Crab Island Changes With the Tides and the Times
Fun on the water is a Destin specialty and Crab Island is proof.
Nestled just below the surface of the emerald green waters in East Pass, Crab Island is a favorite spot for boaters to drop anchor for a day of partying, sunning and wading in the cool water.
However, the portrait was once much different. The cartography of East Pass has changed continuously over the last hundred years.
When Destin was established in 1904, the banks of Holiday Isle and Santa Rosa Island were much closer together than they are today. The shallow lagoon was not a navigable link from Choctawhatchee Bay to the Gulf of Mexico like it is today.
All of that began to change in the spring of 1926, when O.T. Melvin and his crew made up of Dewey Destin, Sr., Arn Strickland and Dolf Weekly dug a trench with shovels and boat oars to stem the tide of the rising waters on the shore of Holiday Isle where people were settled.
Longtime Destin resident and director of the Destin History and Fishing Museum, Jean Melvin, explained that the trench turned into the channel that exists now by the natural erosion of sand as the water changed course in the lagoon.
The channel became deeper and wider and now requires regular dredging to stay navigable.
A stretch of shallows that sometimes rises to the surface in the low-tide winter months is what became Crab Island.
The island was once above water and inhabited by seagrass and nesting seabirds up until at least the late ’60s. It was even called "Bird Island" by some locals.
The set-up was ideal for picnics, snorkeling or paddling about in a small boat.
Destin’s first dentist, Dr. Joe Carnley, recalls his first experience with Crab Island in 1975.
"When I first got here, I took scuba diving lessons and that was where we went," Carnley said. "In the last 15 years, it’s become a major attraction."
It was also ideal for the Roving Gambler of the early 1900s.
Legend had it that he was a moonshiner, said historian and longtime Destin resident Tony Mennillo.
His grandfather Reddin Brunson used to tell him how he would always listen late at night for that single boat motor that was the calling card of the Gambler.
One night a chase ensued with the Coast Guard but the gambler supposedly gave them the slip around Crab Island where one Coast Guard boat ran aground.
"The kids’ hero was the Roving Gambler," Mennillo said.
He said the island lived up to its name and says some of his fondest memories are hunting crabs on that spit of land.
"Growing up, we had a big family so we’d go down to the water, my grandmother would tie an inner tube with a bucket inside it and we’d go into the water and fill that whole big bucket with crabs, especially around this time of year when the crabs got thick," Mennillo told The Log in an August 2006 story.
Though no one seems to be sure what exactly caused the transformation of Crab Island into what it is today, former city councilor Jerry Najarian said he thinks it was the construction of the jetties that affected the flow of water through the Pass and into Choctawhatchee Bay that eventually led to the old-time Crab Island’s demise.
Today, the now underwater island has a smooth and curvy terrain that has attracted more than moonshiners. Now aquatic activities abound, like tubing, hunting for hermit crabs, water football and Frisbee and waiting for the Ice Cream Guy to deliver treats right to your boat.
A few decades ago, Crab Island was a neat place to perch for the afternoon and one could even sometimes get the whole sandbar to himself. That is rarely the case today as Crab Island has grown into one of the premier party spots in Destin.
It is a popular destination for spring breakers every year and for those who rent personal watercraft on a daily basis.
Boat Week, Memorial Day and Labor Day are also high traffic times for the party spot where outdoor concerts and contests draw in boats to maximum capacity.
People can be seen dancing on their boats and enjoying the concessions from the vendors set up on private boats and floating pavilions.
Crab Island is also a family friendly hang out. Kids can jump on an inflatable trampoline or take a trip down the inflatable slide.
The shallower parts of the sandbar make a fun wading spot with mom and dad and shell finding is a favorite adventure.
The sandbar is about three to 10 feet below the waves, depending on the tides and time of year.
The scene has clearly changed but Crab Island is a good time for all whether they choose to spend the day in the boat or in the water.
"Crab Island: Exactly what is the draw?" Councilor Sam Seevers said. "Who knows, but I am so thankful for it."
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