On May 9th we sailed up Pine Island Sound to anchor off Usseppa Island and from there a couple of stops on the way to Sarasota and finally on to our summer home base anchored off the Bradenton Beach pier on the Intracoastal Waterway.
When we arrived we saw that there were some of the same "characters" anchored in the harbor (I call them "float-aboards" as they aren't really cruisers or sailors, just people living on a boat that is permanently anchored, not well maintained and usually not even capable of leaving!). Some had left so there was more room to anchor than in prior years.
One day as I was on the pier getting water I saw a boat at the dock from the area of Florida where we had first started out. As I was walking by the restaurant on the pier someone called out, "Larry?" I turned and there was Bobby Morse who had been at the Skeleton Key marina in Hudson!! He said that "Today is the first day of our lives!" meaning that he and his new wife, Kim, had just closed their businesses and this was the first day of them going off cruising!! He introduced me to Kim and I went back to Enchantress in the dinghy to get Linda. We had a nice visit with them and they took off to sail down to the Keys.
Now most of you probably think that we spend a lot of time at the beach or swimming since we live on a boat but that really isn't the case. Neither of us were ever really "beach people" as we don't like to just sit in the hot sun and cook. BUT....Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria Island have one of the most beautiful beaches in Florida (almost 7 miles long!) and gorgeous clean water. People spend thousands of dollars just to come here, stay a week and go to the beach. Sooo...we actually felt guilty that we never use the beautiful beach! We went to the beach TWO times so far because we discovered there were trees with shade to sit under and enjoy the beach without being cooked by the sun. Nice and cool, gentle breezes, water warm enough even for us Florida wimps. Here is a photo taken from our comfortable spot in the shade!
And a photo of us at the beach:
We spent several weeks in Bradenton Beach. We know the bus system pretty well here and can take buses to any shopping we need to do in Bradenton (which Linda took FULL advantage of since she was severely "shopping deprived" while in the Keys!!)
One night I heard voices outside and looked out to see a personal water craft (Seadoo) drifting near our boat and about to drift into us. A VERY large black man was on it and begging for help. He was out of gas. He was really not in any real danger even though the wind was blowing quite hard as he would have just drifted over to the shore and the docks at some houses and condos. But I tried to give him some gas from a can I had. Unfortunately, the gas cap on those silly Seadoos is right down near the waterline and more seawater from the waves went into the tank than gasoline!!! So I untied him and told him not to try to start it until he was away from our boat as I was concerned that it might catch fire due to all the gasoline he spilled all over it! Anyway, it wouldn't start so I called the Coast Guard on the radio while he drifted towards the shore as he was quite frightened. The Coast Guard station is right across the ICW from us. They sent their boat out. I was talking to them on the radio and shining a flashlight at them so they would know where to come. I told them "You know about the sand bar between where you are and where I am, right?" and told them how to get into the harbor while avoiding the sand bar. At that point the Coast Guard boat ran right up on the sand bar!! Well, they finally got off with their very powerful engines, came over and I pointed out where the guy had drifted, they found him at the shore and towed him back to the rental place where he had rented the Seadoo. Another evening one of the very drunk "characters" in the harbor was drifting away in his half deflated dinghy and unable to row against the strong wind. I thought I could rescue him but my little electric motor wouldn't tow him so another boater came over with his dinghy with an outboard on it and he could barely tow him but got him back to his boat. It was entertaining to watch the old guy try to climb back aboard his boat without falling in. Never a dull moment on Enchantress!
After all that we decided it was time for a "vacation", so we sailed down to Longboat Key for a night and then on to Sarasota. We anchored off the park in downtown Sarasota. The harbor used to have a lot of "characters" and derelict boats but it has been cleaned up and was much nicer than in the past. We stayed for 12 days, worked on boat projects, learned the bus system and did some shopping and provisioning. Sarasota is an upscale city, very clean and beautiful, full of lots of what I call "phoo-phoo" shops and people. :-) The park is full of people walking their dogs so Linda had a great time giving the dog-owners the neckerchiefs she makes for the dogs. One evening Sandy and Bill, some friends who live in Bradenton, came down and we had dinner at O'Learys on the water.
Here is a photo taken from the boat of what we refer to as the "Vatican". Looks like Italy but they are just condos for the "phoo-phoo" people. At night the domes are lit up.
We see alot of very unusual boats as we cruise but the following photo shows one of the more unusual sights! I looked out to see a CHURCH coming through the harbor so I snapped this photo. It is a floating wedding chapel and a wedding took place on it shortly after it arrived.
Here is a photo of Linda and her new friend and his pet. Actually he is really a statue and she was not in danger of losing a leg to the alligator!
Yesterday I turned 65 years old (yup, now carrying a Medicare card!!) and officially became a senior citizen. Halfway through the day Linda said that I could continue the "old man" jokes for the day but after that I had to go back to being a 25 year old!! :-) We went to Craker Barrel for lunch so that I could have meatloat for my birthday dinner out. I have never met a meatloaf I didn't like!! Here is a photo of me test-driving one of the rocking chairs at the Craker Barrel just in case I might need one someday. But for now I am back to being 25 years old so no more "old man" jokes.
After our vacation in Sarasota we sailed back up to Longboat Key and dove to clean the bottom of the boat. As usual Linda said "This is going to be fun!" despite my reminding her of the sea lice (tiny shrimp the size of a maggot) that get on you. Well, we got the boat bottom cleaned but were covered with the little monsters! NOT my favorite job but necessary and it is hard to get the bottom done by a diver when cruising unless you go into a marina which we don't like to do.
We have returned to Bradenton Beach for a week. Then we will work our way up to St. Pete area and put the boat in to a marina the first of July so that we can fly to Europe to see Linda's son, Rob. We will fly to New York and then on to Vienna, Austria. Rob will meet us there and we will all go by train to Salzburg, Austria where the Sound of Music was filmed, then back Vienna and to Brno in the Czech Republic where Rob lives. We will be in Europe for 12 days total and then fly back to NYC and spend a week with Amy, Mark, Olivia and Laura. Then back to Florida.
Hope everyone is having a good summer.
1 comment:
Looks like you are really enjoying your time up the west coast! Happy 25th Larry!!!
(Did I mention that I tote luggage???)
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