Opportunity Docks Free Berths Offer More Than a Cheap Place to Tie Up By Cyndi Perkins There’s room for several boats inside the White City dockage basin. There were three other sailboats tied up during Chiip Ahoy‘s stay.
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t isn’t just the price that’s right. Spending a night or two outside the sequestered enclave of a marina or the womblike seclusion of a remote anchorage can be as nostalgic and relaxing as a trip to Mayberry. In fact, that’s what some of the White City, FL, locals call their neck of the woods. The town’s free docks are located at the foot of the 65-foot fixed bridge on the Gulf Coast ICW, providing a pleasant rest stop in Florida’s Panhandle between Port St. Joe and Apalachicola. It’s six miles from shallow, often wind-whipped little Lake Wimico, and about 1.5 miles past the Gulf County Canal cut-off leading to Port St. Joe. This is the demarcation line between Central and Eastern time zones (White City is on EST). The park hosts a busy boat launch with picnic areas, grills, pavilions and regularly cleaned restrooms with flush toilets. It has been thoughtfully designed with family functions in mind, from the playground to the white sand volleyball court. In addition to the main dock basin, which has room for several recreational vessels of practically any size, there is a floating face dock directly on the canal. Regional Search & Rescue headquarters are also located on the premises. Following a comfortable night’s anchorage just off the ICW channel in the tannin waters of Wetappo Creek, we were intending to motor right on by White City when three sailors hailed us from the fishing pier and encouraged us to tie up at the aforementioned face dock. There we found ample depth for Chip Ahoy’s five-foot draft. It was early afternoon, and we’d planned on pushing through to one of our favorite anchorages—the famous Saul Creek hurricane hole—before dark. When opportunity knocks, however, the wise cruiser answers the call! Guidebooks list the docks, which are about 22 ICW miles from Apalachicola, as “rustic, without amenities.” But something wonderful has developed here. Municipal funding combined with a bequest in honor of Robert Brian “Blue” McLeod (April 5, 1975-Oct. 9, 2007) has greatly enhanced and expanded the facility. With a long cord and a little ingenuity it’s possible to plug in at one of the numerous electrical outlets. Potable drinking water is also readily 40
June 2010
SOUTHWINDS
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