Nissan models and an ample preowned inventory.
Fort Walton Beach leenissanfwb.com crestviewbuickgmc.com
BANK Trustmark
A dedicated, trustworthy staff offers financial services and solutions across 180 locations in the South.
Panama City,* Lynn Haven, Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Freeport, DeFuniak Springs, Niceville, Pensacola (850) 769-3333* trustmark.com
Deron Strickman custom builds dream homes along 30A and beyond.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 246-2583 lukeandblues.com Luke & Blue’s LLC – Custom Homes
Luke & Blue’s custom homes lives by a simple mantra that permeates every project the company takes on: “Good Enough Never Is.” When you entrust your dream home to Luke & Blue’s, they aren’t satisfied until you are. No shortcuts. This team doesn’t simply build homes; they manifest dreams. A tried-and-true staff, enterprising mentality and keen eye for design come together as Luke & Blue’s creates some of the most stunning homes along the Emerald Coast. This custom homebuilder serves communities from Dune Allen to Seagrove Beach and as far north as Point Washington.
Kitchen Designs of the Emerald Coast It’s long been said that the kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where you make the bread you break with friends and family. Kitchen Designs of the Emerald Coast ensures that an element of style figures in those memories. For the beachy keen, there’s the “Panama” cabinet line, a collection of subtly accented, alabaster birch panels. With a reversed, raised center panel, the “Shaker” embodies understated elegance in a multitude of wooden finishes. Or, for a kitchen that seems to have leapt from a Better Homes & Gardens page, there’s “Providence,” a five-piece, fully overlaid cabinet for the modern sophisticate. Too, Kitchen Designs of the Emerald Coast will help realize your kitchen goals with an extensive inventory of custom countertops. Go bold with onyx, “Bala Blue” marble and “Angel Jasper” semi-precious stone countertops, or strive for simplicity with ever-trending collections of granite and white quartz.
Hotel Effie
At Hotel Effie Sandestin, guests are entranced by decor so elegant that it distracts them from the spectacular setting beyond their room’s windows — if only for a minute. Staff and management pride themselves on the attention to detail, level of care and personal touches they give to all who stay with them. The hotel presents a fresh take on a coastal Florida hotel with the contemporary traveler in mind while respecting and reflecting its surroundings. Celebrity Chef Hugh Acheson creates meals nightly that impress and delight. Here, the water is always fine and so is the wine.
Giving your kitchen a facelift with custom cabinetry, appliance packages and granite and marble designs.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 974-3185 kitchendesignsgroup.com
CAR/LIMO/ SHUTTLE SERVICE Luxe Limos of Destin
Limo fleets, hourly services and private airport transportation will have you riding in style.
Destin (850) 865-2216 luxelimosdestin.com
CARDIOLOGIST Okaloosa Heart & Vascular Center
Cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment from an experienced team of interventional cardiologists.
Crestview*, Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville (850) 682-7212* okaloosaheart.com
CHARITY/NONPROFIT Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation
Wine enthusiasts rally annually to support 17 Northwest Florida children’s charities.
Miramar Beach (850) 650-3732 dcwaf.org
CHARTER BOAT SERVICE (FISHING, DIVING, ETC.) SunVenture Cruises
Dolphin, firework, Crab Island and private cruise excursions offer adventure and unparalleled views of Destin.
Destin (850) 424-6465 sunventurecruises.com
CHEERLEADING/ GYMNASTICS FACILITY U.S. Gold Gymnastics and Cheerleading Academy Owned by an NCAA National Champion in Gymnastics, this institution offers curriculum-based lessons and competitive teams.
Miramar Beach*, Santa Rosa Beach (850) 654-3124* usgoldgymnastics.com
CHIROPRACTIC PRACTICE Freeport Family Chiropractic Clinic
Supporting spinal health with acupuncture, massage, cupping and chiropractic techniques.
Freeport (850) 835-9867 freeportfamilychiropractic.com
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE GROUP Mims Real Estate Advisors, LLC
Single agency brokerage furnishing Northwest Florida with “principled advice, always.”
Freeport (850) 835-4444 mimsre.com
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE GROUP Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty
Northwest Florida’s top beach property listings, area resources and community experts all in one place.
Multiple Locations (850) 650-7293 penfedrealty.com
TIE COMPUTER SERVICES/ TECH SUPPORT Bit-Wizards
Successfully supporting your business with application development, digital marketing solutions, cloud infrastructure and IT support.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 226-4200 bitwizards.com
TIE COMPUTER SERVICES/ TECH SUPPORT CRC Data Technologies
Providing professional, reliable IT support, virtualization, data protection and network security services from Destin to Pensacola.
Destin (850) 654-7262 crcdatatech.com
COSMETIC/PLASTIC SURGERY PRACTICE Destin Plastic Surgery by William R. Burden, MD, FACS
World-class cosmetic services and augmentative surgeries from board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. William Burden.
Destin (850) 654-1194 theplasticdoc.com
CREDIT UNION Eglin Federal Credit Union
Offering first-class financial products and services in Okaloosa County since 1954.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 862-0111 eglinfcu.org
Meraki Solutions
Meraki Solutions is building the future with each of its installations. The company has fully embraced the technology behind solar energy, and they make it simple for their customers, guiding them through the process with a friendly, dedicated staff who know their stuff. Meraki’s fully in-house staff offers free consultations, quotes and installation. Once you’re all set up, Meraki commits to 24/7 monitoring, a 25-year warranty and 25 years of maintenance and servicing to keep your energy bill and carbon footprint low.
CUSTOMER SERVICE Meraki Solutions
Free quotes, custom system designs and guided walkthroughs for a seamless conversion to solar power.
Destin (850) 739-2519 merakisolutions.com
DENTAL PRACTICE Smileology
their team create brighter smiles with implant, cosmetic and family dentistry as well as facial aesthetics.
Niceville, Miramar Beach*, Santa Rosa Beach (850) 424-7887* smileology.com
DERMATOLOGY PRACTICE Coastal Skin Surgery & Dermatology Offering state-of-theart techniques for dermatalogical treatment services and skin surgery.
Miramar Beach*, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Panama City Beach (850) 654-3376 coastalskinsurgery.com
ELECTRIC CART/ GOLF CART DEALERSHIP Ecco Motors
Supplying new and preowned street-legal golf carts with professional financing, parts and services departments.
Miramar Beach (850) 837-2600 eccomotors.com
EVENT PLANNING FIRM Fishers Flowers and Events
Beautifying spaces with fresh blooms, dreamy lighting, and chic lounge and reception fixtures.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 622-0056 fishersflowersandevents.com
EVENT VENUE Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa A luxurious, seaside space for the ultimate beach wedding, business meeting or private event.
Miramar Beach (850) 267-9500 hiltonsandestinbeach.com
EYE DOCTOR PRACTICE Mollega Eye Care & Optique Over 700 designer frames, comprehensive eye exams and more than 20 years of experience from a boardcertified and residencytrained optometrist.
Miramar Beach (850) 269-3937 mollegaeyecare.com
EYE SURGEON PRACTICE Eye Center South
Premium service and visionenhancing treatments from a team of surgical specialists and specialty eyecare doctors.
Destin*, Panama City (850) 650-6550* eyecentersouth.net
FAMILY PHYSICIAN/ PRACTICE White-Wilson Medical Center
Multi-specialty, outpatient physicians treating Emerald Coast families for more than 70 years.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 863-8100 white-wilson.com Hilton Sandestin Beach
Golf Resort & Spa From company conferences and family reunions to private meetings and receptions, planning an event can be as stressful as the occasion itself. Luckily, event venues at Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa are a cut above the rest. An on-site meetings staff will help determine whether your event is best suited to one of the resort’s spacious ballrooms and theater, or one of three beachside decks. And, with four award-winning, championship golf courses, a world-class spa and fine dining amenities, your event will be one that you will fondly remember forever.
FINANCIAL PLANNING/ INVESTMENT FIRM Krueger, Fosdyck & Associates of Merrill Lynch Meeting your financial needs and goals with personalized advice from a dedicated team of professionals.
Destin (850) 269-7000 fa.ml.com/florida/destin/kfa/
FLOORING Infinity Flooring Quality hardwood, carpet, stone and tile flooring to give your abode a distinguished look.
Miramar Beach (850) 650-1039 infinityfloors.com
FLORIST Katie’s House of Flowers & Gifts
Gourmet gift baskets, seasonal flower subscriptions and breathtaking bouquets for any occasion.
Niceville (850) 678-7811 nicevilleflowers.com
FULL SERVICE SPA Serenity by the sea Spa
Your passport to rejuvenation with spa and salon services, special treatment packages and premier cosmetic products and gifts.
Miramar Beach (850) 622-9595 serenitybytheseaspa.com
GYM/HEALTH CLUB/ FITNESS CENTER/STUDIO Bluewater Fitness
Achieving your fitness goals with personal training, highintensity group workouts, strength training and cardio.
Niceville (850) 279-6767 bluewater.fitness
HAIR SALON Avantgarde Salon Spa A creatively driven staff who cut, color and style to contemporary beauty standards.
Destin*, Niceville (850) 654-5057* avantgardeaveda.com
HEATING AND AIR SERVICE Gulfshore Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc. Factory-trained technicians helping you survive the seasons with furnace, heating and AC repair and installation.
Niceville (850) 897-6540 gulfshoreair.com
HOTEL Hotel Effie
Gourmet dining, a fullservice spa, rooftop pool and elegant suites make for one of the finest new luxury hotels in Sandestin.
Miramar Beach (850) 351-3040 hoteleffie.com
INSURANCE AGENCY Affordable Home Insurance
Off Leash K9 Training
You may see Spot run, but can he sit, stay and roll over? Founded by celebrity dog trainer Nick White, Off Leash K9 Training has over 140 locations across the country that excel in basic and advanced obedience, detection and personal protection training for your pooch. Emerald Coast trainers work with both you and your pet in processes proven to “unleash” your bond. They provide officially licensed OLK9 AnimAlarms, cots and Ecollar products for smooth sailing.
firm providing high-quality coverage for your home, vehicle, commercial property and life.
Miramar Beach (850) 654-1567 ahifl.com
INTERIOR DESIGN FIRM Lovelace Interiors
A licensed interior design firm bringing your visions to life with impeccable home and outdoor space design.
Miramar Beach (850) 837-5563 lovelaceinteriors.com
LANDSCAPING/ LAWN SERVICE Father and Son Pest and Lawn Solutions
Owner Skip Orth “solves lawn problems” with pest and weed control, free lawn consultations and maintenance packages.
Navarre (850) 939-9868 fatherandsonlandscape.com
LAW FIRM Bracken Law, P.A.
A full-service law firm covering real estate, business law, estate planning, probate and civil litigation.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 792-2677 brackenlawpa.com
LIGHTING STORE Beautiful Lights
Illuminating your space with statement chandeliers, wall sconces and designer lamps.
Destin (850) 650-9417 beautifullights.com
LOCKSMITH A to Z Lock & Safe
The key to solving all your problems with 24/7 emergency lockout service, residential locks, safe installations and personal protection products.
Mary Esther*, Destin (850) 664-7557 atozlockandsafe.com
MARINE SALES AND SERVICE Legendary Marine
boats and yachts, a comprehensive marine service department, specially ordered parts and secure storage rentals.
Destin*, Panama City Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola, Gulf Shores, Ala. (850) 337-8300* legendarymarine.com
MARTIAL ARTS/KARATE Resolute Martial Arts
Helping students reach their full potential through a blended martial arts system and lessons in honesty, respect and perseverance.
Destin (850) 797-4434 resolutemartialarts.com
MEDICAL CENTER/HOSPITAL Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast
hospital specializing in your critical, everyday and specialty care needs.
Miramar Beach (850) 278-3000 ascension.org
MEDICAL PRACTICE Fort Walton Beach Medical Center
Quality care and patient safety priorities have made them a top general hospital for the past 45 years.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 862-1111 fwbmc.com
MEDICAL SPA GLOW Med Spa of 30A
Injectables, bio-stimulators and PRP facials for a bright, new look.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 764-2340 glow30a.com
MORTGAGE LENDER Inlanta Mortgage
Paving the way to your dream home with the loan programs that best suit you.
Destin (850) 499-4759 southeastlender.com
ORTHODONTIST PRACTICE Stubbs Orthodontics
The latest orthodontic technologies make more confident smiles for kids, teens and adults.
Niceville and South Walton (850) 678-8338 stubbsortho.com
ORTHOPEDIC SURGICAL PRACTICE Orthopaedic Associates
Experienced specialists perform quality orthopaedic treatment for
bones, joints, ligaments and musculoskeletal disorders.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 863-2153 orthoassociates.net
OUTDOOR SERVICE PROVIDER Adept Pressure Washing
Bringing dumpstercleaning, paver-sealing and pressure washing power to Emerald Coast properties.
Serving Rosemary Beach to Destin, located in Santa Rosa Beach (850) 855-7209 adeptpressurewashing.com
PEDIATRIC PRACTICE Coastal Pediatric Group
Three board-certified pediatricians and two pediatric nurse practitioners provide compassion and care for infants, toddlers and children.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 659-6611 coastalpediatricgroup.com
PHARMACY The Prescription Place
A locally owned pharmacy for all of your prescription, over-thecounter medication and immunization needs.
DeFuniak Springs, Niceville* (850) 389-8182* prescriptionplacerx.com
PHOTO BOOTH COMPANY Epic Photo Co.
Fun, themed photo booths make GIFs, stills and digital keepsakes from your wedding, party or corporate gathering.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 213-4434 epicphoto.co
PHOTOGRAPHY Danny Dillard Photography A professional, journalisticstyle approach to wedding, party and landscape photography and portraiture.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 496-5050 dannydillard.photography
PHYSICAL THERAPY PRACTICE Select Physical Therapy
A competent clinical team puts you on the road to recovery with sports medicine, reconditioning and specialty therapies and services.
Multiple locations throughout the Emerald Coast 1(844) 294-6923 selectphysicaltherapy.com
PLUMBING FIXTURES/ SERVICE Emerald Bay Plumbing
Natural gas services, plumbing solutions and 24/7 emergency assistance since 1996.
Destin (850) 837-1979 emeraldbayplumbing.com
POOL BUILDING/ SERVICE COMPANY Blue Haven Pools & Spas Custom, affordable inground pools for a backyard paradise.
Pensacola/Northwest Florida*, Santa Rosa Beach (850) 932-2600* bluehaven.com
PR/ADVERTISING AGENCY Proffitt PR
Boosting your brand visibility with digital and strategic marketing, social media management, public relations and more.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 460-7777 proffittpr.com
PRINTING/COPYING SERVICES Fresh Prints of South Walton
Realizing your designs on screen-printed shirts, hats, stickers and other compatible items.
Freeport (850) 280-4005 freshprintsofsouthwalton.com
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT GROUP NewmanDailey Resort Properties Top-notch customer service for vacation and resort rentals, sales and management.
Miramar Beach (850) 837-1071 newmandailey.com
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE GROUP Sandestin Real Estate
Market-leading real estate from Sandestin to 30A and beyond.
Miramar Beach (800) 277-0801 sandestinrealestate.com
ROOFING Specialty Roofers, Inc.
Metal and shingle installations, expert reroofs and repairs for flat and sloped roofs.
Northwest Florida (850) 974-ROOF specialtyroofers.com
SCREEN ENCLOSURE E & E Sunrooms
Letting the sunshine in with sunrooms, carports, pool enclosures and screen room upgrades for your home.
Serving the Emerald Coast (850) 417-4112 eandesunrooms.com
SPECIALTY FITNESS (PILATES, YOGA, ETC.) Sculpt Studio Both a creative and fitness space for a balanced workout and work-in.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 231-0010 sculptstudio30a.com
SPECIALTY PET SERVICES/ PRODUCTS Off Leash K9 Training 30A Fast and effective training sessions, private lessons and therapy dog preparation for man’s best friend.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 536-8895 30adogtrainers.com
STORAGE FACILITY Niceville Storage A family-owned storage facility with 24-hour access to temperaturecontrolled units.
Niceville (850) 353-4064 nicevillestorage.com
TITLE COMPANY McNeese Title, LLC
Over 200 years of combined employee prowess in residential and commercial real estate transactions and real estate law.
Destin (850) 337-4242 mcneesetitle.com
VACATION RENTAL COMPANY/SERVICE My Vacation Haven
Your passport to paradise with the finest vacation property rentals on the coast.
Miramar Beach (850) 608-6078 myvacationhaven.com
VETERINARY PRACTICE Airport Veterinary Clinic
Invaluable medical care, emergency services, boarding facilities and bathing for your fur babies.
Destin (850) 837-3227 airportvetdestin.com
VIDEOGRAPHY Land Air Sea Productions
Capturing life’s moments and magic with wedding and event coverage, social media support, drone videography and more.
Emerald Coast landairseaproductions.com
WEDDING HAIR/ MAKEUP ARTIST Kendra K Beauty, LLC Personalized, glamorous and timeless bridal makeup by a licensed cosmetologist.
On-site Beauty Services (850) 603-4133 kendrakbeauty.com
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER Documented Photography by Hara Gabrielle
Internationally comissioned photographer Hara Gabrielle masterfully captures the devotion and emotions of your big day.
Pensacola (850) 287-1864 documentedphotography.com
WEDDING PLANNER COMPANY RaeBird Events
Seeing your wedding goes off without a hitch with full-service event planning, design and coordination.
Destin, Miramar Beach, Scenic 30A (850) 714-7336 raebirdevents.com
WEDDING/RECEPTION VENUE SunQuest Cruises/ SOLARIS
All-inclusive wedding packages are carefully designed to offer unforgettable, luxurious and stress-free experiences.
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort (850) 650-2519 sunquestcruises.com
WEIGHT LOSS FACILITY Dunn Diabetes and Wellness Center
Empowering patients with specific plans to achieve and maintain a healthy weight through proper nutrition and medical intervention.
Santa Rosa Beach (850) 267-3498
SHOPPING
Margaret Ellen Bridal
Today is all about you. Margaret Ellen Bridal isn’t just a dress shop full of racks and frills and lace; it’s a place where you will create a lifetime memory. Each member of the Margaret Ellen Bridal team takes that responsibility seriously. This wedding shop books sessions by appointment only, so that when you walk in and the doors close behind you, the rest of the world fades away. Empire, trumpet or otherwise, Margaret Ellen Bridal provides an intimate, relaxing experience as you discover the dress of your dreams.
ANTIQUES SHOP Smith’s Antiques Mall & Interiors Market
A 25,000-square-foot showroom exhibits ecclectic collectables, high-quality antiques and decor.
Miramar Beach (850) 654-1484 smithsantiquesmall.com
CHILDREN’S CLOTHING RETAILER Coconut Kidz
Vibrant, whimsical clothing collections for boys and girls of all ages.
Miramar Beach (850) 351-1800 sandestin.com/shopping/ coconut-kidz-apparel-toys
CONSIGNMENT/ RESALE SHOP Ava’s Attic
Getting thrifty with over 10,000 square feet of home furnishings, designer handbags and women’s consignment fashion.
Miramar Beach (850) 424-6767 avasatticindestin.com
TIE COSMETIC PROVIDER/VENDOR Pish Posh Patchouli’s
An apothecary boutique of advanced skincare, body products and custom fragrances in Rosemary Beach.
Rosemary Beach (850) 231-2005 patchoulis.com
TIE COSMETIC PROVIDER/VENDOR Rollands Beauty Bar
An art gallery/salon mashup with hair treatments, makeup artistry and exclusive beauty product lines.
Inlet Beach (850) 231-6085 rollandsbeautybar.com
TIE FURNITURE RETAILER Stock & Trade Design Co.
Offering a vast selection of custom upholstery, local art and classic, contemporary home furnishings.
Miramar Beach (850) 460-8990 stockandtrade.com
TIE FURNITURE RETAILER Tuskers Home Store
Stunning reclaimed wood pieces, outdoor fittings, deluxe matresses, rugs and chic furniture for every room.
Miramar Beach (850) 424-3969 tuskershomestore.com
JEWELRY STORE McCaskill & Company Designer watches, diamond engagement rings and the largest collection of fine jewelry on the Emerald Coast.
Destin (850) 650-2262 mccaskillandcompany.com
LOCALLY OWNED RETAILER You, Me & The Sea Boutique A curated, confidenceinspiring clothing collection for women of all shapes and sizes.
Destin (850) 460-2085 shopthesea.commentsold.com
MEN’S APPAREL/ SHOES/ACCESSORIES Island Clothiers
Resort-style apparel, footware and accessories from Vineyard Vines, Southern Tide and more.
Miramar Beach (850) 351-1806 sandestin.com/shopping/ island-clothiers
OUTDOOR FURNITURE RETAILER Bay Breeze Patio
Creating the ultimate outdoor experience with premium grills and smokers, fire pits, outdoor furnishings and patio accessories.
Miramar Beach (850) 269-4666 baybreezepatio.com
SCUBA DIVE SHOP Scuba Tech
Equipment services, gear rental and expert-led diving classes ahead of your next underwater adventure.
Destin (850) 837-2822 scubatechnwfl.com
SPECIALTY RETAILER Pelican Print Shack
High-caliber, customprinted clothing for your events, organizations and self-expression.
Freeport (850) 610-1500 pelicanprintshack.com
SPORTING GEAR/ PADDLEBOARD RETAILER BOTE
Premium paddleboards, kayaks, micro skiffs, inflatable accessories and outdoor gear for an exhilarating day on the water.
Destin*, Fort Walton Beach, Grayton Beach (850) 460-2250 boteboard.com
WEDDING SHOP Margaret Ellen Bridal
Domestic designer gowns and must-have bridal accessories to suit your price range.
Inlet Beach (850) 641-0266 margaretellenbridal.com
WOMEN’S ACCESSORIES Clasea Chic Boutique Trendy boutique handbags, bohemian jewelry, lacy bralettes and durable, eyecatching tumblers.
Fort Walton Beach (850) 374-8595 shopclasseachic.com
WOMEN’S BOUTIQUE Barefoot Princess
Stylish, seasonal apparel, staple jewelry, travel bags, quirky home goods and monogrammed wood art.
Miramar Beach (850) 351-1806 sandestin.com/shopping/ barefoot-princess
WOMEN’S SHOES Sunset Shoes & Lifestyles Stocking the latest in women’s and men’s designer brand sandals, boots and leisure shoes.
Miramar Beach (850) 837-5466 sunsetshoesonline.com
Sunset Shoes & Lifestyles
Marilyn Monroe once said, “Give a girl the right shoes, and she’ll conquer the world.” According to our “Best of the Emerald Coast” readers’ poll, many local ladies begin that quest at Sunset Shoes & Lifestyles. Opened 20 years ago as a supplier of Birkenstock, Naot and Mephisto European comfort shoes, Sunset now stocks over 100 brands of designer sandals, sneakers and boots. The one-stop shoe shop plays to local trends, such as beach-ready Olukai, Reef and Rainbow sandals, as well as lifestyle footwear ranging from Patagonia and Sanuk, to UGG and Doc Martens.
ONLY ONE GULF
It spawns storms, stirs passions, inspires wonder and needs love
ONCE, ALL OF THE GULF OF MEXICO WAS PRISTINE, TEEMING AND UNCHARTED. TODAY, WE SAIL AWAY ON QUICK, LONG-RANGE POWERBOATS TO REACH WATERS WHOSE RICHES HAVE NOT BEEN DRAWN DOWN. FOLLOWING ARE THREE STORIES THAT RECALL TIMES, NOT SO LONG AGO, WHEN THE GULF WAS LESS PRESSURED, AND SO WERE WE. HOW, WE MUST WONDER, WILL STORIES OF THE FUTURE READ?
HEAR THE HATCHLINGS LOSING THEIR WAY
As is said about rivers, you never step in the same Gulf twice
BY STEVE BORNHOFT
Before this morning, I never had hooked a bluefish that leaped from the water. This one did, like a greyhounding blue marlin. The bluefish, you should know, is the Mitch McConnell of nearshore waters, a perennial scowl on its face, always more red than blue in disposition, forever slashing things and exercising power that exceeds its stature.
I am not sure the bluefish intended to jump. Rather, I think it possible that it darted and dashed so madly that it left the water inadvertently, a tantrum at the end of a line.
The chopper, as they are called by some, peeled line from the Pfleuger Trion GX-7 reel that my son won as a door prize at a charity golf tournament more than 10 years ago before departing for graduate school at the University North Carolina. The reel, while inexpensive, refuses to die, and in combination with a Eupro graphite rod, whipped the fish, which came to the net exhausted. Good thing. You don’t want to try to remove treble hooks from a green bluefish.
I hooked the bluefish while wade fishing grass flats at the mouth of Grand Lagoon at the foot of Jan Cooley Drive in Panama City Beach. I tangle with choppers there regularly — an inedible by-catch made while pursuing speckled trout and redfish.
From those flats, which front massive homes with too-green lawns that extend to the water’s edge, I look out and watch sportfishing yachts from the Capt. Anderson and Treasure Island marinas pause to get a scoop or two of live cigar minnows from a floating bait station and head into the Gulf of Mexico. I am fortunate to have exited the pass to St. Andrew Bay many times on dive trips with Steve McLellan and fishing excursions with Capt. David Buckner.
No two trips were anywhere near the same.
After releasing the bluefish and two undersized trout, I permitted my mind to wander and thought back to the first trip I made with Buckner.
I was new to town and to the northern Gulf of Mexico, having moved from the Midwest to accept a job as a municipal government reporter at the Panama City News Herald. Bill Salter, my editor on arrival, was a native Texan who wore cowboy boots (ostrich) whenever he wasn’t wearing golf spikes. He drove an El Camino and drank legendary amounts of George Dickel whiskey until the gout and his wife, whom he preferred to call Miss Kitty, caused him to quit. He was one of a couple of bosses I had who took pleasure in publicly humiliating subordinates, and once shouted at me from his corner office,
Bluefish are found in inshore waters throughout the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast all the way to New England. Equipped with powerful jaws and nasty teeth, they are known among sportfishermen for their vicious disposition.
▶ The late Jimmy “Low Roller” Whitten of Gray, Georgia, hoisted a hefty king mackerel taken aboard a Mako centerconsole vessel piloted by Capt. Dave Buckner in the 1980s. A shark tore into the fish before Whitten got it all the way to the boat. “Bornhoft, there is no ‘q’ in barbecue.” He didn’t have to tell me twice. Salter, let me be clear, was a fine editor.
Not long after I started at the News Herald, Salter appended outdoors reporting onto my other duties. To hear Salter tell the story, he had gone to extraordinary lengths to get a freelance writer named Wilson onto a yacht participating in the old Bay Point Invitational Billfish Tournament. When Wilson failed to make it to the marina on time and missed the boat, he was sunk.
“You know anything about fishing?” Salter asked me.
Salter cut me off. Good enough for him. I was his new outdoors guy. The next fishing tournament of consequence on the calendar was a shark tournament sponsored by Half Hitch Tackle.
“I’m from the newspaper, and I’d like to speak to Capt. Putnam,” I said tentatively.
An employee went to get the store’s owner and tournament sponsor. Presently, I shook hands with a ruddyfaced man with a Santa belly and a welcoming personality.
“I’ve got just the guy for you,” B.J. Putnam said with a wry smile after I explained the nature of my business. “Name’s David Buckner. Young guy from Macon. You’ll like him. His boat’s the Never Enough. Docked behind the Treasure Ship. Only beigecolored boat down there. Leaving out at 6. They’re expecting you.”
The Half Hitch tournament, established in response to the sensation that surrounded the movie Jaws, was a weeklong, total pounds affair. Motorists streamed off Thomas Drive to get a look at sharks suspended from the scales in front of the tackle shop. For years after the tournament was discontinued, the skeletal scales remained. Shark gallows.
Buckner, tall and sporting a mullet, was presentable enough in navy shorts, a white shirt and leather flip-flops, but the members of his crew looked like so many Santiagos. Sharks had gotten the better of them, too. One, who answered to Low Roller, was much shorter than the rest, wore a signature polka dot railroad engineer’s hat and never let the conversation stall. The group favored a dialect unfamiliar to me, which they ratcheted up a notch when they wanted to talk among
themselves. Like parents spelling out words in the presence of preschoolers.
Low Roller worked for Georgia Power, and years later, during a visit by management, he streaked au naturel across the plant floor on a pair of roller skates he had fashioned from materials he found on the job. A working-class hero, he served a suspension, gladly.
Buckner anchored up within sight of land. As the sun set, Low Roller and others took turns dicing freshly thawed bonito and starting a slick behind the boat. The captain set the baits — big chunks of bonito impaled on tuna hooks and suspended beneath balloons.
A reel didn’t start clicking until the wee hours of the morning. Anglers who had dropped off due to the accumulated effects of whiskey, weed and exhaustion, took turns reeling in what would prove to be a large hammerhead. Buckner dispatched it with a bang stick, and the success occasioned the opening of another bottle of Crown. Soon enough, all were reeling, if you know what I mean.
At the scales, the shark registered 325 pounds. The numerals were sprayed onto its flank with shaving cream. A decent hammer, but in 1985, the largest catches entered were tiger sharks weighing three times that much.
Things are different now. Sharks are fewer. I don’t hear about catches of big tigers anymore.
Putnam is long gone, Low Roller, too. McLellan retired voluntarily and moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, where once he graduated VT, and Buckner retired involuntarily, his back ravaged by a career spent atop rolling seas and folded into engine compartments.
My forays into the Gulf of Mexico are fewer. But the Gulf exerts tremendous influence on my life and the life of the region each day. It supplies the seafood that the Southeast most loves to eat. It is the reason that Tyndall Air Force Base is being rebuilt. It heats up the coastal real estate market. It is the natural feature that brings millions of visitors to our beaches each year and, with them, economic returns and suffocating, dangerous traffic.
But those millions don’t think about dead zones or Deepwater Horizon dispersant or freshwater flows or poisonous runoff or nutrient pollution.
“I hope that red tide stays down in Tampa,” they say, as if there were more than one Gulf.
Of course, Mr. Young. But you will agree with me that they also need to hear the sharks expiring. They need to hear the water levels rising, the shortsighted lying. They need to hear the ecosystems trying. They need to hear loggerhead hatchlings losing their way.
“Every year, the Panama City Beach Turtle Watch program documents isolated instances of nesting interference by the public as well as hatchlings disoriented by lights along the beach,” wrote Jessica Graham, a longtime Turtle Watch volunteer in an email to me. “Following Hurricane Michael, any cover that was provided to the beach by trees or other natural features was eliminated from the landscape, resulting in a greater level of light pollution and sky glow from off-beach development.
“The Turtle Watch program works together with local government entities, the Tourist Development Council and resource management agencies to find balanced solutions that protect sea turtles from these threats while minimizing the impact to businesses and visitors. Only through partnerships, outreach and communication can we make a difference in conserving our resources for the future.”
Hear her love.
▶ Sea turtle hatchlings exit a nest on Panama City Beach and head for the Gulf of Mexico. To survive to adulthood, they will have to dodge a gauntlet of predators and refrain from eating plastic litter that may appear to them to be jellyfish.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY
A teen ventures into the Gulf and never makes it all the way back
Following is the prologue to a book, The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History, written by John S. Sledge of Mobile, Alabama, and titled “Small Craft Advisory.” Mr. Sledge was for 17 years the book reviewer at the Mobile Register and is an architectural historian with the Mobile Historic Development Commission. His continuing relationship with the Gulf of Mexico dates to his childhood, as this prologue makes clear. With his parents and his younger brother, he would depart the interior of Alabama and visit Panama City Beach and a fledgling community called Destin on family vacations.
BY JOHN S. SLEDGE
Our first view of Destin, Florida, came as we raced east across the bridge from Okaloosa Island. The year was 1974, and there wasn’t much to the town then—a few high-rise condos, some scattered beach houses, a thinly developed harbor, and about 3,000 residents plopped down amid some of the most gorgeous scenery on the entire northern Gulf Coast. The occasion was our annual family vacation. We lived in a little college town called Montevallo, just south of Birmingham, Alabama, where Dad had taught biology since 1962 and Mom was a homemaker.
Despite our inland address, we proudly owned deep coastal roots. Dad was a native Mobilian, Mom had spent part of her childhood in New Orleans’s famed Pontalba Building, and I was born in Gainesville, where Dad attended the University of Florida before working a stint at a Winter Haven plant nursery and then moving us north. Given this family history, as well as the Florida Panhandle’s abundant distractions and drivable distance from home, we regularly vacationed there during the 1970s, though usually farther east at Panama City Beach. Why we chose Destin during this particular year I don’t recall, but neither I, at 17, nor my brother Henry, 10, complained. We had a close relationship with our parents, and it was good to get away together.
The 1970s were the apogee of the so-called Redneck Riviera, when cheap roadside kitsch, the “Miracle Strip,” honky-tonks, the Trashy White Band, piratical land transactions, and minimal to nonexistent environmental protections defined the Florida and Alabama coasts. It was a world where, according to one local, “You can holler ‘Bubba’ and 15 people will respond.” Foley, Alabama, native Kenny Stabler, a former University of Alabama quarterback and soon-to-be Super Bowl-winning
PHOTO COURTESY OF STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA, FLORIDA MEMORY
NFL star, was the area’s beau ideal, proudly announcing: “I live the way I want to live, and I don’t give a damn if anybody likes it or not. I run hard as hell and don’t sleep. I’m just here for the beer.”
Paradoxically, the Redneck Riviera was also family friendly, at least during daylight and away from the crowded watering holes like the Green Knight and the Flora-Bama. The beaches were and are some of the world’s prettiest, featuring sugar-white sand that squeaks when you walk on it. In fact, this powdery heavenly stuff is quartz washed out of the Appalachian Mountains eons ago and ground to fundamental perfection.
The Panhandle is also famous for its crystal-clear waters, unspoiled by large sediment-bearing rivers like the Mobile or the Mississippi to the west. Where shallow, especially right along the beach, over sandbars, and in the passes, it’s bathtub warm in summer and a beautiful emerald color, the result of sunlight hitting the sandy bottom and reflecting off copious microscopic algae. Farther away as the depth increases, the water shades into turquoise and then deep blue, all of the colors subtly modulated by conditions of light and cloud. It was and is a delightful place to unwind, listen to laughing gulls, and splash about in the surf.
Destin was still unincorporated in 1974, and nearby resorts like Sandestin and Miramar Beach were yet in their infancy. But despite being lightly settled, it had a long history, and thanks to the proximity of the One Hundred Fathom
▶ View of Destin from 1974 documents how low-rise development was giving way to condominium towers. Due to its nearness to the One Hundred Fathom Curve, Destin is ideally situated as a base of operations for charter fishing boats and has long been known at the World’s Luckiest Fishing Village.
▶ Pioneer and speculator Leonard Destin departed Connecticut and settled on the south shore of Choctawhatchee Bay. He would marry Martha J. McCullom; the couple had eight children. The settlement that bears his name would become home to the largest recreational fishing fleet in the Gulf.
Curve, boosters proudly proclaimed it “The World’s Luckiest Fishing Village.” Just 10 miles off Destin, the northern Gulf’s broad continental shelf narrows dramatically and the bottom falls precipitously away. Within minutes of the harbor, boat captains can position anglers over a water column where deep-sea fishing of nearly every variety is possible.
Native Americans were in the vicinity first, of course, and left a ceremonial mound in what is now downtown Fort Walton, just west of Destin, to prove it.
Then came a few European explorers and the occasional pirate or smuggler, none of whom stayed very long. The area’s earliest white settlers arrived during the 1830s.
They knew about the fishing, but they also made do with a little farming, hunting, turpentining, logging, and whatever else would turn a dollar or fill the larder.
In the days before sun worshipping, the Gulf Coast’s windswept barrier islands were considered deserts, likely to wreck a ship in a storm and unable to support more than the occasional hermit or malcontent. People of good sense put down stakes well back from the beach, behind the lakes and lagoons and along the bays among the magnolias and moss-hung live oaks. The closer one got to the beach, the scrubbier the vegetation became and the harder the living.
A Connecticut Yankee named Leonard Destin decided to try his luck nonetheless and, bucking received wisdom, settled on the south shore of Choctawhatchee Bay, a large body of water fed by several small streams and linked to the Gulf through East Pass. What would become Destin was situated at the western end of a barrier island (since reconnected to the mainland by shifting landforms and so now a peninsula) sandwiched between the bay and the Gulf. The very tip of the island made a small lobster claw, which provided a decent natural harbor. This would become Destin’s heart, and home to the largest recreational fishing fleet in the entire Gulf basin.
Soon a few other hardy souls joined Destin in this isolated spot. Elisha Marler and his wife moved down from Georgia and started building boats and fashioning nets, and the little settlement became a bona fide fishing community, regularly sending forth its sons in wooden boats to reap the sea’s bounty—red snapper, grouper, scamp, king mackerel, wahoo, and tuna. It was strictly a commercial enterprise then, with the fish kept in live wells amidships and taken to market at Pensacola, where they sold for pennies a pound.
By the 1930s Highway 98 and the Destin Bridge were built, and a trickle of tourists began to filter into the area. Ever alert to new opportunities, the descendants of Destin and Marler hit upon the idea of recreational charter fishing and started charging guests for an unforgettable few hours off shore reeling in the big ones.
Eager to spread the good word and strengthen the fishery, the Destin Businessmen’s Club and some local captains started a fishing rodeo in 1948, and the enthusiasm only grew from there. By the time my family and I arrived in Destin for our vacation, charter fishing was a fully established industry, though the town proper offered few amusements other than some unremarkable restaurants, bars, and stores.
We stayed across the highway from the beach, and after a couple of days trudging over hot asphalt and battling traffic, sandspurs, and sunburn, Henry and I became bored. In an effort to vary the menu, Dad decided that a short fishing trip might be just the ticket. The next morning we had a light breakfast and headed to the harbor where Dad had already made arrangements for a four-hour trawling trip.
Our boat was the Calypso II, which Henry and I thought was neat since Dad was a biologist and we loved The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau television series, then in its heyday, featuring the French explorer and his research vessel, Calypso.
Our conveyance that day was no scientific research ship but rather a deep-sea fishing boat roughly 40 feet long with a flybridge, cabin below, and open stern. It was captained by Howard Marler Jr., a Navy vet, a descendent of old Elisha, and one of several family members in the charter boat business. He wore a trucker cap and untucked short-sleeve shirt, was deeply tanned, and didn’t have much to say. The mate was a wiry young fellow with a ball cap and a Jimmy Buffet-like moustache.
Both captain and mate smoked like steam engines. Besides us, a newlywed couple had also booked a trip. After brief introductions, we all got on board, Capt. Marler ascended the ladder to his perch, where he took the wheel, and we motored out of the smooth harbor, rounded a sandspit, and headed south through the pass. It was mostly cloudy and very windy.
Out in the pass a strong southerly gust hit us and whisked Dad’s straw hat well astern, where it bobbed jauntily on its crown. Dad just shrugged, but the captain immediately turned us around and deftly maneuvered as close to the hat as he could get. The mate snagged it with a boat hook and courteously handed it back to Dad, none the worse for wear. Clearly, Destin’s charter captains and crews prided themselves on superb boat-handling skills and customer service.
We then headed south again, and large rollers funneling into the pass made Calypso II ride like Six Flags Over Georgia’s Great American Scream Machine, growling up and over the big waves. Beyond the rock jetties we could see that it was very rough, and the mate remarked that there was a small craft advisory, with seas running five to eight feet.
From an early age, Dad had instilled in us a healthy respect for the Gulf— the ferocity of its sun on unprotected skin, the dangers of its riptides and currents and sea life. Now we were embarking on it in less than ideal conditions. Once out in open water, we were rocking with the green waves lifting and dropping the boat and shoving it in all directions.
Dad, a World War II Marine Corps combat veteran whose sea experience included riding out a typhoon on board a supply ship, said it reminded him of being in the Pacific. Henry recently recalled in an email: “I was very worried about getting seasick even though I felt fine. Dad told me not to think about it too much and slipped me a Rolaid. I also believe I asked him if he was ever seasick, and he said it had never bothered him.”
About five miles out, Capt. Marler paralleled the shore, and the mate got to work. In fact over the next four hours he hardly paused, tending the gear, baiting the hooks, and handling the fish as we reeled them in over the stern. I had done more than my fair share of fishing—from muddy creek banks to placid lakes, murky bayous, Mobile Bay, and the Gulf Shores, Alabama, pier—but this was an entirely new undertaking. And strange to say, it didn’t particularly interest me. Happy to let the mate do the hard work, I was more intrigued by the scenery and the seas.
To begin with, the shore was just visible, and in fact exactly matched how the colonial explorers had described it. In 1699 for example, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville wrote, “The mainland, which I see beyond this lake [Choctawhatchee Bay], looks very fine, quite level, covered with tall trees, the ground elevated enough to be visible from the deck six leagues out.”
Five- to eight-foot seas wouldn’t have been much noticed by Iberville and his compatriots, with their larger vessels and extensive time afloat, but Henry and I were mightily impressed and soon enough left the fishing to Dad, the newlyweds, and the mate in order to explore the Calypso II.
Henry recalls: “I climbed up to the top where the captain was nonchalantly at the wheel. I could hear the other mariners talking on the radio about the rough seas. He seemed completely unconcerned and was smoking a cigarette. I remember he was knocking the ashes into a Meister Brau can that had the top cut out of it to act as a makeshift ash tray.”
While Henry was aloft, I decided to go below into the cabin, accessed by a couple of small steps. What in the harbor would have been a simple thing was anything but in those conditions. As I stepped down the boat dropped away from me into a trough, and I tumbled into a heap on the cabin floor. Picking myself up and grabbing something for support, I reeled and lurched with the craft’s wild motion. It was like a carnival ride out of control, and I quickly scrambled back on deck, but as I lifted my foot to plant it the boat violently rose, slamming my foot just before I put my weight on it and sending a painful shiver all the way to my lower back. Done with
Mackerels are a popular catch in the Gulf of Mexico and usually are taken on trolled lures. Migrating Spanish mackerel arrive in the spring and kick off the start of the warm-weather fishing season for many. King mackerel have long figured in fishing tournaments; big ones are called “smokers.”
▶ Destin’s marina and boat basin, seen here in a 1974 photo, has grown over time and accommodated increasingly large vessels. The advent of bottom machines and generations of navigational software have made fishing a matter of technology as much as luck.
my little foray, I staggered unceremoniously into the others at the stern.
Throughout our trip, we watched other boats pitching and yawing in the waves.
I vividly recall a small motorboat that had an older couple on board. Despite the relentless tossing, they looked unconcerned, but had the seas been any higher, it is difficult to believe that anyone would have been out there. Through it all, our mate kept busy at the fishing lines, at one point scrambling aloft and grabbing a rod to reel in something. Henry and I stared wideeyed as he leaned against an aluminum rail visibly bending under the strain. Happily, it held, and he wasn’t yanked overboard by whatever leviathan was on the other end of the line.
By the end of the trip, we had about a dozen large king mackerel to show for our adventure. Back in the harbor, the mate swiftly filleted the catch and parceled it out. Dad remarked on his good cheer and phenomenal work ethic. Affixed to the stern was a white sign with red letters: “If you had a good time $ay $omething to the mate.” Neither Dad nor the newlyweds needed the encouragement to tip the man generously. He had certainly earned it that day.
Back at the condo Mom cooked up the fish, and we talked about the trip. But as I quickly learned, getting my land legs again would take a little time. No sooner did my head hit the pillow that night than I felt like I was on board Calypso II again, lifting and falling and tossing. My mind’s eye saw an agitated green sea, nothing but waves in constant motion.
Maybe I never really got my land legs back, because ever since I have been haunted by the Gulf, its climate and moods, pleasures and terrors. I have read and wondered about its history and secrets; trembled at the legend of Hurakan, the Mayan storm deity believed to whip the Gulf into a vengeful fury; studied ancient Indian pottery alongside a coastal river; sailed on board a large schooner down Mobile Bay; and clambered over the skeletal timbers of an old shipwreck to the accompaniment of the seagull’s cry.
I have been absorbed by timeworn charts and thrilled to a newly discovered account of colonial New Orleans. For much of my adult life, I have lived within an hour’s drive of Alabama’s beaches, and my wife and I frequently scoot down there during the off-season for quiet seafood dinners backgrounded by fiery sunsets, or to ride the Fort Morgan Ferry across the mouth of Mobile Bay, staring past Sand Island Lighthouse into a profound and mysterious immensity.
I find myself falling into a trance on such occasions, beguiled by the colorful figures and famous ships that have coursed what the writer Lafcadio Hearn called, during his New Orleans sojourn, that “grand blaze of blue open water”—Ponce de León on board Santa de María de la Consolación, Francis Drake on the Judith, Laurens de Graaf on the François, Tyrone Power on the Shakespeare, Alexander Agassiz on board the Blake, Raphael Semmes and the fearsome Alabama, and Charles Dwight Sigsbee at the helm of the doomed Maine.
I admire the ingenuity of Gulf Coast residents who have developed new vessels and technologies over the centuries, including high-sided, saildriven barges suitable to both open seas and shallow bays; Biloxi’s graceful “white winged queens”; New Orleans’s boxy Higgins boats, the plywood amphibious landing craft that helped carry U.S. troops to victory in World War II; and shipping containers, a world-changing concept perfected at Mobile by a former truck driver frustrated with antiquated loading practices.
And then there are the exotic cities and ports—La Habana, way station for conquistadores and treasure-filled galleons, a stunning collection of Spanish colonial architecture awaiting reintroduction to the free world; New Orleans, the Big Easy, famous for its beautiful French Quarter, Mardi Gras, and relaxed morals; and Mexico’s oldest city, Veracruz, founded by Hernán Cortés and reverently known as Heróica Veracruz, an oft-besieged wonderland of fortresses, churches, a palace, and the impressive Faro Venustiano Carranza, an early 20th-century lighthouse overlooking the harbor.
Throughout history, the residents of these cities and their neighbors along the littoral have struggled with challenges both natural and manmade— devastating hurricanes, frightening epidemics, catastrophic oil spills, and conflicts ranging from dockside brawls and labor riots to pirate raids, foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution. These are the things that have fed my thoughts and dreams for more than half a century.
Excerpted with permission from The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History by John S. Sledge, published by the University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina, © 2019 University of South Carolina, uscpress.com/ The-Gulf-of-Mexico
KARMA AS CATCH OF THE DAY
Student of Mako Dude proves to be less than macho
BY ROBERT P. JONES
One summer day in the late 1980s, I invited Gene, Walter and my fellow St. Augustinian Charlie to go grouper fishing off Cape San Blas. I had some great Loran numbers for spots located within five miles of shore.
Charlie was a world-class hunter and gatherer from the git-go. He grew up chasing mullet on Vilano and St. Augustine beaches. He was well known for driving a skeeter — a vehicle with a motor, chassis, wide tires and homemade wooden body.
The seats were nothing but old orange crates that you had to pin to the floor with your body weight. You could see the ground rush by while riding in the skeeter through the holes that rust had eaten in the floorboards. But the big Ford engine ran like an Ingersoll watch, and Charlie brought home many a ton of roe mullet in croaker sacks stacked on the wooden plank that he called the back seat.
I met Charlie at 6 a.m. at Shields Marina in St. Marks to gather up my 22-foot Mako at the dry storage barn. We pulled onto U.S. 98 and headed to the Indian Pass ramp. Gene and Walter were there waiting for us with bait,
▶ Karma favored Bob Jones who, when fishing out of Indian Pass, boated most of the fish in this mess of gag grouper. It didn’t hurt that he was fishing on his own boat, the Bigfish.
cold drinks and enough sandwiches to feed twice our number. Nor did they forget the Vienna sausages and saltine crackers for snacks.
Our plan was to tempt grouper and red snapper with cigar minnows, sardines and squid and load up the fish box. This was before today’s bag limits were imposed on sport fishermen.
We launched the boat without difficulty despite some current, and after loading food and bait onto the boat, we made our way through a narrow cut to deeper water. I punched in the numbers for the cut, designating it as “home” for our return trip.
Only his close friends knew that Gene got seasick sometimes when fishing offshore from a small boat. But the seas were running less than two feet this day, and the sun was bright with just a few clouds building up to the west. Odds were excellent that even Gene would not turn green.
On the trip aboard my boat Bigfish to our first drop, I thought Gene might be thinking back to his early years when he would set his gillnet around a school of mullet or Spanish mackerel. Whatever he was thinking about made him happy and put him at ease.
Walter and Gene are among the best freshwater fishermen I have ever seen. They know all the creeks and every turn in the Apalachicola River system throughout Gulf and Franklin counties. They have fished those waters since they were first able to crawl into a boat.
Charlie and I specialized in grouper fishing in those days. We could anticipate the slight brush of a grouper’s mouth as it lunged for a cigar minnow. We preferred cigar minnows and menhaden as dead baits, and pinfish was our preferred live bait. We knew how to catch grouper. A cooler full of fish was more likely than not.
We hadn’t traveled more than a couple of miles when we reached one of the spots that Gene had given me. Sure enough, we saw a four-foot rise on the bottom and marks that looked like big fish on my color depth finder. Gene flung an orange-painted bleach bottle and two-pound weight off the stern to mark the spot. I turned large circles around that bottle and looked at more bottom in the vicinity.
▶ In photo on opposite page, Bob Jones displays a pair of red snapper at a cleaning table. He was joined by his brother-in-law, Gene Laird of Pensacola, who showed off an amberjack. Above, Jones, then newly gray-bearded, shows off two grouper taken during a successful trip offshore.
As we came within 50 feet of the marker, we got a promising reading again, so I decided to anchor up while taking the wind direction into account. We would find, however, that the current was running in a direction opposite that of the wind, and when we threw the anchor, we settled down 100 feet from the marker. A second attempt at anchoring produced the same result; we were still 100 feet removed from our target.
Thinking he could do better than I had, Charlie wanted to raise the anchor again despite getting testy and tired from pulling it repeatedly. “Suit yourself,” I may have said. We swapped places. He took the wheel, and I threw the anchor when he gave me a sign to do so. No improvement. We just could not get the boat to come exactly to the marker because the wind was blowing one way and the tide was running the other. I said something to Charlie, and it wasn’t complimentary.
After a fourth attempt, we decided to stay where we were. By this time, Charlie was bitching and moaning, and I would be lying if I said I weren’t irritated, myself, my prowess having been questioned by Charlie. Gene and Walter were content to smile and take it all in.
Charlie had learned to grouper fish at the foot of a master angler whose call sign on the VHS radio was “Mako Dude.” The Dude had a solid reputation among the best grouper fishermen in the Panhandle of Florida. I, too, had had a few lessons with the Dude and was no slouch when it came to boating gags and reds.
Once we were finally anchored, Gene and I fished off the port side, and Walter and Charlie fished off the starboard side. My bait had been on the bottom for less than a second when I sensed a fish mouthing my cigar minnow, and I set the hook and brought up a hard-fighting 7-pound gag grouper. I hooked another cigar minnow through the tail, sent it to the bottom. Boom. I had another fish as soon as the sinker hit the sand.
By the time I brought my sixth grouper to the surface and put it in the big Igloo cooler, Charlie had still not landed one. Things were uncomfortably quiet on the starboard side of the 22-foot Bigfish. Gene and Walter said nothing but enjoyed taking in the competition. Charlie had been a blowhard telling me how to anchor and fish.
Gene and Walter, too, caught several fish before Charlie finally got one. But that time, I had put 13 gags on ice. My left arm was getting tired. We decided that we had enough for all of us and the wind was picking up, so we pulled the anchor and headed for shore.
Charlie was a mentally whipped man that day. Not too much was said among us during the short run back to Indian or on our longer ride back to St. Marks, where we put the boat in storage and divided the fish. Charlie got into his trusty Bronco and took off.
My St. Augustine buddy and I never fished together again. I regret that. He was a damn good fisherman — except for that time when karma bit him in the butt for questioning the ability of Capt. Bob Jones. EC
In recent years, red snapper have figured in controversial catch limits and abbreviated fishing seasons. Government scientists found that fishing pressure resulted in reduced numbers of breeding-size fish.
Robert P. Jones is a fifth-generation Florida native. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran whose eighth great grandfather, Onesimus Futch, fought in the American Revolution. His uncle, Staff Sgt. Phillip Lester Brinson, was killed in action during World War II. Jones married his high school sweetheart, Malinda Usina, in 1955. The couple had five children, four of whom survive. For more than 50 years, Jones served as the executive director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association, representing the interests of commercial fishermen. In this photo, Jones, third from right, helped host a fishing excursion, sponsored by the Southeastern Fisheries Association, for children with muscular dystrophy.
