Miles to go before I sleep: September 2021

Once upon a time, in a land - not so far away...

A shrimping boat named the "Donna Kay" made her last voyage and came to rest on the Florida Panhandle. There are several accounts of how she came to be at Cape San Blas - "The Forgotten Coast". One story says she was abandoned, another says the captain fell asleep or nets became entangled in parts of the ship making it lose its steering capabilities. Whatever the case, it was jostled about in the Gulf until Hurricane Michael finally ran her further aground on Cape San Blas. Hurricane Michael made landfall on October 10, 2018. Since that time, the Donna Kay delighted locals, tourists, artists and photographers with its maritime romance and annoyed local residents who viewed it as maritime refuse. I strongly disagreed with the latter. Sadly, the Donna Kay did not stand the test of time. She was dismantled and removed in August of this year.

A stunning capture of the Donna Kay by Kathryn Stivers
www.DistantLightStudio.com
She can be found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/kstivers
and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/distant_light_studio/?hl=en

My husband and I visited the cape with our children in 2012 and 2013. Last year (2020), we were able to visit the cape with just the two of us. We walked miles of shoreline and collected countless souvenir shells. It is a magical, "Forgotten Coast". Aside from one Inn, which appears to be quite small and quaint, you'll need to rent one of the homes or condos that line this beautiful shore.

Most of our vacation last year was spent lounging or walking on the beach. We have always loved the cape for its peacefulness and serenity. We made an occasional trip to Port St. Joe and dinner out a night or two - and that's it. This is the exactly the way our vacation was planned. We wanted to relax and simply shut out the rest of the world. We succeeded.

We went to see the Donna Kay on one of our walks. We parked near "the stumps" and started our trek. As we walked, I turned to John and said, "We're about to do something very, very tourist-y..." We both laughed. Neither of us cared - but I did think I should warn him. We're just not in the habit of following the crowd or doing anything just because it's trendy - except this. It trumped our quasi-commitment to not following the crowd. We walked alone and saw parts of the cape most visitors don't get to see. It's wild and untouched there (relatively speaking). We found later that alligators and snakes are more frequently seen on that part of the cape... I'm glad I didn't know that or I'd have been more reticent to take that hike! We were mostly alone on the way to the Donna Kay and back. The weather cooperated too. Hurricane Zeta was just to our west and made landfall on southeastern Louisiana. We had occasional showers while we were walking, but the sun would break out from time to time. I won't lie, the first glimpse of the Donna Kay gave me a little chill. It was just an old, broken-down shrimping boat with faded paint, rust and broken/missing parts. But I immediately saw the romance in her presence and fully understood the desire to leave it where it rested. We stayed for some time, taking photos, making Forrest Gump jokes and just being in that moment. We're both so thankful to have taken this hike. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of our vacation.

There are at least two schools of thought pertaining to the Donna Kay. Most property owners wanted it be to dismantled and removed. There had been one or two failed attempts to tow the boat out of the area, but it was embedded too deep in the sand. Local government and the military are not happy about its presence - it rested on Eglin military property. People visiting the Donna Kay sometimes chose to climb aboard and then it became a matter of liability. There is also the matter of the ship being vandalized. Many items in and on the ship were removed and became souvenirs. None of this was the right thing to do - on the part of the visitors. But the owner of this boat was seemingly not in the picture to claim or guard his property. So, it appeared to be fair game.

The other side of this coin is the romance associated with this boat. It rested in an unpopulated and beautiful spot on the cape. The Donna Kay made a wonderful subject for photographers. Kathryn Stiver's photo is one of the loveliest I have seen. So lovely, I felt compelled to include it in my post. This "Hidden Gem" brought visitors from all over and for many reasons. In March of 2020 a couple was married at the site of the Donna Kay. I'm sure if I researched longer than already I have, I would find many other stories of why people visited this simple, red shrimping boat.

I do feel there could have been other options to have the Donna Kay remain and insure the safety of those who visit. But this was not my battle and the point is now, moot. As John would say, I have no horse in this race. I'm just lucky girl who spent a beautiful afternoon with her husband hiking along the shore - dodging the surf, weaving in and out of and over and under trees and marveling at our surroundings...all to see the Donna Kay. It was absolute bliss.