Sarasota to Saint Petersburg - February 19-23, 2016

February 19, 2016

Slipped our mooring shortly after 8:00 and stopped at the marina dock for water and dingy gasoline before heading north.  Sunny but cool, NE wind at 10-15.  We had a very nice ride of 11 miles except for the large powerboats going too fast; not displaying much seamanship or courtesy.   We anchored about 11:00 west of Jewfish Key just inside Longboat pass (north end of Longboat Key).  We dingyed to the beach for a walk and Nancy got her sunning time.  Very pleasant, relaxing afternoon.  This area is surrounded by more modest single family homes, with not a high rise condo in sight.  There is a sandbar just north of us that is a local hangout, with 6 or 8 boats.  If we are going to be around a built up area, this is one of the best we have come across.  We like it and will stay at least through tomorrow.  We dingyed over to the Mar Vista restaurant for drinks but the bar was so packed we could not get in so we had happy hour in Dubhe’s cockpit.  We are having issues with battery capacity and our refrigerator.  After about 3 hours of charging with the engine, there was insufficient power to start the refrigerator later in the afternoon.  I had to start the gasoline generator which I don’t like, primarily due

Behind Jewfish Key

to the noise (although it is relatively quiet for a gas gen).  It looks like we have a combination of issues; inefficient refrigerator, batteries losing capacity, and it is likely that the engine charging system is not good with larger battery banks.  It looks like we may have go to ice in our cooler.  

Longboat Key

February 20, 2016

A “stay day” at a place frequented by locals. There is a sandbar here and being Saturday, there are a couple of dozen boats coming to the sandbar only a 100 yards or so from Dubhe, and dozens more boats just riding by.  It is not a place I would like to be for a long time but interesting to people watch.  I did a little fishing and had a few strikes by small fish, but no keepers.  I talk to people fishing whenever I can, and they all complain that the water is too cold, but fishermen always complain about something when they are not catching fish.  We took a long dingy ride (2+ miles) to Bradenton Beach, walked around a little, and had a beer at a café on the water.  I like this place.  It is more like an old beach town, and has no high rise condos like most of the beaches around here.  The only problem is that there are very many people, and most are old people who have moved here from colder climates.  The weather is almost perfect except still a little cool for me, and way too cold to get into the water.

February 21, 2016

Nancy’s Birthday.  I had nothing planned and no gift; I really should have done better. There is nothing of significance that I have accomplished in my life that I could have done without Nancy.  Sometimes we seem to fall into this mode of often arguing, like a stereotypical “old” couple, and we really need to concentrate on changing that.  We departed the anchorage about 9:00 and went to the “day dock” at Bradenton Beach.  Most towns along the water, including Beaufort, have a day dock.  That is a place where you can tie up for free for a few hours to run errands, shop, etc. but you are not allowed to stay overnight, hence the name.  We caught the free trolly to a hardware store for some items and back to Dubhe.  We got away from the dock about 11:30, anchoring off de Soto Point in the Manatee River near Bradenton.  This is a national park commemorating the landing of Hernando de Soto, the explorer, in Florida.  We took a short walk around but will return tomorrow for a short film and more exploring.  Steak for supper and a very nice evening.  I am now reading a series of books by Randy Wayne White that are suspense/thrillers taking place along the west coast of Florida centered on Sanibel Island.  They are not high literature, but easy and entertaining reads.  Had to run the generator for 2-3 hours.

Longbeach Key

de Soto Point

February 22, 2016

A very quiet night, and we slept late again (8:00). Stay day at de Soto point.  We took it easy in the morning then to the visitor’s center for a very good film about de Soto, and a long walk around the grounds.  I think that today, more accurate histories of early explorers are given than when I was a kid learning about them in school.  I don’t actually remember, but I expect that de Soto’s exploration in the southeast US was depicted as adventuresome and beneficial, and the man was brave, bringing Christianity to the New World.  More accurately, he was driven only by riches and power.  He financed the venture himself and was driven by the expectation of finding large quantities of gold.  He was also promised governorship of Cuba when he returned.  They found no gold, de Soto died before the end of the journey, they killed, enslaved, and even tortured thousands of native Americans.  He also had 12 priests along to convert the natives and bless whatever he was up to.  Brutality in the name of God; some things haven’t changed.  The site also has a huge concrete cross erected by the Catholic Church in memory of the original priests that came with de Soto.  Another strong cold front with associated storms and wind is predicted for the next few days so we will head to Saint Petersburg tomorrow.

February 23, 2016

Raised anchor and departed de Soto point anchorage at 7:15 for a short, 18 mile trip to Saint Petersburg where we picked up a mooring at the municipal marina mooring field.  We passed under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  For those who may be too young or so old you have forgotten, a ship struck the original bridge in 1980, causing the collapse of 1300 feet of the span.  Several cars and a Grayhound bus plummeted into Tampa Bay with the loss of 35 people.  Much of the time cruising, we enjoy anchoring out and away from the crowds and often away from anybody, but in Saint Petersburg, we are on a mooring just a few yards from downtown.  It’s fun to be in places like this sometimes.  There is much to do, eat, drink, and spend money.  We are expecting the front to pass through early tomorrow morning but should be secure here.  We finally gave up and turned the refrigerator off.  At least for a while, we will try to get by with a cooler and ice.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Dubhe looking from park downtown Saint Petersburg