Westshore Marina, South Tampa.

Saturday April 8, 2017
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It was only about a 10 mile run to the marina. As forecast the wind had died some what and slipping Tide Hiker was a breeze. The new marina is quite fancy, inside a gated community, but outside the gate its pretty ordinary.

The Yacht Clubhouse

First job after settling Tide Hiker was to go get the car. We Ubered back to St. Petersburg but headed straight to the dog rodeo. We arrived in time to see one of the dogs "break the world long jump record" by jumping 26' 6". We stayed for the "30 pole slalom weave run" and "freestyle frisbee". Our lasting impression is how much the dogs enjoyed themselves. Back to Tide Hiker after a cup off coffee on Main Street.

This evening we headed into Tampa to check out the downtown area and the cruise ship terminal where we had Thai dinner.

There was a wedding at the club house tonight

Sunday  April 9, 2017

Pool side, Sunday morning

Saint Petersburg, FL

Tuesday April 4, 2017
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It was a dark and windy night. As usual Tide Hiker was as solid as a rock and we slept well. The wind direction was amazingly steady, as illustrated in the following image from the anchor alarm

Tide Hiker did not move much

We took it easy in the AM because the run to St. Pete was only a few hours, and it was still blowing. We called an hour or so out of St Pete and received our ball number. By 1 PM we were secure. The mooring field is located in a protected pool right down town St Pete.

Tide Hiker's previous owners (Norm and Vikki Naughton) live in a high rise condo overlooking the mooring field and had been keeping an eye open for our arrival. They made contact and invited us to the Yacht Club for Happy Hour, so we launched the dink and met them for a couple of hours. Very pleasant.

Wednesday

St Pete is like Sarasota in that its "just perfect". We went ashore in the dink and caught "Lolly the Trolly" for a ride around town, and ended up at the Salvadore Dali Museum for the afternoon.

 Thursday

After an easy morning we went ashore for a coffee and then Ubered over to pick up the car on Longboat Key.

Back in St Pete the "Longest Table" dinner was underway downtown. It was an impressive sight. Maybe the "table" was 500 yards long? Unfortunately the evening was a bit cool and windy.

If you could see a bit more to the right you would see Tide Hiker 

A long shot from Tide Hiker at dusk.

Friday April 7, 2017

We woke to the sound of many yapping dogs, to discover that there was a "dog show" setting up on the shore line east of us. We had seen people erecting tents and facilities the day before. It was going to be a big weekend in St. Pete - on the shoreline north of us they were setting up for a Blues Festival.

We headed ashore by about lunchtime and visited the dog show. It was more of a "dog rodeo" than a "dog show" and dogs were competing in all sorts of fun events - a long jump over a pool of water and choreographed Frisbee catching etc.  It was really good fun and the dogs were having a blast. Friday was really a practice and elimination day - the medal winning competition was happening Friday.

The Blues Festival got underway by about lunch time. We did not need to get any closer than Tide Hiker. The music lasted until about midnight.

We ate dinner on Tide Hiker. Deidre had a crock pot going most of the day. It was great to get back to Tide Hiker after trips ashore and enjoy the aroma as we opened the door.

(Back at) Gulfport anchorage, Boca Ciega Bay

Monday March 3, 2017
27 43 87 N
82 41 77 W

A strong weather front is expected to pass thru this afternoon so we upped anchor by about 9 AM and dropped anchor back off Gulfport by about 1 PM. The wind is now gusting from the south to 25 MPH which is no big deal but would be uncomfortable if we were underway. Apparently it will all be over some time tonight and so we will spend the night here and have changed our reservation for a ball in St. Petersburg to tomorrow. We have nosed into the southerly shore dropped 175' of chain on the snubber and its a nice sandy bottom - so let it blow.

Clearwater Beach,

Sunday April 2, 2017
27 59 03 N
82 49 25 W


Lazy morning, we were not underway until about 11 AM. (Good TV last night, we were up until about midnight.) We were only heading about 25 miles so there was no hurry. Of course it was still the weekend and there was a lot of boat traffic.

Even a pirate ship

A few little sand bank islands in the bay with nice beaches

The anchorage behind Clearwater Beach was a bit awkward to get to and a bit tight but the anchor was down by about 2 PM. We only let out the bare minimum of chain because of space issues, but the weather forecast was fine for the next 12 hours.

I had a go at scraping the dinghy before we launched her, but I could only get to one side and only got about 80% on that side. We dropped the dinghy and turned it around and re-hoisted her backwards, and that allowed me to get to about 60% of the other side. We are going to have to find a beach or a sand bank to do a decent job. She really needs some diaper rash cream on her bottom now.

Scraping the dinghy

We found a dinghy dock and walked into town and then to the beach. One of the busiest beaches I have seen for many moons. Enjoyed afternoon tea at "Frenchies" on the beach.

Boca Ciega Bay

Saturday April 1, 2017
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.

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.

Longboat Key Club Moorings

Wednesday March 1, 2017
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We left Marina Jack on Tuesday because it was so bloody expensive and anchored out in Sarasota Bay, just outside of the new marina. I did not want to arrive at the new marina until the March 1 so that we would not complicate their accounting. We launched the dinghy and met Barb and Don who had driven the car over. It was a beautiful day and a peaceful night.

We were safely docked in our new slip by lunch. This place is rather posh - beautiful pool and hot tub, expensive restaurant, surrounded by tennis courts and a golf course. Plus we can park the car less than 25 steps from Tide Hiker. After settling Tide Hiker, we headed for the pool for a dip.

Thursday March 2, 2017

The marina is on Longboat Key which is like Disney World for houses and shopping. Just a few miles south is Lido Key and the Saint Armand's shopping center. The marina is on the Bay side, its an easy walk to the beach on the Gulf side of the island. We spent most of the day getting ready for visitors. We needed the dinghy in the water for our visitors but we were docked "starboard-to" so it was quite a project to get it launched.

Friday March 3 thru Sunday March 5, 2017

Kathy and the two kids were scheduled to arrive in Tampa at about 9:30 AM, a 90 minute drive north. The plane was about an hour late. We dropped Kathy off at a friends in Tampa and headed back to the boat. After 2 weeks of perfect weather a front passed through Thursday night and it was quite windy. That did not stop the kids who were immediately into the pool.

Saturday morning we pumped up the tube and headed out into the bay but the wind and waves were too much for the kids. I was bummed. So we headed to the Sarasota Jungle Gardens for the afternoon. We caught up with Kathy later in the day. Then after dinner we all headed to the Circus.

Sunday morning, after a pile of pancakes we headed to the resort on the beach. Then back to the airport at 3:00 PM.

Oh No! Not the camera, again!

Waiting for lunch

Monday March 6, and on......

As usual, time is racing by. Now that the kids visit is over, we have to get on with some jobs. First job was to remove the lazarette hatch and treat it with "teak cleaner" followed by "teak brightener" on the dock. The aft deck folding teak table received the same treatment. Tuesday I oiled them both and left them in the sun for a day or so. The end result is great, but it really does not last.

Wednesday started sanding the rails. Deidre started varnishing on Thursday. By Saturday they had received three coats.

Some time during the week we got all the bedding and clutter out of the guest stateroom (aka the "vee berth"). The walls have been roughed up a bit over the last few years and the whole room needed attention. Some of the paneling needed sanding, some just scrubbing. Fresh paint finished it off. Now we just have to keep it that way.

Friday night we invited 8 friends over for "dock-tails". A fun time was had by all. Saturday we joined the Katey Krogan (a brand of trawler) group on a dinghy picnic. Also fun. I have met a lady who likes to walk and so I now have a partner to get some steps. Longboat Key is a great place to walk. This morning we walked along the beach for about three miles then back on walkways thru the homes and hotels. the weather has been fantastic, but today the whole east coast from New England to Florida is experiencing storms - ice and snow up north and rain in Florida.

Lots of walking

I now have a walking partner from one of the other boats and I am putting on some miles. Maria is barely 5' tall but can she walk! We walk thru the neighborhoods and the beach. This area is so manicured and perfect that walking is very pleasant.

St. Patrick's Day, 2017 .....

Last Sunday night a mighty "Nor'easter" hit the east coast and brought nasty weather to New England and the North end of the East coast in particular. We were also affected in Florida and overnight the temps dropped to the 40's and brought an end to the weeks of perfect weather we had been enjoying. The days were still perfectly sunny, but we were in jeans and used the electric blanket at night.

Its now the following Saturday and it has taken all week to get back into the 70s, and today is "just perfect" again. Not a cloud in the sky, a gentle breeze in the palm trees and mid 70s.

Last evening we attended an impromptu St Pat's party on the bocci ball court. All of the boats contributed food with an Irish component so lots of corned beef and cabbage. Deidre cooked "Soda Bread" and "Potato Pancakes". Afterwards a bunch of us relaxed and recovered in the hot tub.

St Patrick's day pot luck dinner.

45th Wedding Anniversary - March 21, 2017

I remembered to buy a card AND 18 red roses! 

Celebrated in the AM with breakfast at the Golf Club 

Deidre had lots of lox fro breakfast

Most days we spend a bit of time at the pool and i get some steps walking around the island.

My feet and all the other oldies at the pool.

Thursday thru Saturday March 23 - 25

I needed to make a fast trip to Anthem. Deidre drove me to Tampa airport on Thursday and picked me up on Saturday. While in Anthem took a few photos of the newly painted house.

Our place in Anthem after the quick paint job

Thursday March 30, 2017

We expected today to be our last day so we arranged a dinghy trip to the salty Dog for lunch. It was about a 4 mile trip. Bonnie and John rode with us. Bonnie brought champagne for the ride.

Deidre on the way

John and Bob on the way

Getting into the champers on the way

Thursday we took the dinghies to the Salty Dog for our farewell lunch. Look at the colour of that water.

Friday March 31, 2017

Rain started about 4 AM and continued into the morning. So we decided to stay in bed and not leave. The weather cleared up about lunch so we took a picnic to the beach. We will leave tomorrow.

Lunch on the beach with the New York Times. 

Sarasota Bay (anchorage)

Tuesday February 28, 2017
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We have a day to kill before we go to our new marina so we just headed across Sarasota Bay and dropped the anchor about 1/2 mile from the shoreline and our new marina. Another warm sunny day with a 5/10 MPH breeze from the south.