Sarasota - Cayo Costa - Captiva, March 13-19

March 13, 2016

So long Sarasota

We slipped our mooring in the dark and headed to the Marina Jacks fuel dock for pumpout, water, and dingy gasoline, then departed for Cayo Costa about 7:30.  Because of the daylight savings time change last night, sunrise was an hour later today.  We had a long run of 51 miles which was fine for most of the way.  Every time we travel on a Saturday or Sunday, I swear that I will not do it again, but today is Sunday and here we go into the mass of power boats driven by people who really don’t have a good understanding of what they are doing or don’t care.  A typical day dodging boats and being rolled by huge wakes.  The wind continued to increase during from the south during the day.  The official marine forecast said south at 10 with a light chop on inland waters.  In reality, by time we had to cross Boca Grande Pass, it was south southeast at 16 with gusts to 24 so we were head into a heavy chop.  No problem, but it slowed our progress and soaked us in salt water.  We dropped the hook at Cayo Costa next to our friends (Michael and Suzie) on Imajine at 4:00, just in time to get cleaned up for happy hour.

More bridges

March 14, 2016

Good night in an excellent anchorage with good bottom and wind protection.  Late morning, we headed to the beach with Michael and Suzie.  I had enough of the sun after an hour or so, so I returned to Dubhe for lunch, nap, and a few chores.  Later in the afternoon, Nancy and I took our dingy (Nancy has named Little Dipper) to the beach to clean the bottom.  We had Michael and Suzie over for happy hour, then supper on Imajine.  It’s fun to have good people to spend time with. Nancy has named our dingy "Little Dipper". (Dubhe is the pointer star on the big dipper).

Little Dipper is serving us well.

March 15, 2016

Woke up to heavy fog which burned off by late morning.  Michael and Suzie invited us to go to Cabbage Key with them on their dingy for lunch.  I haven’t read the details of this place but I am told by Nancy that it is the place where Jimmy Buffett was inspired to write Cheesburger in Paradise.  I am not sure about that, but apparently a lot of people have heard it because the place was packed, with a long waiting line by time we left, (I’m glad we came early) with tourists arriving by every kind of boat imaginable.  It was ok, but no French fries...done once, no need to go back.   A lazy afternoon, so I decided to do a little fishing.  First, I came upon a small “pond” within the mangroves with several manatees, so I went back to get Nancy so she could see them.  We counted at least 8 or 9 manatees.  I took Nancy back to Dubhe then continued fishing.  I was trolling for spotted seatrout and within a minute or two I hooked one of the larger ones I have ever caught, and although I had very light tackle and no net, I managed to get it into the dingy!  I didn’t measure it but I knew it was well over the minimum limit of 15 inches.  I think I will do a little more fishing tomorrow.  We had Michael and Suzie over for dinner of pan fried trout and yellow rice and black beans which they brought. A great day cruising.

Manatees are hard to photograph. (there's one here)
Only their noses come out of the water for a moment.

Nice Trout

March 16, 2016

Went fishing early, before breakfast and caught three trout right away, but one was too small.  I took Michael fishing later but no luck.  Nancy and Suzie hung out on the beach while I helped Michael clean the bottom of his dingy.  A relaxed day cruising.

More trout

More beach

March 17, 2016

Saint Patrick’s day but I had no green to wear, oh well no one cares out here.  Went fishing and picked up a couple more trout Had fresh fried trout sandwiches for lunch.  Nancy and I took a long walk on the beach.  Happy hour on the flybridge with Michael and Suzie.  The weather was great; sunny and warm but not hot.  Another perfect day cruising.

I love selfies on the beach.

March 18, 2016

We had thought we would leave today, but stayed because it is just too good.  Weather is coming this weekend so we are planning our strategy.  Nancy did not feel well, so she took it easy.  I read most of the day.  I am really getting into the Doc Ford novels by Randy Wayne White; 4 down and 19 to go!

We don't always eat fish.

Dubhe and Imajine anchored at Cayo Costa

March 19, 2016

We reluctantly departed our anchorage in Cayo Costa about 9:30 in the company of Imajine.  Our planned destination was Ding Darling State Park at Sanibel Island, but as often happens, the weather changes our plans.  About an hour or so later, a strong line of thunderstorms showed up on radar, moving in our direction.  A Coast Guard VHF broadcast said that the line was moving at 35 knots (40 mph) and had wind speeds of 35 knots.  A quick calculation showed that it would catch us before we could make our intended anchorage, so we decided to duck into an anchorage at Captiva Island.  At one time, we had planned to go there, but for a myriad of reasons, had decided to skip it.  One reason was a shallow entrance, but that turned out not to be an issue.  Shortly after we anchored, the line of thunderstorms weakened and slowed so about an hour and a half later we had some moderate wind and rain.  When the rain passed, we went ashore with Michael and Suzie for a little sightseeing, drinks, and dinner (including a visit to Doc Ford’s bar).  A very pleasant evening…glad we stopped here.

Squall line - not nearly as bad as it looks.

Office at Jensen's Marina, Captiva.
(a location in Doc Ford novels)

Sarasota, March 8-12, 2016

March 8, 2016

Well yesterday, we headed out about 11:30 but when we got close to Tampa Bay, we had more time than I had expected and the weather was good so we went on to Bradenton Beach.  Actually, we anchored across Anna Maria Sound, next to Cortez, Florida.  This anchorage is more exposed than I like, but it is the best we can do.  Once the wind comes around to SE, we get some chop, but the bottom is good and access to land is good.  

Crossing Tampa Bay Again

Great Lunch

Today, we dingyed over to Annie’s Bait and Tackle in Cortez for lunch.  Nancy had grouper sandwich and I had grouper tacos.  It was real grouper and excellent.  Then we left the dingy at Annie’s and visited the Florida Maritime Museum which was well worth the time.  It is small and concentrates on Cortez, but it is free.  Cortez is a classic old fishing town, that looks like it has for many years.  There is very little new development, and no high rise condos.  In the museum, we learned that the people of Cortez have intentionally endeavored to keep Cortez like it is and not be destroyed by developers.  Good for them!  I felt puny and tired today so when we returned, we stayed on Dubhe and watched another thrift store movie “Network” from 1976.  Wow, look up “The Howard Beale Show”!

March 9, 2016

Inflated dingy is a good thing to have.

Kinda windy last night and when the current was running against the current, it got a little bumpy, but we stayed put and I actually slept well.  Before breakfast, Nancy noticed that one side of our inflatable dingy was deflated.  I had been in the cockpit earlier but hadn’t noticed it.  This of course is a big deal, as our dingy is our only transportation off of Dubhe (unless we are at a dock).  First, I took the motor off, then inflated it and looked for leaks but could find none.  Throughout the day I kept checking but it was still tight.  Now I know that there must be a leak for the air to get out and leaks do not repair themselves.  The best I can guess is that we somehow bumped or otherwise inadvertently loosened the fill valve and when I re-inflated it, I of course tightened it properly.  Another disaster averted!  I took Nancy to the beach for a few hours and I tried fishing around the pier, hoping for sheepshead…no luck.  Overall, a good day.

Lunch on board.

March 10, 2016

So long Bradenton Beach.

We raised the anchor about 9:30 after a leisurely breakfast.  No hurry, we are only going 14 miles to Sarasota.  The wind was SSE at 15 and choppy in the anchorage, but as we entered Sarasota Bay it was rough.  I expected it to be choppy but not 3-4’ very steep, close together seas.  We slogged ahead, giving Dubhe a saltwater drenching from the heavy spray.  It took us about 3 hours to make the distance but picked up a good, close mooring at Sarasota, Marina Jacks, where we stayed on the way north.  One of our first chores was to shower and get ice.  I have been using ice in our cooler, rather than our refrigerator for the past couple of weeks.   As long as it is available, it is not very inconvenient and a lot better than running my generator every day.  In fact, we were at Bradenton Beach three days and I never needed to charge batteries.  We took a walk around downtown and made happy hour at Marina Jacks.  Our supper was beer and (cheap) bar food.  This is one of Nancy’s favorites.

March 11, 2016

Riding the bus. Dubhe is down there somewhere.

We wanted to do some more exploring, so we left early and took an Uber ride across the bay Saint Armands Circle on Saint Armands Key, a very nice shopping/restaurant area originally developed by John Ringling in 1926.  Today, it is full of classy (too much so for me) shops.  We had lunch at the Columbia Restaurant; very good but pricy.  Then we took a bus north through Longboat Key to Anna Maria Island and Bradenton Beach (where we had just come from).  After seeing an area from the water, it is fun to sometimes see it also from the land side.  It was a long day so we had happy hour on Dubhe and light supper.

As we were walking through the marina, I could not help but look at “stickers” for new boats.  I am astounded at the cost, but more so, the notion that someone may borrow money for 20 years to purchase one.  In my opinion, this is another sign of the greed sickness that is rampant in this country.

Nice Boat! The sticker says $1391 per month for 20 YEARS!

March 12, 2016

Laundry and shopping day again.  We had lunch with a friend who lives in Sarasota, who then drove us to Publix.  I don’t remember the last time we made it to a real grocery store with a car, and we expect to be away from “civilization” for over a week, so this was a big haul.  The problem now is to get everything in our cooler.  Before we leave, we will need to take Dubhe into the fuel dock at the marina for a pumpout, to fill the water tanks, get ice, and dingy gasoline.  I wanted to do it this afternoon rather in the morning, but the wind is blowing 15-20 from the longest fetch, kicking up quite a sea.  There is so much motion, you have to be holding onto something whenever moving around on board.  This is not a good time to tie the dingy to the mooring and move into the marina (good size waves in the marina too), so we will do it tomorrow before setting out.  Tonight, daylight savings time comes in, so we can’t get as early start as we would like, and tomorrow is expected to be a long day (51 miles) to Cayo Costa.

Good Bye Sarasota.

Tarpon Springs to Gulfport - March 5-7, 2016

March 5, 2016.

Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks

We left Tarpon Springs about 8:00 after taking a short trip along in front of the sponge docks.  About 10:00 we stopped at a small island “Three Rooker Bar”, dropped the hook and walked the beach for a while.  This is a beautiful small island with clear water, sugar sand, and lots of wildlife.  At first we did not think we could stop because the wind and waves were on the beach but they eased off a little and we were able to get just around the end for protection.  

Very nice, but it is Sunday and more boats began to arrive.  After lunch we headed on south to our next stop.  Cruising through the Clearwater, Florida area, especially on Sunday is kind of like boating around Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beach when it comes to shit head big boat operators.  Another day where seamanship and courtesy seem to be lost forever.  At one point, as a large boat was heading toward us on plane, another huge center console with 900 hp (3X300 outboards) passed us only a few yards on our port side, between us and the oncoming boat, at high speed.  Later, further down the waterway, I saw this boat tied to a dock with four young people no more than 20 years old on board drinking beer.  Let’s see, four teenagers, beer, and 900 horsepower.  There are so many things wrong with this picture, I can’t begin.  I wish I had some pictures, but I was too busy avoiding crashes. We anchored in a very protected “urban” canal area of Redington Shores about 4:30.  

Three Rooker Bar

Dubhe anchored at Three Rooker Bar

Dubhe anchored at Three Rooker Bar

March 6, 2016.

We had planned to stay at Redington Shores for another day, but dingy access to land is not as good as we thought, and high winds are forecasted for later in the week, so we decided to move on so we could cross Tampa Bay ahead of the weather.  At about 12:30 we stopped at the Gulfport Florida Municipal Marina for fuel, propane, and pumpout, but what the hell, we decided to stay overnight too.  Gulfport is another one of the old Florida towns that we love (like New Smyrna, Tarpon Springs, Cocoa, etc) that do not seem to be ruined by high rise condos and too many people.  It is a regular person type place, not glitzy.  The marina is very nice and reasonable cost as well.  We spent the afternoon in the “downtown” area of Gulfport, along the water…found a bar that had 16 oz Rolling Rock for $2.00, my kind of place.  For dinner, we had leftover Greek food which turned out to be better than the first time.

Gulfport, Florida

Best deal of the cruise

March 7, 2016.

Today we will go a fairly short distance to an anchorage closer to Tampa Bay so we can get an early start to cross in the morning.  Since it is short ride of just a few miles, we have a morning to take care of some business (like this blog, email, etc.) then we will leave by noon.  The plan is to get across the bay before the wind picks up too much.  Like any large body of relatively shallow water, a nasty chop can build up quickly.  We plan to spend tomorrow night in Bradenton, Fl.  I am posting this before the day is done, so next time I get to wifi, there could be changes! When cruising, we have to be flexible and change plans as conditions or opportunities change, and weather is generally the biggest factor.

Caladesi to Tarpon Springs - March 2-4, 2016

March 2, 2016. 

Our third day at Caladesi and we could stay longer.  It has the convenience of a dock, water, electricity, but otherwise it is like being anchored away from civilization.  After a slow start to the morning, Nancy took a turn on the beach and I varnished a portion of the port cap rail.  As I have said, cruising is about slowing down and we have managed to do that well.  However, I get uncomfortable if I don’t accomplish something occasionally, which is why I brought a can of varnish.  Somehow, Nancy hurt her knee yesterday so other than one trip to the beach, she is lying low.  I took a long walk on the beach to the north end where there was no one but lots of birds. 

I was talking to our boat neighbor and he asked me about the birds that I saw on my walk, kind, so and so, etc.  I love nature but I have never been particularly fond of birds and have never taken the time to learn their names.  The most effort I have taken to identify birds is when I am duck hunting.  My favorite bird is the brown Pelican.  I would love to be able to fly, and dive into the water like the pelican.  We watched one of our thrift store movies, “Million Dollar Baby” with Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hilary Swank (she won the Best Actress Academy Award).  Not my typical kind of movie but very good.

March 3, 2016.

We departed about 7:00 so we could take advantage of the high tide when leaving Caladesi.  To get to, and out of the harbor, you have to cross about a mile of flats that is very shallow.  Most of the time we had only 2 to 3 feet of water under Dubhe.  It was a nice ride of about 16 miles to Tarpon Springs.  There are no suitable anchorages close enough to the downtown area, so we took a slip at Turtle Cove Marina. 

We spent the afternoon walking around town sponge shopping.  Took in a short movie on the sponge fishing industry, had drinks at a bar on the water, and dinner at the Mykonos Restaurant.  The food was excellent, but as usual we ate way too much.  The downtown area is full of Greek Restaurants but I guess we chose this one because we have been to the Island of Mykonos in Greece…one of our best trips from long ago.

March 4, 2016.

Work day; (at least in the morning) laundry, pumpout, and fill water tanks.  More sponge shopping, so if you are close to us, you may get a sponge as a gift.  Sightseeing, and of course more Greek food.  Tarpon Springs, is our turn around point for this 2016 cruise. Dubhe has traveled 833 miles since leaving Beaufort on January 13.  We had lunch in the tourist district (sponge docks), after which I walked about 2 miles to Winn Dixie.  Along the way, I got to see more of the real Tarpon Springs which is a very nice place; not so much the typical larger Florida town.  I walked by Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and could not resist going in, first just to see, but the place was so awesome that I had to sit down for a few minutes and pray...I have so much to be thankful for.  Tomorrow we begin retracing our path, but not necessarily staying in the same places.  There are areas around Captiva and Sanibel islands and Fort Myers Beach that we skipped and plan to catch on the way back.

Saint Petersburg to Caladesi Island – February 24 – March 1, 2016

February 24, 2016

The wind was quiet last night, but there was a lot of swell coming into the mooring field causing us to roll quite a bit…I didn’t sleep well.  Rain / thunderstorms this morning as predicted, but it turned out to be a very nice afternoon.  After lunch, we went to the boater’s lounge for wifi and showers which took us until 3:00.  We took the trolly several blocks down Central Avenue then walked back, browsing the restaurants and shops.  Stopped at The $5 Drinkery for beers and nachos.  We have been wanting to go out to eat but haven’t found anywhere we liked that was a reasonable price so after our happy hour, we walked to Publix for bread and dessert then back to Dubhe for supper on board.  I was exhausted especially since I didn’t sleep well the night before, so early to bed.  

I haven't said much about bridges, but this part of Florida seems to have more drawbridges than anywhere except Fort Lauderdale to Lake Worth, and they all seem to have clearance of 22' to 26'.  Dubhe needs 27'.  Fortunately, many do not have restrictions and most of the ones that do, will open every 20 minutes.

February 25, 2016

The wind picked up from the northwest (as predicted) but because of the direction, the mooring field was flat.  I slept very well, waking up refreshed to a cool, clear morning.  We dingyed/walked over to the marina office for our mail before breakfast.  Because of the layout, a walk to the marina office is not trivial, probably ½ mile, but it was a very nice walk.  Spent the morning sorting our mail, paying bills, and balancing my checkbook.  Just before lunch we made a visit to the Saint Petersburg History Museum which turned out to be a waste of time and money ($30).  There really wasn’t much there and what was, was not organized well.  The largest display was thousands baseballs signed by almost any person you could think of.  How interesting is rooms full of baseballs?  Nancy found out that at 5:00 on Thursdays, admittance to the Salvador Dali Museum is only $10, so we went.  

Dali Museum - the building is art too.

This painting over 8 feet tall.

What a deal. This was one of the best things we have done on this trip.  The collection is huge, and well displayed.  Dali was quite a guy and I like his off the wall art.  Fantastic.  The only downside to going at 5:00 is that there is not much time, since the museum closes at 7:30.  We left, drained and feet hurting but were hungry so we went to Crowley’s Irish Pub on Central Avenue for great beer and supper.  Tomorrow, we head north.

Skull sodomizes piano

Don't remember the official name, but Lincoln is there.

February 26, 2016

Woke this morning and Nancy said “Why don’t we stay here another day” which surprised me since yesterday, I wanted to stay but Nancy insisted that we move on.  Oh well, it’s fine since the wind is blowing more today than originally predicted.  Dingyed over to the boaters lounge for wifi in the morning.  The only thing I do not like about this mooring field is that I cannot get wifi on the boat.   After lunch we took showers and decided to explore around town until happy hour (which we would partake on Central Ave. again).  But something quite rare for us happened.  Nancy wanted to go by a downtown, indoor shopping area so I of course I went too (reluctantly).  Low and behold, this area was mostly a large movie complex with 20 theaters; not something you see in the inner city very often.  I have been wanting to see Star Wars, The Force Awakens, so that’s what we did!  I don’t remember the last time we went to a movie, but it was a blast.  It was almost dark when we got out so we went back to Dubhe for drinks and spaghetti for dinner.  A very good day!

February 27, 2016

A little rolly in the mooring field last night and cool this morning.  We had heard about the farmer’s market in town near the marina so we decided to do that before leaving.  It was great.  We bought some tomatoes, fresh bread, and fresh eggs.  We slipped the mooring at 9:45, and made our way south then west around the Pinellas Peninsula.  It was quite windy with a moderate sea until we turned west, then anchored in a canal at Pass-a-Grille, (Saint Pete Beach) about 12:30.  We wanted to get on land, but it was too cool and windy to go outside comfortably, so we hung out on Dubhe.  

So long Saint Pete

Hello Pass-a-Grille

Urban anchorage

February 28, 2016  

The wind died during the night, so we slept well.  I had the fresh (farmers market) eggs for breakfast, fried over easy and they were the best I have had in a long time.  The yolks were a deep yellow and they had much more flavor than grocery store eggs.  (You would not appreciate it unless you are a runny yellow egg eater).  We took a long dingy ride exploring the neighborhood this morning then after lunch, we tied up at a wall and walked into the small town; an old beach town, not like the more common high rise Florida landscapes.  An absolutely beautiful day, (especially after yesterday) warm, not a cloud in the sky, and light wind.  We dingyed to the “downtown” area for happy hour at “Sea Critters Café” where we had drinks and our best seafood dinner yet.  This is what cruising is about (being worthless lazy).  Several times during the day, I thought about doing some work like varnishing but it passed quickly.  Just completing this blog has become a lot of work!  Tomorrow to Caladesi Island.

Dingy up bars and restaurants.

It's just too much fun.

February 29, 2016

We brought the anchor aboard about 7:00 and headed north.  Winds are light and temperature mild; the looks of a great day.  As we don’t have a car, land transportation for provisions is always a challenge.  We read that, a few miles along the way, there is a dingy day dock at a McDonalds which is also next door to a Publix.  This would normally require anchoring nearby, putting the motor on the dingy, going to the dingy dock then reverse the process before continuing on.  When we arrived near the dingy dock, we saw a sailboat going in and realized that we could tie Dubhe up there, eliminating the anchoring step.  We made a purchase at McDonalds, primarily so Nancy could get orange juice, then groceries at Publix.  In about half an hour, we were underway again to Caladesi Island, arriving at about 12:30.  This is a state park with floating docks.  In fact, there are about 100 slips on floating docks, but they are small and there were only two other boats here.  The slips are only 12 feet wide and Dubhe is 10 ½ feet wide.  There are no showers, pumpout, or wifi here, but the good news is that it is only $1 per foot.  Most people come here by ferries that are quite busy, but by 5:00 everyone is gone and we have it to ourselves.  Also there is so much beach that it does not feel crowded.  Nancy got some beach time which is her primary objective.  A really nice place.  This is the first time Dubhe has been tied to a dock since February 9.  We watched one of our thrift store movies (Trading Places), a somewhat mindless but entertaining movie from the 80’s.

Uncrowded state park "marina"

  

Nancy worshiping the sun.

March 1, 2016

A nice morning, a little cool but not uncomfortable.  After breakfast, we took the nature trail walk of 2½ miles and walked the beach quite a bit.  After lunch, Nancy spent most of the afternoon lying on the beach while I did some housekeeping aboard Dubhe, filled the water tanks, and started my third book by Randy Wayne White (Doc Ford series) “Everglades”.   A major difference between the west coast of Florida and the east coast is that the sun sets in the ocean, except here it is actually the Gulf of Mexico.  So we reconvened happy hour on the beach with a bottle of wine to watch the sun sink into the water.

Beach Happy Hour

Into the Gulf of Mexico

Our cruise this year is quite different than last year, primarily because last year, we stayed in Marathon for a month.  This year, we are moving much more, but staying 3-4 days in some places, and the places are generally more “urban”.  With a few exceptions (like Caladesi) we are in built up areas.  While I would like some more remote areas, this kind of cruising is kind of interesting and has its own advantages, such as a lot more places to eat and drink!  Another difference is that once we crossed Tampa Bay, we have encountered far fewer other cruisers.  This also has plusses and minuses like fewer people to meet and interact with, but less competition for anchorages.