Weather doesn't stop Blue Angels from dazzling at Pensacola Beach practice
Annie Blanks
A patch of blue sky appeared just over Pensacola Beach right on cue Thursday afternoon — allowing the Blue Angels to dazzle thousands who gathered to catch a glimpse of the world-famous team's first practice ahead of their Saturday performance.
Rain and cloudy skies were off and on Thursday as Tropical Storm Barry lingered in the Gulf of Mexico just to the west of the Florida Panhandle. But it was all clear when the Blues took to the skies to the delight of many, including Sarah Knight, a Pensacola woman who estimated she was seeing her "90th or 100th" show.
"They never fail to amaze me," Knight said as the Blues flew their signature Delta formation overhead. "They always put a smile on my face. There are no words, really, to describe the thrill you get from watching them."
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The Blue Angels have remained committed to flying, despite days of uncertainty leading up to Thursday's show, the first of two practice rounds before the official show Saturday. The Blues have said they will wait until the last possible second to decide if Friday's dress rehearsal and Saturday's shows will have to be canceled due to weather.
The Santa Rosa Island Authority issued a statement Thursday evening saying that with weather conditions predicted to worsen overnight, beach leaders will decide whether to continue with Friday's dress rehearsal at an 8 a.m. briefing and will release information immediately after that. The SRIA also cautioned that people heading to the beach Friday be aware that red flags will be flow all day due to Gulf conditions.
The Blue Angels were originally scheduled to fly again at 2 p.m. Friday. The dress rehearsal was scheduled to be preceded by a civilian and military aircraft show starting at noon.
Red flags and dark clouds
Despite the weather uncertainty, thousands gathered Thursday on Pensacola Beach in the hopes of seeing the show.
Single red flags flew on the beach all day, signaling that the water was closed to everyone except surfers. While that didn't stop some people from venturing into the water as 5- and 6-foot waves crashed on the shoreline, lifeguards said most people followed the rules.
"A lot of them are returning, and they know the drill whenever we have a single red flag," said Dave Greenwood, the public safety director for Pensacola Beach. "We're being proactive and keeping people out of the water."
Bradley Vining and William Witsell, both wearing Blue Angels souvenir shirts, headed toward the beach Thursday about an hour before the Blues were slated to perform.
The friends drove to Pensacola Beach in the morning from their Louisiana hometowns of Hammond and Bogalusa, respectively, for a brief reprieve from Tropical Storm Barry, which had already started inundating southeastern Louisiana with torrential rainfall.
"We've planned this for months and we didn't want to miss it," Vining said. "We're going to drive back home right afterwards. We've got families we've got to take care of."
"We love this show, we try to come every year," Witsell said.
'We're going to have fun whether the Blues fly or not'
Kaye Davis, who lives in Georgia with her husband, sat in a foldout chair underneath the Gulfside Pavilion about an hour before the Blues took to the skies at 2 p.m. Her husband, who is in the U.S. Army, was a few feet away taking photos.
Davis' husband was on R&R leave from a deployment in Afghanistan for a few weeks, and before visiting family in Panama City Beach on Friday, he wanted to see the Blue Angels perform at Pensacola Beach.
"He actually was scheduled to come home a few weeks later, and we were going to fly to Seattle to see them," Davis said.
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Ann and Scottie Smith, along with their friends Rick and Dixie Nultee, of Gulf Shores, Alabama, set up under a blue tent at Casino Beach and were enjoying adult beverages as they watched the waves roll in.
The group said they weren't too bothered by the weather and the waves — they were just happy to be enjoying each other's company.
"We're going to have fun whether the Blues fly or not," said Scottie.
Dixie said they would be coming back today, but not Saturday.
"Saturday is for the tourists," she said with a laugh.
Just down the beach, Brooke Gagne and Victoria Porter, of Pensacola, were sitting on the sand and eating snacks with their young children. Gagne said she hadn't even realized the Blue Angels were flying Thursday.
"I actually forgot they were practicing, I came out here to enjoy the waves," she said, adding that she wasn't letting her kids swim. "It's kind of disappointing."
Porter said she was keeping a wary eye on the weather and hoped that it wouldn't put too much of a damper on local businesses.
"I'm sure the retail and businesses are probably watching closely," she said. "But that's coast life for you, and it's hurricane season, so they say."
Annie Blanks can be reached at 850-435-8632 and ablanks@pnj.com.