This weekend presents multiple opportunities for on-water fireworks viewing in the greater Fort Walton Beach and Destin area. Hurlburt Field Air Force Base kicks off the celebrations with their annual ‘Sound of Freedom’ event on Thursday, July 3rd. Fireworks start after 9pm and there is plenty of room for lots of boats to watch. Boaters should exercise caution south of the channel west of Spectre Island as depths can be quite shallow (<4 ft) in many spots. Read on for a local channel map...
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Tomorrow, June 24th, kicks off the 2008 Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic at San Destin’s Baytowne Marina. This year’s activities include Dockside Party, ‘mini-Gras’, and Fireworks on Tuesday at the Baytowne Marina and Village of Baytowne Wharf, another Party and the Captain’s meeting on Wednesday, Thursday fishing start and boat parade, Friday and Saturday weigh-ins, and final awards ceremony at 11:00am on Sunday.

Local Bouys and Markers

If you’ll be boating as a part of the tournament this year, here’s a quick reference map of the local area complete with main channel markers and lights, courtesy of EarthNC.com.

The 2007 Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival winds down with the torchlight parade in Fort Walton Beach on Monday night at 8pm. Friday night saw a good crowd in spite of high winds early in the evening. The finale seemed a bit short, but you can play it back with our video coverage below.

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It’s not too early to start planning for Billy Bowlegs invasion of Fort Walton Beach coming up June 1st and 2nd this year. Who is Billy Bowlegs? You can read his Bio at the offical festival website but the party which bears his name is all about boating. Read on for our insider info on how best to enjoy your Bowlegs weekend. (more…)

Always an interesting mix of land and sea activities, this year’s Emerald Coast Boat Week has an ambitious schedule.

Tomorrow’s (Saturday the 12th) activities center around the Fort Walton Landing including a boat building contest, nautical swap meet, ski demonstrations, and an evening “boat-in” movie.

Activities shift back on land until Friday the 18th, when the focus shifts to AJ’s in Destin Harbor. Fireworks are on tap for 9pm on Friday near AJ’s.

The “Big Event” starts at 10:00 Saturday morning with a Poker Run featuring 10 stops between Pensacola, Destin, and Niceville/Bluewater Bay. This is billed as the largest Poker Run in North America and draws boaters from all over the country. Weather permitting, we’ll be out along the route with our camera to capture the action. Poker Run participants get treated to a big party Saturday night at the Emerald Coast Conference Center.

Finally, Boat Week ends up with a Crab Island Party at Destin Pass on Sunday. For a detailed schedule and registration forms, please visit EmeraldCoastPokerRun.com.

Have fun and be safe!

“Like heaven on earth” is how one of our friends described the day on Saturday at Spectre Island.

The combination of friends old and new with sun, water, big boats, small boats, jetski’s, water toys made for a great day all around.

Read on for the details and visit the full photo gallery at SLRsite.com

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We’re looking forward to an extended boating weekend coming up.

July 4th fireworks kickoff at Hurlburt Air Force Base on Saturday July 1st starting about 9pm. We like to watch from just east of Spectre Island and will be anchored up there weather permitting no latter than 7pm. If you’d like to join the DestinSharks raft-up, look for our Regal 2760 ‘Southern Comfort’. We’ll likely have a big inflatable shark on our bow to help us stand out.

On the 4th, you can choose between Niceville (Boggy Bayou), Fort Walton Beach (Fort Walton Landing), or Destin Harbor. These shows all start between 8:30 and 9pm.

Whatever you decide to do, please boat safe and have fun!

Some scattered thunderstorms couldn’t keep Capt Billy down this year. It was touch-and-go for the fire works Friday night, but in the end everything was able to come off as scheduled.

Turn-out on Saturday was outstanding as seen in the panorama above. Santa Rosa sound was the water equivalent of a parking lot for nearly a mile along the north shore from Ft Walton Landing to the “Boat” Marina. The full size panorama and a whole lot of boating pictures are posted at the 2006 Bowlegs Gallery on SLRSite.com

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June 2nd and 3rd mark this year’s Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival at Ft Walton Landing on Santa Rosa Sound.

Always and interesting event with 100’s of boats turning out for the ‘invasion’ and fireworks.

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