27 43 836 N
82 41 776 W
The "gang" came over this morning at 10 AM to make sure that this time we really left.We were on our way shortly thereafter. Because of the tides and the lack of space we could not recover the dinghy without a lot of hassle, so we tied it to the bow and "pushed" it out as we left the slip, and once clear of the slip ran the lines around to the stern and towed it for the day. I do not like towing the dinghy, but it was a calm day.
We headed generally north and crossed the entrance to Tampa Bay about lunch time, continuing north up the ICW. It was Saturday and there was a lot of boat traffic. At one point we were passed by a procession of about 25 huge "cigarette boats" (Deidre calls them "little dick boats"). The racket was a bit overwhelming, especially since they were accompanied by a helicopter that flew low overhead.
Our target was Gulfport on Boca Ciega Bay. The anchor was down by about 3 PM and shortly thereafter we were in the dink on our way to town. The town had a reputation as being a bit backward and funky, and it lived up to its reputation. We ate at a place with a singer/steel drums performer and a bunch of rather strange (but fun) black people dancing.
We wanted to be back on Tide Hiker before dark as I was a bit concerned about the outboard overheating as the stream of cooling water was not as strong as it should be. I have replacement parts on board but the owners manual does not describe how to make the change and I am reluctant to start taking it apart without guidance.
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| Growth on the hull after 30 days. |
Back on Tide Hiker we recovered the dinghy. The dink has been in the water for about a month and does not have anti-fowling paint on her hull. I was expecting to see some growth but was amazed at the extent of the growth.
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