We expected a windy day so we got off the docks early and started heading home. We also might have been a bit anxious. Winds were from the east and blustery. There was even times when gust pushed the bow over a little. The skies were clear. It was a great day on the water. By the time we arrived in Southport in the early afternoon the skies were clouding over and it was getting a bit chilly. On the way home we pasted SV Transition. We offered some tips on where to anchor in Southport. We offered to take him to the grocery store when if needed. A couple of hours after we got home we got a call from SV Transition who was ready to go the the store. Bob drove down to South Harbor Village Marina where SV Transition decided to stop because of the pending weather overnight. Just as Bob was helping carry groceries down the dock, it started to rain. Perfect timing. And to Bob’s surprise another boat that we’d met along the way home was berthed at the marina. Bob went over to knock on MV Fogdog and offered to take them to the store as well. Plans were made for Wednesday. Final Thoughts. It was a great trip, we accomplished our goal of cruising the Southwest coast of Florida. The trip home was faster than expected because there was no need to stop and stay anywhere longer than one night. Some stats… 2, 091 nautical miles. 45 days at anchor, 15 days on a mooring ball and 38 days in marinas.

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Friday, March 27^th.  We got underway from the mooring field in Beaufort at 8:45 am and made our way north with the tide.   It was an easy transit since the Army Corps of Engineers did a lot of dredging in 2019 in the usual ICW trouble spots between Beaufort and Charleston.  We anchored in Church Creek, a couple of hours south of Charleston.

Saturday, March 28^th.  We got underway at 8:30 am and proceeded up the Wadmalaw River to the Charleston Harbor, past Isle Of Palms and then to our anchorage just north of Isle Of Palms.  It was a bittersweet day.  We were glad to continue north but were sad not to be able to stop.  We had planned a several day layover to have an open boat party for our former Cruising Club friends, see some old neighbors from when we lived on Isle Of Palms and, of course, see our granddaughter River.  We were happy to see S/V Prime Time at our anchorage.  We had berthed next to her in Savannah.  It’s crewed by 2 nice couples from Sweden.

Sunday, March 29^th.  We got underway early because we had one of our longest days ahead.  We planned on anchoring north of Georgetown in the Waccamaw River.  S/V Prime Time followed us the whole day.  We spoke with them several times during the day and figured we’d see them again at our anchorage at the end of the day (which we did).  After 7 hours we dropped the hook behind Butler Island and had a relaxing evening.

Monday, March 30^th.  We’re getting close!  We got underway at 8:00am.  The crew is getting “Channel Fever” as we would say in the Navy just before we got home from a 6 month deployment.  Channel fever is when you get all worked up when you enter your homeport’s channel.  The transit up the Waccamaw River was as scenic as it always was.  This is one of the jewels of the ICW.  We arrived at Barefoot Marina after 6 hours and were happy to get ashore for showers and a walk.  Tonight, it’s takeout from the Marina Bar and Grill!  Tomorrow we are home!

Saturday, March 21^st.  We left our anchorage in Daytona Beach around 8am and went directly to Halifax Harbor Marina for fuel, a pump-out and water.  We chugged back out into the waterway and 7 ½ hours later we pulled in to St Augustine. We took a mooring ball just south of the Bridge of Lions and dropped the dinghy for the short ride in to the office to check-in.  After quick showers we walked across the street into town to stretch our legs.  A few restaurants were open for take-out only, but the streets of the historic section of town were quiet and empty… just a few scattered tourists wandering around aimlessly. We purchased gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and returned to the boat.

Sunday, March 22^nd.   We were underway a little before 8am. It began as a clear morning, but fog settled in just as we passed the St Augustine inlet – we navigated carefully, using radar to spot other boats until visibility cleared later in the morning.  It’s funny what you’ll laugh at when you’ve been motoring all day, and here’s one moment we’ll share ….we’ve heard quite a few interesting radio communications between other boaters on this trip, but today we heard one that was unusually amusing to us– two irate men were using channel 16 to argue over which one of their boats had the right of way. (a quick explanation for you non-boating people – channel 16 is used for contacting other vessels only, and once you contact another boat, you should move to another channel to continue your conversation).  A third boater spoke up and said,  “Girls! You’re both pretty. Now, take it to another channel. “   That ended the argument instantly – not another peep.  (well, we thought it was funny…not the kind of thing one generally hears on the radio.).  We reached the Fernandina Beach City mooring field a little before 4pm in windy, overcast conditions.  We called the office and asked to pay over the phone but they insisted that we come in. So, once again we dropped the dinghy and putted in to the marina through the nasty, cold chop.  After checking in, we walked a few blocks through the deserted town and grabbed some Mexican take-out, which helped our cold, wet dinghy trip to feel a little more worthwhile.

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Monday, March 23^rd.  We woke to soupy fog so thick that we couldn’t see the marina dock across the waterway; however, we were underway by 9am with all the nav lights on and radar running. We were not the only boat intent on heading north in spite of the fog, which did finally lift around mid-day.  We approached Jekyll Island Marina as the third boat in a line of five – all docking there for the night. Once docked, it was easy to see that we were back in the land of the ‘Lowcountry’ – azaleas were blooming, pollen was falling and the no-see-um’s were out in full force. Lynn washed the boat while Bob cleaned the engine air filter. Then, we proceeded to break all social-distancing rules while Bob gave another boater a ‘tutorial’ on the AquaMaps navigational App. Yikes.

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Tuesday, March 24th.  We got underway in a cloud of no-see-um’s around 7:30am and had an uneventful transit to the Newport River anchorage, arriving late afternoon.

Wednesday, March 25^th.  We hoisted the anchor at 8:30am and made our way across a choppy St Catherine’s Sound in intermittent rain.  The weather cleared by the time we docked at Thunderbolt Marina in Savannah around 3pm after taking on fuel and pumping-out. We learned that Savannah has closed all non-essential businesses – including marinas.  Thunderbolt is allowed to remain open only because they fuel police, fire and DNR boats. Grocery stores are open so we pulled our bikes out and took a ride to see if we could buy coffee cream and beer… definitely essentials!  Many empty shelves and limits on how many of certain items you could buy, but we did get those two items plus a few more.  We were also able to grab showers and do a load of laundry – but it was almost a little creepy as we basically had the whole place to ourselves.

Thursday, March 26^th. We woke to a beautiful sunny but chilly day. We topped off our water tank and headed back out on the waterway at 8:30am. We are seeing fewer boats on the water now; quite different from the more populated areas in northern FL just a few days ago. We reached the City mooring field in Beaufort, SC at 3pm. And, at the time of this writing, we are debating whether or not we will even bother to drop the dinghy and go in to take showers…it’s just not always worth the effort… we’ll be home in about 5 days…can we wait that long?

Tuesday, March 17th.  We decided to start heading straight back to Southport without any of the stops that we had planned for our return trip. All the attractions that we planned to visit are closing.  We’re starting to hear rumors that some marinas are closing as well. And, more interestingly, we’re hearing that toilet paper is being stolen from some marinas and they are now keeping it under lock and key!  We got underway around 8:00am and headed north to Vero beach. We pulled into the Vero Beach City Marina around 2:30 for diesel, water and a pump out. With that done, we proceeded back out into the waterway and anchored just south of the marina at the Red Gazebo Anchorage. This is what most of our days will look like now. Move steadily north, anchor, take a mooring ball or marina for the night, and then get up the next day and do it all over again.

Wednesday, March 18^th.  We were underway a little after 8:00am and by 1:00pm we reached our destination anchorage just north east of the bridge in Melbourne. 

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Thursday, March 19th. We got underway around 8:45am on a beautiful sunny morning.  Lynn defrosted the refrigerator underway ahead of our planned grocery run in Titusville.  We reached the mooring field at the Titusville Municipal Marina around 1:40pm. We launched the dinghy and went to the office to check in. They are still open; however, all transactions are made through a pass-through window. No one can go into the office or ship’s store. We walked a half a mile to a Save-A-Lot grocery store in hopes of rounding out our food supply to last us until we get home. We found plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, but, of course, no toilet paper. However, we were able to score a box of tissues! We lugged our goods back to the marina where we took showers and had a quick look around at the facilities. In the Laundry Room was the typical ‘free stuff’ and book swap area – some very kind, generous and thoughtful person left two rolls of toilet paper there. We admired them but we did not take them because we have two rolls aboard, and now, a box of tissues as well. There will be some other unfortunate boater who comes along after us who is completely out and needs it more than we do.

Friday, March 20th. This was a longer day for us – we were underway at 8:00 AM and dropped anchor at 2:40 PM in Daytona Beach. The waterway was a good bit busier today than it had been the past couple of days. We saw lots of families out on boats – gotta do something with all those kids out of school!  People are taking advantage of sunshine and fresh air which is never a bad idea. At this rate, we expect to be home by April 1 at the latest.

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Tuesday, March 10^th.  We got underway from our anchorage with an extremely low tide.  This is another time when we were comforted by our 3’ draft.  We entered Pine Island Sound and proceeded towards the Ft Myers City Marina Mooring Field – leaving the blue and emerald green waters of the sound and entering the brown waters of the Caloosahatchee River as we approached the city.  We took our mooring ball around 2:30, launched the dinghy and made our way to the marina to check-in and shower.  We walked the downtown area and grabbed a bite to eat at a Ford Motor Company-themed pub.

Wednesday, March 11^th.  After breakfast aboard, we dinghied ashore and headed to the Edison-Ford Winter Estates Museum and Botanical Gardens.  Edison and Ford were good friends and had winter homes next to each other on the Ft Myers waterfront back in the late 1800-early 1900’s.  We toured the garden, homes, botanical labs and the museum.  Definitely recommend it if you’re ever in Ft Myers.  We then biked to the Library to catch up on some reading before heading over to Publix to provision for our Lake Okeechobee crossing.

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Thursday, March 12^th.  We got underway from our mooring ball at 9am and proceeded up the Caloosahatchee River after pumping our waste tank and topping off our water tank at the marina.  We arrived at the Franklin Lock around noon and locked through easily.  These locks are much more modern than the locks on the Erie Canal (which were built in the early 1900s).  We arrived in Labelle and viewed the free city docks where we had planned to stay for the night.  However, the spacing of the pilings and their condition had us rethinking that option. We were fortunate to snag a spot on the small dock at the River’s Edge Motel just across the waterway instead. Labelle is just a rural stop-over without much going on – a serene respite from busy marinas and mooring fields.

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Friday, March 13^th.  We were underway at 9am in clam winds and continued on the Lake Okeechobee Waterway.  We passed through 3 more locks with the last one in Clewiston simply in the open position because the lake level was even with the canal level.  In Clewiston we stayed at the Roland Martin Marina which just happened to be hosting a large bass fishing tournament.  We were lucky to arrive prior to the afternoon tournament check-in, otherwise there would have been no room amongst the throng of bass boats for us to dock. Shortly after we arrived, they began to show up and we soon found ourselves surrounded! We enjoyed observing all the activities surrounding us.

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Saturday, March 14^th.  We woke to the National Anthem being sung at 7am to kick-off of the final day of fishing.  The top 10 boats were ready and left the dock at 7:30am.  There were quite a few fans (and lots of mosquitoes!) on the dock to see them off and wish them luck –  we had another great show. After that excitement, we walked up to the marina’s grill for breakfast where we met folks from 3 other cruising boats and talked about our plans for the day.  We shoved off about 9:30 and headed into the lake for an easy crossing.  The winds were light and the water level gave us 10 ft of depth all the way across.   We exited the lake through the Port Mayaca Lock and entered the St Lucie river.  We arrived at the St Lucie Lock early afternoon took a slip at the campground located just before the lock. One of our breakfast acquaintances was already there and helped us tie up. We passed some time before dinner sitting at a picnic shelter chatting with him and a couple of other boaters.

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Sunday, March 15^th.  We got underway around 10am, locked through the St Lucie Lock and continued up the St Lucie River.  We arrived in Stuart after a short 1-hour transit and took a mooring ball at the Sunset Bay Marina. We dinghied in to the marina for showers and laundry and learned that the marina was having its end-of-season party that afternoon.  What luck!  After dropping off our completed laundry back at the boat, we dinghied back to the marina and enjoyed a great pot-luck complete with Mac-n-cheese, ribs and brisket.  After dinner we strolled along Stuart’s nicely done waterfront ‘Riverwalk’ area before returning to Sea Shanty.

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Monday, March 16^th.   It must be said that with the increasing concerns over the Coronavirus, we are hearing other cruisers express various concerns over returning to their home country of Canada and the possibilities of travel restrictions.  We are not panicking, nor are we taking this virus lightly… we are, however, down to our last roll and a half of toilet paper. Bearing that in mind, our ‘snowbird’ friends who winter in Delray Beach drove in to Stuart to meet us for lunch and they brought us a roll. Angels of Mercy!  After lunch, a quick stop at a grocery store for a couple of essentials confirmed everything that we’ve been hearing about empty shelves – a marked difference from our last grocery trip just 5 days prior.

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Thursday, March 5^th.  We woke to heavy fog –  made it a lazy morning and got underway from anchor at 9:45 after the fog cleared.  Winds were still from the south but with the smaller bays and ICW, we had an easy go of it.  We arrived at Fisherman’s Wharf Marina in Venice at 1pm.  We gave the boat a good rinse to clean off all the salt spray from the past couple of days.  Then we showered ourselves and walked next door to the Dockside Bar and Grill for drinks and an early dinner. 

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Friday, March 6^th.  After breakfast aboard, we unloaded the bikes and headed to Publix for some provisioning.  On the way we made a quick detour to a local hardware store to pick up new bike locks because we left ours in Madeira Beach (leaving things on the dock has become an unfortunate trend for us).  After dropping our groceries off at the boat, it was back out for lunch at Darrells, a local BBQ joint with a decent beer selection.  We started our Venice bike tour with the town’s arboretum and then biked through the neighborhoods.  The winds had shifted to the north and began to make biking unpleasant, so we pulled into the local library for some magazine time before heading back to the boat for dinner.

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Saturday, March 7^th.  We got underway around 8:30 while the winds were lighter and the current was slack.  We expected the northern winds to build again today but since we were travelling south, the chop in the ICW was behind us.  Once we left the protected ICW waters and entered Charlotte Harbor our ride got a little rolley.  The winds had shifted to the northeast and presented us with seas more on our beam for a good hour before we reached Cayo Costa State Park and anchored in the protected waters of Pelican Bay at 1pm.  We hung out on the boat for the rest of the day with good music and some cockpit yoga for Lynn.

Sunday, March 8^th.  The winds remained brisk overnight and into the morning.  We spent a couple of hours working on our respective duties for the Southport Yacht and Garden clubs which we’ve been managing remotely throughout the trip. After lunch on board we launched the dinghy and took our bikes ashore.  Cayo Costa State Park has several miles of bikeable trails and we didn’t get a chance to ride them the last time we were here.  Partway around the park we found an iPhone lying in the middle of the trail. We continued our ride, asking folks we passed along the way if they were missing a phone. We eventually made our way to the Ranger Station and as we were turning the phone over to them, a person jumped up from a nearby bench and exclaimed, “You found my phone!!” A good deed done and it was back to the boat for the night.

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Monday, March 9^th.  This was a planned short day… we got underway at 10am and headed south to our old anchorage in Roosevelt Channel on the bay side of Captiva Island.  We arrived around noon, launched the dinghy and made our way to shore for lunch at the Mucky Duck Tavern.  Choosing to eat at the bar, we sat next to a lovely couple from Kansas.  They were avid gardeners who kept Lynn busy with conversation.  Much later, back on Sea Shanty it was a light dinner of crackers, cheese, humus and olives while we enjoyed the sunset from the cockpit. Next stop – Ft. Myers.

Friday, February 28^th.  Bob was on the phone early searching for a new toilet pump.  One was located in Massachusetts with guaranteed delivery to the marina office on Saturday.  That was a big relief – now we could get on with other things.  Lynn was feeling a little under the weather so Bob took the opportunity to scout out the area.  We were only a few blocks from John’s Pass, a major tourist area with lots of shop and restaurants; also, a grocery within biking distance.  By the afternoon Lynn was feeling well enough to do a couple of loads of laundry at the boater’s lounge which had free laundry.  When cruising, sometimes it’s the small things in life that you celebrate and free laundry is pretty darn close to the top!  Our friends arrived early evening and we made plans for Saturday.  For a late-night snack, we ordered a flat crust pizza from Dominos (just a big cracker with pizza topping).  Tomorrow we would be in full tourist mode!

Saturday, February 29^th.  We walked to small café, ’Lisa’s’, for breakfast – Crabcake Benedict was fabulous. Our friends had arranged a time slot to pet a sloth at the Alligator Attraction a few blocks from the boat. We spent some time strolling around looking at the gators, pigs, various reptiles, spiders and the sloth. Afterwards, we ventured further down to the boardwalk at John’s Pass and observed a wedding party in full pirate garb boarding the pirate tour ship to have a wedding underway.   The boardwalk was bustling with tourists and provided for some good people watching.  By now it was time for a refreshing beverage and lunch at the Mad Beach Brewing Company where we learned that you can’t “deconstruct” the nachos and get the meat on the side.   After lunch, the boys went back to the marina to pick up our toilet part from the office and the girls hung out at the Bamboo Biergarten watching an absolutely awful but most enthusiastic ‘lounge lizard’ singer crooning to the tourists.  Our friends are big Kentucky basketball fans so we made a point to position ourselves at the VFW in time for the game.  Luckily, we arrived early enough to join in a couple of games of Bingo before the tipoff.  Lynn struck it big with a win on the final game and split the pot with another winner, walking away with $17 (which goes a long way at a VFW).  It was a full and varied day and we all hit the rack pretty early.

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Sunday, March 1^st.  We started the day with a brisk 30 minute walk to a Waffle House for a late breakfast.  As always, eating at the ‘Awful Waffle’ was an experience.  We arrived in time to get the last available booth.  After one of us botched an order of waffles with sides, our server decided to educate us on “how to order at Waffle House”.  While waiting for our order, we played breakfast-themed songs on the juke box.  Life was good!  With our bellies full, we walked another 30 minutes back to the boat.  The day had warmed up nicely so we launched the dinghy and rode around the nearby canals – Maderia Beach still seems to have a good number of modest-sized canal-front houses with lots of character – a bit of 1950’s & 60’s ‘old Florida’ style. After loading the dinghy back on Sea Shanty, we hit the pavement again and walked another good stretch to play mini golf.  Along the way we encountered an open house and a Daiquiri bar. We enjoyed both – the house was over-priced but the Daiquiri bar was a nice stop with a huge selection of frozen concoctions and the loudest Zac Brown tribute band any of us had ever heard.  With drinks gone, a quick game of arcade basketball, and our ears buzzing, we continued our trek to Smuggler’s Cove mini golf.   Smuggler’s Cove did not disappoint. It is a well-kept Pirate-themed course with a gator feeding station.  We, of course, had to buy gator food and feed them.  After golf we called an Uber to take us to a taco place back at the John’s Pass Boardwalk.  Our driver (we’ll just call him “dude”) was a transplant from southern California – we deduced that he must not get out much since he didn’t know where anything was around Madeira Beach.  He dropped us off but there was no taco place to be found.  No problem, we simply walked back to the Mad Beach Brewing Company and loaded up with fried pickles, sliders and, yes, tacos.  On the way back to the boat, the boys entertained themselves playing the standard bar pastime game of ‘hook & ring’ located in front of the candy shop that the girls were visiting. It was another busy day of helping the local economy. 

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Monday, March 2^nd. Our friends departed bright and early in the morning while we waited for the toilet technician to arrive. He replaced our pump and everything looked good to go. Lynn did multiple loads of laundry, and after lunch we got down to the business of changing the two fuel filters on the boat motor (required every 250 hours of use).  As we completed the fuel filter change, we realized that the toilet had a slow leak as water had puddled on the floor. Bob did some troubleshooting and discovered the fresh water clamp needed tightening.  Lynn biked to the Winn Dixie for some light provisioning.

Tuesday, March 3^rd. We woke to find another small puddle at the base of the toilet. This discovery delayed our planned departure from Madeira Beach. The technician came back to the boat and worked for a while and suggested that we watch it for a few hours to see if it leaked again. Taking advantage of this extra time in Madeira Beach, we biked to VIP Mexican Grill for lunch. A hole-in-the-wall joint with great food.  We continued biking through the neighborhoods on Treasure Island and Madeira Beach after lunch.  Based on our observations over the past couple of days, we need to describe Madeira Beach:  it’s as if the glitziness of old Miami had a drunken one night stand with the raw funkiness of Carolina Beach, NC; and Madeira Beach is the resulting love child of this encounter…lots of vintage FL interspersed with a mix of newer stuff.  Kinda fun.  Sadly, our toilet had continued to leak while we were out – thinking that the leak was at the connection between the pump and toilet bowl, we rode to the local hardware store for some waterproof pumping grease in preparation for the technician’s return Wednesday morning.

Wednesday, March 4^th. The toilet tech returned bright and early. He completely removed the toilet from the boat and re-installed the pump with the waterproof grease.  With repairs complete and no obvious leaks, we prepped the boat and were underway for Sarasota by 10am.  Our Tampa Bay crossing was very choppy as we headed into the 14 mph SE wind. We anchored off the ICW in a canal behind Otter Key. We were the only boat in this tiny secluded anchorage and enjoyed the serenity.

Friday, February 21^st.  We woke up to a chilly but sunny morning in Tarpon Springs – a blue jeans day.  We were experiencing strong northerly winds so the tide was especially low – we probably had just enough water under the keel to float.   We unpacked the bikes and pedaled off to the Safford House, a restored home from the late 1800s and the only historic home open to the public in Tarpon Springs.  After a thorough tour from a volunteer tour guide who knew just about everything to do with the house and old Tarpon Springs, we headed into the historic downtown area for lunch; yes, Greek again.  Afterwards it was a short bike ride to the Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum which had some interesting displays about the sponge diving industry and an old documentary film about sponge diving.  Next was a longer bike ride to Lowes for toilet seat hinges – one of the hinges on our marine toilet had broken and we learned that you can’t generally buy just a hinge – you have to buy the whole assembly. The marine toilet manufacturer only sells the complete seat & lid set at a cost of $67, so we bought a $7 toilet seat at Lowes, removed its hinges and used them to replace our cracked ones.…toilet fixed; $60 saved.  To round out our outing we also picked up a few of our weightier provisions (beer and coke) before returning to the boat.  Back on board we enjoyed left over Greek from dinner the previous night and watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” to keep the theme going.

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Saturday, February 22^nd.  After breakfast on board, Lynn biked to a local Yoga studio for a class while Bob remained stayed behind doing boat chores.  We met some old Navy friends who live in the area for lunch.  We hadn’t seen them since the early 1990s so it was reunion long overdue.  After lunch and saying good bye to our friends we returned to the boat.

Sunday, February 23^rd.   The winds were calming and starting to shift back to the south, bringing much welcome warmer weather for the day.  Lynn attended the Unitarian Church service and Bob remained on board completing the boat chore list.  We enjoyed another Greek lunch and happened upon an open house at a lovely restored cottage right on the Tarpon Spring Bayou. We then biked for groceries, dropped them off at the boat and continued biking through the neighborhood surrounding a couple of the bayous whose warmer waters make them popular winter homes to Florida’s manatees.  After all that exertion, we refreshed ourselves by sampling a couple of local beers at 2 Frogs Brewery before moving to the Tarpon Taproom for dinner.  Back on the boat we settled down to watch “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” to close out our Greek-themed visit to Tarpon Springs.

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Monday, February 24^th.  We had sunny skies and warm temps in the morning.  We planned to leave the slip later in the morning due to low tide and close quarters – once the fishing charter boat that was catty-corner to us left around 11am, we had more maneuvering room in our tight little corner of the marina.  We got underway around noon with no drama and proceeded out to the Gulf via the Anclote River.  We proceeded south and anchored just south of Clearwater for the night with a plan to take a slip the next day at the nearby Clearwater Harbor Marina so we could meet an old friend for lunch on Wednesday.

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Tuesday, February 25^th.   We hoisted the anchor around 9:30am and by 10:30am we were in our slip in Clearwater.  We rinsed the boat, ate lunch and then walked into downtown Clearwater.  Since the Church of Scientology headquarters was only a couple of blocks from the marina, we thought it was a unique opportunity to see them up close and personal at their advertised information center.  We entered the headquarters building and were greeted by a couple of young people at the reception desk who quickly and politely escorted us out of the building and pointed out their Information Center down the street.  The information center had half a dozen video kiosks dedicated to L.R. Hubbard (founder), Scientology and its mission.  The information given on L.R. Hubbard was interesting but the rest of the information given on Scientology was a mile wide and an inch deep; as if they purposely gave as little information as possible forcing you to seek a personal interaction for anything of detail.  All in all, it was an interesting and free diversion for a half an hour.  We meandered along to the modern public library whose periodical reading area overlooks the waterway and marina.  We enjoyed a few magazines and the impressive view before walking around the corner to a pizza place that happened to be celebrating their 1-year anniversary – with everything on the menu 25% off. Great pizza and decadent chocolate cake!  We arrived back at Sea Shanty just as it began to rain…as predicted.

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Wednesday, February 26^th.   It was a long hike to the bathhouse at the Clearwater Harbor Marina, so after showers and breakfast it was nearly time to meet our old friend from our years in Germany for lunch.  The weather was expected to be windy with some rain as a front moved in and we discussed taking raingear, but decided not to.  It was fun to catch up with our old friend and meet his new wife.  Both are working in real estate in the Clearwater area and really enjoy it.  The bottom fell out while we were with them and continued to worsen throughout the afternoon.  We returned to the boat in a steady rain, dried off and wished we’d taken that raingear!  We huddled aboard and made preps to leave in the morning.

Thursday, February 27^th.  The rain had stopped by morning but the wind was still rather stiff from the north.  Considering the vicious wind and strong current, we came up with a plan to get out the slip with the help of the dockmaster.  We backed out easily, but as we motored out of the marina, we realized that we had left our 50A – 30A splitter on the electrical pedestal.  At $250 to replace, we quickly got the attention of the dockmaster and after two attempts to approach the face dock, we were able to retrieve the splitter and proceed to Madeira Beach.  Right around noon we docked at Madeira Bay Docks very close to a “resorty” area called John’s Pass so we could meet some friends from the DC area.  They scheduled a work trip to Tampa to coincide with our trip and we’ll play with them on Saturday and Sunday.  Bob walked down to the local VFW post to bond with the vets and Lynn read onboard.  Late in the afternoon we discovered that our electric toilet’s pump had failed.  It was too late to order a new part that day, but we were able to contact a technician and schedule him for Monday morning with hopes that we’d be able to have a part delivered by then.  Happy to be in a marina with a relatively short walk to the bathhouse and restroom!

Friday, February 14^th.   We woke up to a foggy morning which quickly burnt away for an uneventful transit from Englewood to Sarasota.  We could tell we were getting closer to a big city – more boat traffic and bigger motor yachts.  We were able to call ahead and reserve a mooring ball.  The mooring field (about 50 moorings) is owned by the city but managed by Marina Jacks, a high-end marina complex with 3 restaurants, several yacht brokerages, boat rentals and 2 dinner/sunset cruise boats.  Before taking our mooring, we stopped to pump out our waste tank and take on water.  We were luck to be assigned a mooring ball closest to the marina (and dinghy dock).  We found the mooring to be in great shape with a nice long pendant that we could easily pick up and tie to.  After settling in, we dinghied into the marina for showers and walked along the waterfront park to a rustic tiki bar overlooking the mooring field.  After refreshments and chips & salsa, it was a short walk to Whole Foods for some minor provisioning.  We arrived back on the boat just before a short rain shower – timing is everything!  With the marina right in the heart of Sarasota, everything seems within walking distance, so we will leave the bicycles aboard for once.

Saturday, February 15^th.  A beautiful day to visit the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens – we prepared picnic sandwiches with plans to enjoy lunch in the waterfront park before heading to the garden.  We walked over to the Tiki bar again to grab some drinks, but unfortunately when we sat down in the park, we discovered that instead of bringing our sandwiches, we had picked up the wrong bag from the refrigerator, and all we had were 4 slices of bread. Oops. Too far to dinghy back, so lunch will have to be at the botanical garden… Not wanting to walk around with a partial loaf of bread all day, we gave the bread to a homeless guy in the park… good dead done.   After paying admission at the garden, we went straight to a Spanish tapas food truck for lunch. Deliciosa! The gardens were nicely laid out with walking trails and Salvatore Dali themed exhibits throughout. We had no problem killing several hours there.  After the gardens we walked into town and visited the other kind of garden – a beer garden –  before going by the Whole Foods for some more light provisioning.  We picked up a salad to round out our dinner of forgotten sandwiches back aboard Sea Shanty. 

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Sunday, February 16^th.  A low-key day…  we enjoyed pancakes aboard before heading off to the 11am service at Church of the Redeemer, an Anglican Church, but close enough to our usual Episcopalian routine.  A lovely old building and amazing music. After church it was a short walk to lunch back at the local beer garden, followed by some magazine reading time at the local public library and another short provisioning run to Whole Foods… all within a few blocks of each other.  Dinner was aboard Sea Shanty.

Monday, February 17^th.   This was a work and play day…  We set out around 11:00am to the marina to do laundry.  While the clothes did their thing, we enjoyed drinks and apps at the marina bar where we set up the laptop and typed away at the blog…  Back on Sea Shanty we made plans to eat at Owen’s Fish Camp.  A local favorite hangout that doesn’t take reservations.  Long lines were expected so we set out around 4pm, got there and put our name on the list around 5pm and had over an hour wait.  We enjoyed listening to the blues band in their eclectic outdoor space while we waited for our table.  After waiting that long for dinner, we wanted more than fried fish and fries, so we went for the platter of grilled grouper with brown butter hollandaise sauce that was to die for. A leisurely stroll through town back to the dinghy polished off a memorable evening.

Tuesday, February 18^th.  With our time in Sarasota up, we got underway from the mooring ball at 8am and proceeded to the fuel dock to take on water and pump out our waste tank.  The weather was sunny and calm – perfect for crossing the open waters of Tampa Bay.   We entered the bay just before lunch and paralleled the Sunshine Skyway bridge for a couple of miles before anchoring in Boca Ciega Bay just south of St Petersburg Beach around 1:30. We were the only boat in this wide open anchorage with the exception of a couple of sailing charters passing through to take tourists out to see the dolphins.  We really enjoy these shorter daily hops which give us some time to simply unwind out in the cockpit, read, listen to music and watch the birds, dolphins and other boaters around us.

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Wednesday, February 19^th.  We woke to an overcast day with light wind and got underway around 9am.  Our planned destination was Clearwater but we decided to proceed about 30 minutes further north to Dunedin since the weather favored anchoring for the night.  The transit was easy with quite a few colorful old Florida bungalows lining the waterway. We dropped the hook next to the Dunedin municipal marina just before 2pm and quickly launched the dinghy so we could explore the town. Small town Dunedin is laidback with lots of niche restaurants and a vibrant brewing community –  at least 4 breweries within a 2 block radius that we saw.  After sampling several breweries, we did some light provisioning at the local market and headed back to Sea Shanty where we enjoyed dinner aboard and made plans for Tarpon Springs.

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Thursday, February 20^th.  Another overcast morning with calm winds.  Just as we were getting underway, we were inundated with about 20 Opti sailboats from the local sailing club holding an informal regatta.  We did a good job of staying out of their way and keeping our wake to a minimum as we passed.  The transit to Tarpon Springs took us into the Gulf of Mexico briefly before entering the Anclote River.  Winds remained light and we rode a flood current into the river.  As we meandered up the river for a couple of miles, we were met by passing tour boats taking smiling tourists to the outer islands for shelling and dolphin watching.  We approached Tarpon Springs City Docks, right downtown next to the Sponge Docks, and were greeted by Mick, the dockmaster.  We quickly tied to their new floating docks and, between Mick and the lady from the visitor’s center next door, had what was probably the best marina & town orientation that we’ve ever had.  We took advantage of the warm weather to wash the boat (chores first!) and then ambled down the street to a taproom to sample local beer – and then around the block to enjoy some much-anticipated Greek cuisine.  We were not disappointed! The appetizer plate of grilled squid had WAY more squid than two people could ever hope to eat (according to Lynn….)

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Friday, February 7^th.  We woke after a howling night of 25kt winds.  Although we were quite protected in our marina, we still rocked a good bit since we were in a basin with hard walls all around – like being in a bathtub.  The winds were down to 15kts by 9am as Sea Shanty and Katmat (our new Ranger Tug friends from Chicago) got underway from Fisherman’s Village Marina. After a quick 13 mile transit south we pulled into Burnt Store Marina and joined 28 other Ranger Tugs for the annual Southwest Florida Ranger Tug Rendezvous.  We had made prior arrangements with a diver to clean the bottom and check our zincs, and he was on the dock and ready to work when we arrived. After lunch and cleaning the boat, we walked the docks and met many fellow tug owners.   We enjoyed an afternoon social hour and then a potluck dinner.  From what we could tell, it looked to be a fun weekend!

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Saturday, February 8^th.  After a catered breakfast buffet, we jumped right into the schedule of events.  First was a presentation by the local Garmin rep on all the new goodies.  Then the Ranger Tug factory rep went from boat to boat working on anything the owner’s needed.  Luckily, we didn’t need any work, but we still learned a lot.  After a catered lunch it was time for a presentation about “propping”… proper pitch and how to remove and install your prop.  Lynn and I had signed up for the corn hole tournament which directly followed the seminars, and after several ‘grueling’ matches, we ended up 2^nd!  That evening there was another cocktail social hour that included a raffle.  Each boat brought a raffle item and was given 10 tickets to bid for any item that caught their fancy.  We got lucky and won a set of nautical themed flatware.  Much nicer than the “prisonware” that we originally had on the boat! Following dinner, everyone hung around the docks chatting.

Sunday, February 9^th.  Sunday was a little more relaxed with breakfast and lunch on our own schedule.  The afternoon featured a ‘boat crawl’ –  an opportunity to ‘tour’ other Ranger Tugs to see their creative and practical ideas on how to set up and organize the boat’s interior.  Lynn’s custom hatch covers were a big hit.  After the boat crawl, the itinerary included a blind dinghy race (rowing blindfolded with your spouse giving verbal directions) but since Lynn and I were the only ones to sign up, we won the $50 prize by default. Yay!  After another cocktail social (do you see a theme here?) and pizza dinner, we were all beginning to drag….

Monday, February 10^th.  With the formal close of the rendezvous, several Ranger Tugs got underway in the morning for Cayo Costa State Park.  Sea Shanty and Katmat joined the group for the short transit. After anchoring, we dinghied into the park.  We walked the mile to the Gulf side of the park and did some shelling.  The water was like glass – a little chilly, but it made for good wading.  We opted for a tram ride back to the park dock.  Once back on the boats we dinghied around the anchorage to visit the other tugs for final goodbyes and promises to keep in touch.  Sea Shanty had dinner aboard Katmat and made plans to move a little way north to Boca Grande in the morning.

Tuesday, February 11^th.  Sea Shanty and Katmat got underway around 9:30am and proceeded about 3 miles north to Boca Grande.  Boca Grande is a ‘swanky’ residential community on Gasparilla Island.  We anchored in a small canal and did a ‘med moor’ against the mangroves… that is we dropped the anchor, backed the boats toward the mangroves and used a stern line to tie off to a mangrove branch.  This was our first attempt at this and we’ll just say that it was not our most graceful moment – and leave it at that!! After both boats were settled, we dinghied across the canal for lunch and rented a golf cart to explore the island.  We made it to the bottom of the island to the old lighthouse/museum and learned how this area really took off when phosphate was discovered up in the headwaters of Charlotte Harbor.  Gasparilla Island was used as a loading point for phosphate ships.  After a small provision run at the local ‘fancy’ grocery, the men of Sea Shanty and Katmat headed back to the boats with the goods and the women walked the downtown area.  The men of Sea Shanty and Katmat didn’t spend much time on their own boats because they were invited to hang out in the cockpit of a neighboring 44’ sailboat named Skye.  As the women were dinghying back from town, they were intercepted and invited aboard also. We had an interesting visit full of tall tales and other ramblings with the nice couple aboard Skye.  We eventually said our goodbyes and headed back to our respective boats.  Katmat came to us for one last dinner aboard –   tomorrow we part ways as they head back to Ft Myers before flying back to Chicago. 

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Wednesday, February 12^th.  We untied from the mangroves and got underway around 9am, proceeding north in the Gulf ICW.  After just a couple of hours we dropped the anchor off of Englewood, FL.  We took advantage of of a lazy afternoon at anchor to replace the impeller on the generator.  We think this will fix our overtemp issue on the generator exhaust –  we are still having intermittent issues with this. The replacement was accomplished with minimal fuss due to the tug’s easy access to the raw water pump.  We relaxed aboard for the rest of the afternoon.

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Thursday, February 13^th.  We dinghied in to the Indian Mound Park day dock in the morning and biked to the local farmers market. For such a small town, this was by far one of the most impressive markets we’ve seen on this trip. Multiple blocks of veggies and food vendors – and we’re beginning to see some of the same vendors at the markets as we progress inch by inch along the FL coast.   After the market it was off to Great Clips for much needed haircuts.  Lunch was at a funky eatery called the Mango Bistro (recommended by our new boater friend in Naples).  Afterwards we had a quick visit to the local library to catch up on some magazine reading and then it was off to the Tiki Bar at Royal Palm Marina.  This quirky waterfront bar and eatery reminded us of one of our favorite local hangouts in Southport.   Back aboard Sea Shanty we tested the generator and all looked good.  We made plans to leave in the morning for the Sarasota City Mooring Field.