- 65.9 miles
- 7 hours 21 minutes
- 9.0 mph average speed
- 5-12 mph winds
Apalachicola Marina is simply a 150′ face dock in front of the old Apalachicola Ice Company but it is right in the heart of charming downtown Apalachicola.
Across the street was a wonderful breakfast “food truck”, Baked Apalach, driven by non other than Matthew McConaughey! We got biscuits there both mornings and the were delicious!
We had an amazing dinner at The Owl Cafe and ran into a couple we had first met in Little Falls, NY whose boat is named Blue Merle.
We had hoped to tour the Orman House but it was closed for preservation. Thomas Orman was a cotton merchant and was instrumental in making Apalachicola the third largest cotton shipping port on the Gulf Coast during the mid-19th century. The antebellum home was built in 1838 and the wood for this house was cut to measure in New York and shipped to Apalachicola via a sailing vessel which went around the Florida Keys.
We were able to tour the Raney House, also built in 1838. David Raney also made his fortune in the cotton trade and served two terms as mayor. He and his wife raised eight children in the home. Their bedroom was on the third floor which was closed.
In the late 1800’s sponges were Apalachicola’s most lucrative fishery. Sponges were taken to the Sponge Exchange and auctioned to dealers who later shipped them to St. Louis, Baltimore, San Francisco and New York. Today, there is only one dealer in Apalachicola. Below is a photo of one of two original sponge warehouses in Apalachicola, built in 1840 and restored in the 1990’s.
We had a nice dinner at Half Shell Dockside our second night in Apalachicola.
