Grand Lagoon National Cancelled for this year

Well, I hope this is not a sign for times to come for Bill Spann and his new fishing tournament, the Grand Lagoon National. The first year out of the hole the competition was postponed, postponed again, and now totally cancelled all together.

Regardless of what some told me, I truly thought it was to be a good addition to this years Panama City Beach festivities. With Spann’s experience, and after a couple of conversations with him, it was very apparent that this was not his first rodeo. He has been doing this very type of event for years, and has always put on a good show.

This year, so far, has certainly not been without peril, with regards to the weather. With 6 tropical storms and/or hurricanes to have come into our Gulf waters this hurricane season, planning anything for our area is challenging at best. Jack Bishop remarked at the last TDC meeting that it is always risky planning event during this time of year. The last couple years have been very calm, but this year has been very active. We can only speculate what is to come next year.

So at this point, what comes of the $50,000 the TDC gave The Grand Lagoon National to help it “get off the ground”? That money was to be an “investment” that had some promise of return with a potential of profit. I’m sure that money has been spent as some festivities did take place, but no revenue was generated through registration fees. Does the TDC stand to recover that money next year? Will the Grand Lagoon National receive $50,000 next year as allocated in the FY2008-2009 budget?

Quiet Tropics

Gary Gnu

To quote Gary Gnu from the Muppets, “No gnus, is good gnus”. I am happy to report there there are no tropical cyclones active in the Atlantic Basin at this time. It’s about time.

People all across Texas, Louisiana, and the midwest are still trying to clean up from Ike. Thousands of people from the Houston are still in shelters. Others are still waiting for food, water, and electricity. Galveston is trying to clean up and assess the damage. It will be some time. Officials think it will be months before the city reopens as the main gas and electric lines to the island were severely damaged. They are also warning of mosquito borne illnesses. “Galveston can no longer safely accommodate its population,” City Manager Steve LeBlanc said. “Quite frankly, we are reaching a health crisis for people who remain on the island.”

Ike’s effects have been far reaching. In the midwest, there has been major flash flooding. Where we grew up in Northwest Indiana is suffering badly. They had received a lot of rain and then when Ike’s reminants came through it was just too much. Several hospitals, schools, and churches are under water. Bryan’s parents churc has about 6 feet of water. The high schools fooIt’s sad because those people don’t have flood insurance as this is extremely abnormal for that area.

For us locally, things are pretty good. The waters have receded and the beach seems ok. According to the paper this morning, there is still a threat of rip currents. It looks as if there is still a red flag flying this morning.

See Me on TV!

Former Panama City Beach Mayor Lee Sullivan has been gracious enough to invite me on his weekly News View Show aired on WPGX every weekday evening at 9 pm.

Last Tuesday he had the current Panama City Beach Mayor, Gayle Oberst, on the show discussing beach tourism, the local economy, the TDC efforts, and the bed tax, just to name a few.

Today, when I’m on, we’ll be discussing all the fun stuff we cover on pcbdaily.com.

Be sure to join us for 30 minutes of fun and “attitude”!

Again, it airs at 9 pm on WPGX. I have Dish Network so the channel for me is 28. I hope you get a chance to see it, and hopefully I won’t look like a fool!

Gas Gouging – RIP OFF

So, yesterday, on the way out of town, my wife and I filled up for $3.63 a gallon. That is a stupid high price (I refuse to be conditioned!), but that’s where we are, right? $100 a barrel.

Well, in light of the current situation in the Gulf with hurricane Ike and all, the supply of gas in our area has temporarily been affected. This morning we drove around to a few gas stations and the ones that still had gas left were priced at $3.95/gallon for regular. Thinking it was insane to see the price jump 33 cents overnight just because of a little supply problem, we decided to keep looking. I refused to pay $3.95 a gallon, just on principle.

Well, our trusty Tom Thumb gas stations, as usual, can be relied upon. Out of the two that I went to, one was out of gas, but the other was still priced at $3.63 a gallon. I could have kissed the manager for being honest when others were being greedy.

Ike Makes Landfall

Ike Radar Hurricane Ike made landfall at Galveston, Texas at 2:10 a.m. this morning. Maximum sustained winds were 110 miles per hour, just one mph less than a Category 3 strom. High surge, wind, heavy rains, tornadoes, widespread flooding, massive power outages, and fires were the main news stories overnight.

As many as 1200 calls for rescue were received from people who did not evacuate. Most were told they would have to wait until conditions improved. Officials are trying to get out to complete rescues, as well as, to assess the damage. Of particular concern is the status of the oil and chemical plants, and the skyscrapers in downtown Houston.

As you can see from radar, Ike is still dealing a heavy punch to the area this morning. As of the 8:00 a.m. CDT advisory, it was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds near 90 mph. Additional weakening is expected throughout the day, but Ike could remain a hurricane into this afternoon. Hurricane force winds extend out 125 miles, with tropical storm force up to 260 miles. Although not as powerful of a storm, Ike had a larger wind field than Katrina.

Ike will be making a turn to the northeast sometime later today. This will take the storm to areas of the midwest that are already soaked from heavy rains due to a stalled front. Ike will meet up with a cold front and bring additional heavy rains.

Obviously, all of the TV news stations will be bringing more information and videos as it becomes available. This will be my last report on Ike. Thank you for reading.

Bike Week on Panama City Beach

Many of you know already, but some friends of mine started a full-fledged events planning company and invited me along. Tropic Thunder Events consists of experts from many fields combined with one love – to boost tourism in Panama City Beach by providing awesome things to do.

With myriad events in the works including a classic car show, classic car auction, BBQ Cook-Off and a motorcycle event that will happen in 2 short weeks, we are looking forward to doing our part to boost tourism on Panama City Beach.

Ok, so about the Bike Week. Others in the area have done a phenomenal job in the past of bringing tens of thousands of people to the beach during some of the slowest weekends of the season. Tropic Thunder Events’ goal is to help encourage even more people to come to the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches on some of these slow weekends by hosting events that will attract people to our area. Bike Week has traditionally been one of those events. This year, Tropic Thunder Events introduces its own Bike Week during the week of September 25-28. With the addition of five Unofficial Tropic Thunder Events Venues including Club La Vela, Mellow Mushroom, Dirty Dicks Crab House, and all of the Ms. Newby’s locations, the biker party is sure to be enormous. With our increased marketing efforts, this year’s Bike Week will be the biggest Panama City Beach has ever seen.

Click here for a schedule of events at all our venues!

In October, Tropic Thunder will host the Southeastern BBQ Fest Cook-Off Competition. This will be a professionally sanctioned and judged event of the Florida Barbecue Association. This event is one of only 18 annual competitions sanctioned by the Florida Barbeque Association in the USA. The event will take place at Frank Brown Park on October 24-26, 2008.

Tropic Thunder Events has teamed up with the Emerald Coast Cruizin group to bring the second annual Big Boys Toys Classic Car Auction at Frank Brown Park. The auction will be the same weekend as the colossal Emerald Coast Cruizin Classic Car Show, that Tropic Thunder, of course, will also be promoting. The 2007 Car Auction was a huge success with hundreds of cars sold and thousands in attendance.

Emerald Coast Cruizin’s Classic Car Show, to take place at Frank Brown Park, will feature thousands of classic hot rods from all over the US and Canada. With over 100 top-name vendors, there is sure to be plenty to see and buy. Scheduled is a 30 mile “Beach Cruise”, events ranging from live music to a parade, and much, much more. For details, visit www.EmeraldCoastCruizin.com.

For more information about Tropic Thunder Events, visit www.TropicThunderEvents.com. Also, if you are a vendor, we still have vendor positions available, give us a call at 877-448-7674 to secure your position!

Oh yea, and the legalese, in case you haven’t figured this out yet:

Tropic Thunder Events, Inc. is not affiliated in any way with Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rally.

Dude, a Bay County Poker Run

Bay County to host Poker Run

Bay County employees will host a Poker Run Saturday, Sept. 13 to benefit the county’s Habitat for Humanity project.

While a healthy turnout of motorcyclists is anticipated, all vehicles are welcome in an event that will lead participants on a trek to sites throughout the county. At each site, the rider collects a card until a five-card hand is gathered.

Registration for the Poker Run starts at 9 a.m. at the Sandpiper Beacon Beach Resort, and the event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Stops along the way include Mulligan’s Sports Bar & Grille in Panama City, Ruby Rumrunners at Mexico Beach, Granny’s Hideaway in Wewahitchka, and the event ends with live music, games, food and prizes at H.G. Harders Recreation Complex.

The cost is $10 per rider and additional hands cost $5. Players can purchase a redraw for $5.

For more information, please call Valerie Lovett at 784-6198.

Legendary Surfer Shaun Tomson in Panama City Beach

Tomson to Attend Special Showing of Award-Winning
Surfing Documentary ‘Bustin’ Down the Door’

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 10, 2008) — World champion surfer, Shaun Tomson, will be in Panama City Beach, Fla. to attend the showing of “Bustin’ Down the Door” – an award-winning documentary about a pivotal period in the history of surfing. A hit at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, the film documents the rise of surfing as a professional sport.

“Bustin’ Down the Door” will have a special showing in Panama City Beach, Mon., Sept. 15, 7:30 p.m., at the Grand 16 Theater, located at 500 South Pier Park, Panama City Beach, FL 32413. Tomson, the film’s co-producer, will introduce the film and head a question-and-answer session. Fans attending the showing will be able to get free posters autographed by Tomson.

The film will air in select locations throughout Florida in advance of the Surf Expo, taking place in Orlando, Sept. 10-14.

Narrated by Edward Norton, the acclaimed film takes a look at a dramatic moment in history, during the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, when a group of young South African and Australian surfers sacrificed everything for a dream and changed the sport of surfing forever.

“Bustin’ Down The Door” chronicles a tumultuous two-year period of competitive and cultural clashes in the mid-1970’s in the surfing Mecca of Hawaii’s North Shore of Oahu where a crew of six surfers from Australia and South Africa arrive and set out to change the world of surfing. Framed around the emerging careers of former professional surfers and world champions Shaun Tomson, Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew and Mark Richards, the film documents how these young men risked everything to become the world’s best surfers. Viewers will see how their determination and vision began a cultural revolution that led to the birth of professional surfing and ultimately to today’s billion-dollar surfing industry.

As a competitor, Tomson’s consistency and longevity marked one of the most prolific careers in professional surfing. He became South Africa’s most successful surfer, winning the country’s largest event, the Gunston 500, six times in a row and taking the World Title in 1977. Tomson has been called the greatest tube rider of all time and was named as one of the 25 most influential surfers of the century (Surfer, 1999) and one of the 16 greatest surfers of all time (Surfing, 2004).

Australian Mark Richards redefined the limits of performance surfing on the North Shore of Hawaii. In 1976, he won the richest event on the fledgling IPS professional tour, the Coke Surfabout in Sydney. Richards began shaping his own boards that year and developed a revolutionary, short, winged swallow twin-fin design that perfectly suited his particular style. His swooping turns earned him the nickname “The Wounded Gull.” By 1979, with the twin-fin perfected, he won the World Title and for four consecutive years dominated the World Tour, winning in every type of surf. Today, Richards is considered one of the world’s best and most innovative surfboard shapers.

Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew burst onto the international scene in the winter of 1975. Professional surfing was still just a dream back then, but Bartholomew had the vision and the attitude to make it a reality. His article “Bustin’ Down the Door,” published in Surfer Magazine in 1976, is the inspiration for the film. Bartholomew was crowned World Champion in 1978 and remained in the Top Five for seven consecutive years.

Directed by Jeremy Gosch, and produced by Shaun Tomson, Monika Gosch and Robert Traill, the film, was shot on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii and features iconic surf footage from the best of the mid-1970’s films as well as a period soundtrack that includes music artists Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and Leonard Cohen. Included among the many notable surfers and pros interviewed for the documentary are: Ian Cairns, Peter Townend, Michael Tomson, Tom Curren, Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Barry Kanaiaupuni and “Fast Eddie” Rothman.

For more information about the film and to view the trailer visit http://www.bustindownthedoor.com.

4:00 p.m. CDT Ike Update

9/11/08 Ike Satellite

As of the 4:00 pm CDT advisory from the National Hurricane Center, the center of Ike is about 400 miles ESE of Galveston, Texas. The center is expected to reach the upper-Texas coast by late Friday. Coastal storm surge of more than 20 feet is expected near and to east of where the center makes landfall. In addition, as much as 15 inches of rain is forecasted for some areas.

Hopefully, all people in the area are securing their property and evacuating. Galveston, the site of the U.S.’s worst Hurricane death toll, is especially vulnerable to coastal flooding and erosion. It is a beautiful coastal town which some are betting will become the “Long Island of Texas”. The downtown area has many old Victorian homes and buildings that have stood the test of time.

The coast of Galveston is very similiar to the Atlantic coast of Florida. The houses sit far back from the water at a higher elevation from the beach. This creates a serious problem where the earth under houses erode quite significantly. To help the problem, many use a product called a Geo-Tube, which is a essentially a very long, and very tall, sand bag. The Geo-Tube is buried in the ground to protect from washout.

In the local area, the Gulf appears to be calming somewhat as we approach low tide. It will be a few days before things get back to normal. Hopefully, when the water recedes back to its normal level, our beach will build back easily. Only time will tell.

Hurricane Ike taking away our beach!

With Ike in the Gulf, our seas are very rough. Offshore, swells are exceeding 25 feet with seas 8 to 12 feet in shore. Seas aren’t expected to come down until Sunday.

View in HD

I was at Treasure Island Condominiums earlier and there is no beach between the building and the water. The surf is crashing up against the building and lapping at the pilings of beach homes. After Gustov, we had a little erosion, but we were told at the TDC meeting Tuesday that it would build back naturally. We’ll see after this system moves through. The dock by my house was almost completely covered and boats at a local marina are looking a little high.

Stay tuned to pcbdaily.com for all updates for Hurricane Ike.