The three anchorages Captain Chuck outlines below are indeed some of the best in the Florida Panhandle. I join with him in recommending them to the cruising community without reservation.
I'm concerned to hear about Chuck's unhappy experience at the "other" Panama City facility, St. Andrews Marina. We have always had an excellent experience at what I will term the primary Panama City Muncipal Marina, hard by the inlet channel. Perhaps some of this excellent management will soon rub off on St. Andrews!
And now, we have appended below a response to Captain Chuck's comments by Panama City dockmaster, Captain Bill Lloyd. A As you will see, Captain Bill admits the mistakes of his personnel, and promises a fix. He also suggests that most transients should make use of, what I will term, the "primary" Panama City Municipal Marina, rather than St. Andrews. It is a  truly class operation that admits their errors, and works to remedy them. My hat is off to Captain Bill!

Hi Claiborne,
Just a quick note to say how much we enjoyed your cruising guide to the Northern Gulf Coast on a recent cruise.  Highlights included three great anchorages all of which were highly recommended in your guide.  They are:Saul Creek @ mm345 or just up stream from the junction of the Jackson and Apalachicola Rivers.  Amazing depths in this creek.  Entrance carried 10+  and increased to as much as 50' once inside.  Lots of swinging room, loads of wildlife, great place to explore via dinghy, great protection from all directions, and great fishing.
Tom's Bayou on the Choctawhatchee Bay just off Boggy Bayou.  Excellent protection, easy access, good depth, and lots of swinging room.
Ingram's Bayou just north of red #72 on the ICW in Orange Beach, Al.  Good protection from all but strong southerlies,  carries at least 7' for most of the way, and lots of dolphin to play with.
While in Panama City we decided to try the other municipal marina (St. Andrews) so called early in the day to get reservations and were told there was plenty of room.  Arrived about two on Sunday afternoon with a swarm of local traffic and 20 kt winds.  After negotiating a swarm of jet skis and numerous day sailers, we were directed to the T head on the transient dock.  After securing the boat I inquired about electrical hookup and was told to use the power head serving the nearest permanent slips.  Unfortunately these were being used by other boats and there was NO pwr on the T dock.  The unhappy ending to this lengthy tale is two hrs waiting for a slip that NEVER materialized.  Understanding that we were probably dealing with part time weekend staff, a person at the very least expects a minimum amount of competence and professionalism.  A call to the marina manager brought no response the following day and a follow up email was also ignored.
I soundly endorse your recommendation for Panama City Municipal Marina, but I'm afraid St. Andrews has not quite arrived yet.
Chuck Stanfield

Claiborne,
We owe Chuck Stanfield an apology for the treatment he received at St Andrews Marina on his last visit.  He is correct in that not only was he dealing with a part time staff person but that both the part time & the full time person on duty were recent hires.  Their lack of training in handling boating guests is my fault & we are taking steps to improve that situation. 
That being said, it is important to note that of our two city marinas, St Andrews is primarily a commercial marina catering to charter boats & commercial fishing boats while maintaining a high speed commercial fueling operation.  We do maintain some transient space but it is not the focus of that facility.  As a general rule we encourage visiting boaters to first try our downtown marina where our emphasis is on the recreational boater.
Best regards,
Bill Lloyd
Director of Marinas
City of Panama City

And, from the dockmaste at St. Andrews Marina

The three anchorages Captain Chuck outlines below are indeed some of the best in the Florida Panhandle. I join with him in recommending them to the cruising community without reservation.
I'm concerned to hear about Chuck's unhappy experience at the "other" Panama City facility, St. Andrews Marina. We have always had an excellent experience at what I will term the primary Panama City Muncipal Marina, hard by the inlet channel. Perhaps some of this excellent management will soon rub off on St. Andrews!
And now, we have appended below a response to Captain Chuck's comments by Panama City dockmaster, Captain Bill Lloyd. A As you will see, Captain Bill admits the mistakes of his personnel, and promises a fix. He also suggests that most transients should make use of, what I will term, the "primary" Panama City Municipal Marina, rather than St. Andrews. It is a  truly class operation that admits their errors, and works to remedy them. My hat is off to Captain Bill!

Hi Claiborne,
Just a quick note to say how much we enjoyed your cruising guide to the Northern Gulf Coast on a recent cruise.  Highlights included three great anchorages all of which were highly recommended in your guide.  They are:Saul Creek @ mm345 or just up stream from the junction of the Jackson and Apalachicola Rivers.  Amazing depths in this creek.  Entrance carried 10+  and increased to as much as 50' once inside.  Lots of swinging room, loads of wildlife, great place to explore via dinghy, great protection from all directions, and great fishing.
Tom's Bayou on the Choctawhatchee Bay just off Boggy Bayou.  Excellent protection, easy access, good depth, and lots of swinging room.
Ingram's Bayou just north of red #72 on the ICW in Orange Beach, Al.  Good protection from all but strong southerlies,  carries at least 7' for most of the way, and lots of dolphin to play with.
While in Panama City we decided to try the other municipal marina (St. Andrews) so called early in the day to get reservations and were told there was plenty of room.  Arrived about two on Sunday afternoon with a swarm of local traffic and 20 kt winds.  After negotiating a swarm of jet skis and numerous day sailers, we were directed to the T head on the transient dock.  After securing the boat I inquired about electrical hookup and was told to use the power head serving the nearest permanent slips.  Unfortunately these were being used by other boats and there was NO pwr on the T dock.  The unhappy ending to this lengthy tale is two hrs waiting for a slip that NEVER materialized.  Understanding that we were probably dealing with part time weekend staff, a person at the very least expects a minimum amount of competence and professionalism.  A call to the marina manager brought no response the following day and a follow up email was also ignored.
I soundly endorse your recommendation for Panama City Municipal Marina, but I'm afraid St. Andrews has not quite arrived yet.
Chuck Stanfield

Claiborne,
We owe Chuck Stanfield an apology for the treatment he received at St Andrews Marina on his last visit.  He is correct in that not only was he dealing with a part time staff person but that both the part time & the full time person on duty were recent hires.  Their lack of training in handling boating guests is my fault & we are taking steps to improve that situation. 
That being said, it is important to note that of our two city marinas, St Andrews is primarily a commercial marina catering to charter boats & commercial fishing boats while maintaining a high speed commercial fueling operation.  We do maintain some transient space but it is not the focus of that facility.  As a general rule we encourage visiting boaters to first try our downtown marina where our emphasis is on the recreational boater.
Best regards,
Bill Lloyd
Director of Marinas
City of Panama City

And, from the dockmaste at St. Andrews Marina