Pensacola Magazine

BLUE SKIES & ULTRAVIOLET RAYS

“Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall, You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all.”

– Jimmy Buffett, A Pirate Looks at Forty
Photo by Tim Ludvigsen

Sailing is as iconic to Pensacola as blue crabs, beach balls, fried mullet and cheese grits…Or the white, tan line of the Coppertone kid.

The barquentines and gaffed rigged schooners are gone now, though they once lined the docks and wharves of downtown Pensacola awaiting their loads of timber and naval products. They have been replaced by sleek fiberglass sloops with Dacron sails.

Though the square rigs and schooners are gone, there remains the near catholic myth and dream of the western world: sailing off into a tropical sea in search of ‘that’ island or ‘that’ beach where palm trees line white sandy beaches, coconuts roll up and down the shore and waves of azure and cyan seas lie beneath mighty cumulonimbus clouds in the deepest of blue skies. Where tropical breezes talk to the fronds and they chatter in susurration.

As a child, I plopped myself down in front of our television and watched as Adam Troy (Gardner McKay of Adventures in Paradise) sailed the ‘Tiki III’ (the leaky tiki) off to distant tropical islands. Most kids have dreams of becoming a ‘this or that’ – not me! I just wanted to sail ‘that’ schooner into ‘those’ tropical islands. That was my fantasy. That was my dream. That was my myth.

When I was younger, I would often take off and sail, surf and just be on some remote island or beach. I would always return, after a week, month or even a year.

After one such trip I was tied up to a dock on Pensacola Beach and a friend of mine said, “You’re a beach bum!” Quickly adding, “I meant that in a good way.” I’m sure I looked at him, cocked my head like a yellow lab with a perfect ponder and smiled. As I sailed away from the dock, still smiling, I realized my friend was correct! I was a beach bum!

My mandala’s center was a sun rising over Pensacola Bay or the Gulf of Mexico while I sailed to nowhere, and my mantra was Jimmy Buffet. I had come to realize that my mythical island had become sailing the waters of Pensacola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Pensacola Bay is, in many ways, the perfect place to sail. Our bay is protected from winds on all four sides and tides are not huge factors as they are in many places I’ve sailed. The water is clear enough so that most sandbars show themselves long before you would encounter them abruptly, i.e. run aground. Anchorages abound from the oh so crowded Fort McRee to the isolated beaches and coves of Opal Beach and Big Sabine.

Pensacola Bay is a naturally deep harbor, relatively speaking. Years ago, ships could readily sail into our harbor, take on their loads and leave with the outgoing tide with no fear of grounding. These ships often sailed here empty, or at least lighter. When they would sail here from Europe, they would require more ballast. So, they would load rocks in Europe and unload the rocks upon arrival in Pensacola. The Environmental Protection Agency on Pensacola Beach actually rests upon Europe in the form of ballast rocks that were emptied there by the sailors. Multiple rock piles also surround the area adjacent to present day Joe Patti’s.

On a day sail, you can sail to downtown Pensacola or out to Pensacola Beach; you can sail east and be in Destin before sunset or west for a few hours and you will come upon Roberts Bayou, home to Pirates Cove and, more prominently, to the home of Mr. Denny Blume himself (his house is the one behind the huge satsuma bush). Denny is a two-time fish class sailboat world champion, and he has logged more hours in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico than either Popeye or Jack Sparrow. If you do sail west, and you do find Denny, buy him a cold beverage and he will regale you with tales of the low seas.

You can live on a tropical island. I did, for over a year. But island fever is real and the beaches of Pensacola stretch near endlessly with beautiful white sand and crystal-clear water—with no island fever.

Sailing can be a way of life, an escape from life, an adrenaline rush or a moment of zen! Any and all of these.

One of the most visible examples of sailing in Pensacola is American Magic’s 75-foot foiling monohull, Patriot. She is homeported here in Pensacola adjacent to the ferry dock at the end of Palafox Street.

I am on the water a lot and I see her often, zipping across the bay at speeds often exceeding fifty miles per hour. One particular day, she was foiling and the blues were flying over her. In my mind, the pilots were gazing down on American Magic going, “Wow!” At least they were in my mind.

There are a multitude of venues for sailing and getting into sailing. Places to rent sailboats, take sailing lessons and join clubs whose purpose is to promote sailing.

The epicenter for organized sailing in Pensacola is the Pensacola Yacht Club (PYC), which was founded at the turn of the twentieth century. Throughout the year, PYC hosts national, regional and local regattas with multiple formats of sailboat racing. There is a type of racing for everyone. If you prefer to sail around just cruising, having a cocktail and listening to your favorite music, PYC organizes that as well. If you like blue water sailing, there are races to both Isla Mujeres, Mexico as well as Havana, Cuba.

There are three other yacht clubs in the Pensacola area: Pensacola Beach Yacht Club, Navy Yacht Club and Grand Lagoon Yacht Club. For former and active-duty military, NAS Pensacola has a great sailboat rental facility.

I learned to sail gradually. First on a beat-up Sunfish, a fourteen-foot lateen rigged boat that is virtually indestructible. From there I bought a twenty-three-foot Hunter that I sailed much further than I should have.

Many boats and years later, I now own a J-80 which I race with local sailmaker, Hunter Riddle, owner of Schurr Sails. I also own a J-32 which I use in my sailing school.

Find the way into sailing that best suits you. Take a lesson, buy a small boat or go on a charter—just do it.

I’m on the bay now, and although it’s chilly, the sun is out and there is a light breeze. I’m sailing my J-80 on a close reach, steering the tiller with my foot with a cold Heineken in my left hand and Mr. Buffett serenading me about the tropics and social faux paus on my JBL speaker.

After I have sailed far enough into the bay, I will be in the islands again, no phones, no agendas and no clocks. I will light up my last Cohibo while Jimmy tells me, “There’s something ‘bout a boat.”


About the Author:

Bob Patroni is the Owner of Floridaze Sailing in Pensacola, FL. Bob holds a Master’s license from the United States Coast Guard, as well as an advanced ASA instructor’s license. When not sailing or surfing, he’s most likely just walking the beach searching for mullet with his cast net. In addition to teaching sailing, Bob also taught world religions for many years at local colleges.