Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-07

7 Things to Know About Shubee Flowrider

Ok, so I know that we just did something on this, but I wanted to get something up that had more information, since there seemed to be some questions.

  • Shubee will be the name of this Flowrider, but Flowrider is the name of an actual “ride”.  A Flowrider is a proprietary name that describes an attraction that is essentially a man-made, surfable wave.  The way it works is basically a jet-engine blasts a flattened stream of water at around 30,000 gallons a minute up a padded slope to create a wave.  More can be found here, although something seems to be wrong with their web site as google was telling me its been blocked.
  • The Flowrider surface is a padded material that has a plastic feeling with the slope gradual at first, then increases.  I’ve been told by younger people that falling on it feels like you are falling on a cloud.  We’ll see how my 30 year old body takes it.
  • Steel structure is up, and has been for over a week.  Next step?  The roof.
  • The Flowrider equipment and machinery will be installed once a roof is on the place.  I’m unsure at this time whether they will have the building “dried-in” before this happens, or if they’ll have to leave the walls open.  There wasn’t anyone there that knew the size of the equipment pieces before installation.
  • The expected open time has been pushed back to August.  There was a longer than expected cure time on the actual structure that houses the Flowrider, but everything should begin moving fairly quick.
  • Most of the inventory is in, they’re just waiting for the roof and walls to start moving stuff in.

LIVE – City Pier's done, Now County Pier's Under Construction!

_mg_7759wtmkThe projected construction timeline for the new County Pier located just west of Alf Coleman Road is around 16 months, barring no unexpected obstacles present themselves.  The design is exactly the same as the new Russell-Fields pier located right across from Pier Park.  Alf Coleman Road is the road the Shipwreck Island Waterpark is on, and it runs almost directly into Sterling Reef Condominiums on the Gulf of Mexico.

Construction began in March of this year with the concrete ramp that leads up to the portion of the pier that extends out into the water already complete.  The next milestone is expected in October when they should have the “mid”-section complete by.

The totall cost of this pier will be $7.6 million with FEMA picking up $3 million of the tab.  Completion is expected to be June of 2010.

LIVE – Russell-Fields Pier First Weekend Huge Success

_mg_7746wtmkWith the first day of business being Friday, Russel-Fields Pier in Panama City Beach saw over 1800 people on Friday and just under 1,000 people on Saturday by 1 pm when I was there.  They closed the pier down shortly before dusk to set off the fireworks a little after 9pm.  The fireworks show left no visible damage that I could see, just as promised – thnaks Yankee!

So far the most common fish caught are Spanish and King Mackerel, although a small handful of people I talked today said they caught a higher number than usual of “lady-fish”, or the poor -man’s trout.

The weather is rather dreary, but seems to be wanting to clear up.  I was actually harrassed by more fisherman than usual, must have been the umbrella, I’m sure I looked like a dweeb.  I was just trying to keep my camera dry!

_mg_7739wtmkThere were tons of surfers out, the surf looked great, good clean waves, nice break in between.  In fact, the only complaint I would have had if I were a surfer would be that there were too many surfers.

I will say this, all weekend I was greeted by a great guy working the booth that seemed happy to be there.  Today, I was greeted by a man named Terry who was real grumpy, must have been the weather.  At least he’s got a/c!  We do need polite people greeting our tourists – haven’t we been discussing this?  Cheer up Terry, you live in the best place on earth!

On to the county pier that’s under construction!

Recap: Panama City Beach's Best 4th of July Ever

4thofJuly199The title is obviously difficult to quantify, but as a lifelong resident of our great city, I can say without a doubt, that I’ve not experienced a better 4th of July on this beach before.

All week long you sensed the buzz. On Thursday afternoon you felt it. By Friday morning rumblings became a full-on stampede, all leading up to a Saturday 4th of July that, at least in one writer’s opinion, was Panama City Beach’s greatest Independence Day event ever.

It was a hot, very hot, but beautiful weekend perfect for beach lovers who showed up in droves. From end to end, Panama City Beach was packed with tourists. Hotels and Condos were sold out, restaurants stayed on waits, attractions were packed to the door and if you were brave enough to step foot into Walmart, you had no doubts as to the overwhelming surge of business.

The Veteran’s Memorial was rededicated at Pier Park where several Vets saluted the flag and prayed for soldiers currently protecting our country. Throughout the day there were concerts, contests and all sorts of food and fun to be had.

At sunset, the real show began. From Grand Lagoon down to Pier Park, Panama City Beach tourists and locals were witnesses to a stunning celebration. Night skies came to life, and Pier Park put on one of the most amazing fireworks displays I’ve ever seen. It was awesome.

I hope that this weekend’s events were not just benchmarks for future events, but a precursor to what Panama City Beach can expect in the years to come.

More pics and video to come soon.

Panama City Beach LIVE – What's happing now

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Following this post, I’ll be updating pcbdaily.com with short quick blog posts of what is happening as I happen across it TODAY.  For all intents and purposes, call it a write-a-thon.  This is actually a model the staff here is experimenting with for an event that we’re planning in the next month or two for SeePCB.  If it works, maybe it will be a regular thing.

The idea is to have an experience, then write about it, posting it as soon after the event as possible.  With the goal being to give you information as it happens, right now, we’re not sure if it will end up being too much work to be feasible (i.e. the process may take too long).  But, I’m going to try it.  That’s right, I started a sentence with a But – sorry english teachers.  But that’s hip now!

So, keep your follow on, and be sure to keep an eye out for posts from Jason Koertge – LIVE

New Pier's Open, Fireworks set to go off tonight!

Having been under construction for the better part of 18 months, the new City Pier, Russell-Fields Pier is open for business.  The new 1,500 foot pier, located right across from Pier Park opened at first light yesterday to a line of fisher-persons ready to catch anything from Bonita to King Mackeral to sharks. One onlooker said they spotted a 6 footer lurking around the pilings waiting for a stray crippled fish to gobble up.

I won’t go into too many details on the pier, as we’ve covered that, but I will say that it is long, very awesome, and super great to have it back.  I promise, I won’t neglect you new pier, I promise I’ll visit you often!

If you want to fish, the cost is $6 per person, but if you just want to walk out, the cost is $2 with kids 6 and under getting in for free.  The pier is open today, but will close sometime right after sunset for the fireworks display.

I was out there yesterday and they were getting all the fireworks set up, arranging the firing tubes in neat rowes.  “The layout is perfect and the setup is just right,” said “Yankee” Scot Fischer, one of the “technicians” setting up the array of explosives.  He was commenting on the rows of “blow-out” panels that are unique to this particular design of the pier.  They seemed to be the perfect width.  I’ll have more pictures next week of the setup as I’ll be back out there today.

CVB to Implement Beach Flag Warning via Text Messaging Program

In a much anticipated endeavor, the Panama City Beach Convention and Vistor’s Bureau has officially implemented a program that will announce beach flag warning updates via text message.

The idea is simple, improve safety through public awareness of the Beach Flag Warning System and to create another avenue for alerting locals and visitors of changing surf conditions. Partnering with the Bay County Sheriffs Office & The City of Panama City Beach Police Department, the text messaging program will alert the registered users of surf conditions, as well as changes in surf conditions that will cause a change of beach flag color.

The text messages will originate from either the Bay County Sheriff’s Office or the City of Panama City Beach Police Department.

Depending on the current surf conditions, the text message will include similar information to the examples listed below.

· Sheriff’s Office report: GREEN flags on COUNTY beaches

· Beach Police report: GREEN flags on CITY beaches

The text messaging program will complement other elements of Panama City Beach’s beach safety public awareness campaign which includes flying aerial billboards during double-red flag conditions, conspicuously displaying signs inside each rentable lodging unit along Panama City Beach, posting signs explaining the flag colors at every public beach access points, and public service announcements on billboards and on various media including radio and television.

If you would like to register your cell phone number to begin receiving these updates, please email your First Name, Last Name, Cell Phone Number (Including Area Code)and Email Address to social@visitpanamacitybeach.com.