It's been quite a number of years since I traveled on HWY 98 along that stretch. At that time, much of the land was devoted to timber mining for paper mills. The state of Florida also established much of that territory as public domain, conserving the natural wildlife and habitat. The Wakulla area is fascinating.

Fishing is a major enterprise in addition to the wood for paper industry.

Organized sailing ends around Dunedin and picks back up at St Andrews Bay Yacht Club in Panama City on along the coast. The catamaran scene extends from there to Ocean Springs Yacht Club on Biloxi Bay.

Cruising that coastline along the ICWW or along shore in the Gulf is awesome. Tarpon Springs was the home of the sponge diving industry. There are many passes between Gulfport, MS and there as well that offer sailors a fine time at sea in pleasant or angry weather. I have seen it also written that hurricanes are rare, due to the many Native American sacred grounds which extend west to Fort Walton Beach. West of there is where the hurricanes tend to strike with heavy targeting.

Like the Everglades Challenge - a lot, in that a bunch permitting and logistics would be required for a similar event, but it would be doable by the new mini - tris.

Sorry about the dreaming... The scissors boat is right down the highway in the back yard of a friend.