Detour Charters in Port St. Joe offers so much more than scalloping.

We weren’t in Port St. Joe for scallops, which was a good thing, because we were too early for the season. (And FWC closed it the day before it opened anyway.)

No, we’d parked our RV at Presnell’s on St. Joe Bay (aka St. Joseph Bay) for a salty change of venue. Gulfport’s plenty of beach vibes and saltwater and sunsets, but I’d been itching to get on the road since June. We had planned a long RV road trip this summer, but a slow-speed head-on collision on our way home from a quiet short trip to Daytona Beach kept BFT (short for big, um, something, truck) out of commission just long enough to make any sort of meaningful road trip impractical. Instead, we settled for a few short trips. Port St. Joe was one.

Of course, Florida State Parks are so very popular and so very inexpensive that snagging a last-minute reservation at one of the waterfront campgrounds as unrealistic as going to the Everglades and trying to avoid seeing a gator. A friend suggested we check out Presnell’s.

We will go back to Presnell’s. It was barely a quarter full, and our site faced the bay. We had spectacular sunset views because of this. While the bathhouse had downstairs shower, the one upstairs by the  clubhouse was more like a spacious private bathroom.

But enough about that. We weren’t there for the bathroom. We were there for the water. And that’s where Captain Rob with Detour Charters really delivered.

Detour Charters

Captain Rob picked us up at Presnell’s marina and gave us a tour of the entire bay. I especially appreciated how much he — like every responsible Florida boat captain I’ve ever met or worked with — combined the significant environmental aspects of the area with his tour.

If you’re used to crowded beaches and crowded waterways on the weekends, St. Joe Bay will be a pleasant surprise. As we went by Cape San Blas, I marveled at how there was not a soul on some of the most pristine beach I’ve seen in recent memory.

Captain Rob told me it was because no road leads there. While you can walk it from St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, it’s not short, so most people don’t do it.

“Look at the skate,” Captain Rob’s wife, Noelle, said, pointing down. And it wasn’t only one: We’d found ourselves amidst a fever of string rays. But then, I saw something even better: Sharks.

Seeing Sharks Near Cape San Blas!

Anyone who’s heard my podcast or asked me about them in a talk knows my feelings about sharks: They’re amazing creatures who don’t scare me even a little. Sharks, like gators, do not want anything to do with humans (unless some idiot has trained them to associate humans with food, so please do not do that). Watching them move through the water is magical, and Detour Charters had found a shiver (I love that collective noun for sharks) of what appeared to blacktips.

Despite Detour Charters attempting to get closer (at my request), the sharks kept us at a safe distance. This was much to my dismay, but I can respect the sharks not wanting humans too close; we’re not historically kind to sharks.

“We can go back now,” I told Captain Rob, happy as a St. Joe Bay scallop who’s just gotten a reprieve from scallop season. “You showed me sharks. There’s nothing better left for me to see.”

I was wrong.

One Final Incredible Memory with Detour Charters

On our way home, I saw something in shallow surf off the beach of the cape.

Deer. Now, that in and of itself is not remarkable. You can find deer almost everywhere in Florida. The last time we camped at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, we saw several deer brazenly ignoring the “do not walk on the dunes” signage.

But there deer were playing. In the water. Aside from being on all four legs, having fur, and being much larger, they looked exactly like two happy children playing tag in the surf. Captain Rob stopped the boat and let us watch for a few moments until the deer, perhaps exhausted from the sun and salt, headed for a shaded part of the beach.

So Much More Than Scallops

Right now, the closure of scallop season in St. Joe Bay is devastating for anyone who’d planned a vacation — and for the people whose livelihoods depend on a healthy scallop season.

But, as a said, we weren’t there for scallops. We wanted to camp by the saltwater and see something different. Between Detour Charters and Presnell’s, we found more than we’d hoped.

Take a Road Trip to Port St. Joe

Detour Charters; call or text 850-904-0092. Sunset cruises start at $250; Captain Rob has longer charters, too.

Presnell’s Bayside Marina and RV Resort, 2115 Highway C30, Port Saint Joe. 850-848-4914. Full hookups, clubhouse with small kitchen, pool, small fitness center, marina, and camp store.