Wed-Thur Jan. 25th-26th A overview of the Marathon City Marina

So calm and secure - ahhhh the pleasures of spending our first night in the harbor off the Atlantic, in a harbor on a mooring ball. Throughout our trip whenever we talked destinations the reaction was the same, we love Marathon and Boot Key Harbor. I now understand the draw. For those of you on land let me describe it this way.  It is a community on the water. You are in your homes and we on our boats. You drive around in your cars, we tootle around in our dinks.  You have your porches to enjoy relaxing and a good book, we have our decks. You visit with neighbors in the yards or at the community center down the street. We visit on our aft decks, or at the boaters lounge or tiki hut. There is nothing lacking here. Yoga and aerobics classes, craft classes, Wednesday night pot luck dinners, Thursday movie night.  A library, a workshop to use to fix your dink, motor, etc. several restaurants and bars within dingy or walking distance. A publix and West Marine down the street and even a Home Depot. Add on to that a daily morning radio show for announcements, buy sell or trade deals and help for anything you need help doing on your boat.  In fact we asked for assistance with the installation of an inverter and immediately had another boater volunteer his help. As in a small community such as the one we live in in Burns Harbor, neighbors are eager to meet and greet, share ideas, recipes, and most importantly friendship!  It will be hard to leave on Friday.

                                                       Chiki - Tiki Hut near the dingy dock

                                                                      The dingy dock

The library in the boater lounge

                                             One of two mini theaters in the boaters lounge
                                            The boaters lounge is a very long pole barn

                                                A photo of the 225 ball mooring field

                                               Also a photo with the other 1/2 of the rainbow
                                                                      Did you notice it?

Sun., 22-Tues., 24 - Can you say Dramamine

We woke up Sunday morning to find a few more boats had come in including another 42 ft Jefferson. We started on a few morning chores. Toms priority was the head, no it was still not working correctly. Although I was trying to be patient I was ready to order the darn pump myself!  It was windy and the boat swayed but it wasn't uncomfortable.  The couple on the Carol Ann, the Jefferson, stopped over for a visit and we had fun comparing the layout of our boats.  We tootled to the marina on the dink to get bait, check on where we were on the waiting list and check out the area.  Sunday evening the wind changed and the water was pretty choppy but we did OK.  Overnight the weather worsened and we did a lot of rocking. Tom and Peanut were having a difficult time on Monday, both having to spend most of their time up on the aft deck to avoid getting sea sick.  Thank goodness I was doing fine so I could be their gopher. We decided to pull up anchor and check out the anchorage on the inside.  Tom found a couple of spots he felt we could squeeze in between sail boats.  I was very uncomfortable with the close proximity of the boats combined with the intensity of the wind.  I really had difficulty getting us far enough forward between boats so when Tom dropped anchor the wind pushed us out into the channel. Not a good thing so we picked up anchor and tried again.  This time Tom at the helm and I was at the anchor. I had never operated the anchor release before and this was probably not the best time to learn. Tom did a nice job of getting us up in between two boats BUT in my nervousness I stepped on the button to engage the anchor as I used the bar to release it at the same time so of course the anchor had no idea what it was supposed to do and I had no idea what was wrong until Tom yelled.  Now he has to maneuver between boats in the wind to get us back out safely to try a third time. But I',m spent, frustrated and tired of being yelled at so I announced I was done. You know the ol saying sometimes you watch the show and sometimes you are the show.  I was tired of being the show.  Back out of the harbor we went to anchor in rough seas.  Tom and peanut ended up sleeping on the Fly Bridge Monday night and Tuesday morning we headed for land first thing in the morning to get off the rocking boat.  Thankfully about noon on Tuesday we got the call that a mooring ball was available. Did we still want it she asked?  Are you kidding me I thought to myself!!  We certainly do I responded!  Now we would have to fight the wind and catch the mooring ball.  Tom had gone over one row to many so we had to approach the mooring ball from the front. Trusty boat hook in hand I stood by as he edged us to the ball. Capture on the first try and we were secure! Woohoo! Our neighbor yelled over "that's no fun you made it look easy", I laughed as I thought to myself, he should have seen us yesterday!

Saturday January 21st. Cruising into Marathon

Approximately 45 miles to go and we would be in Marathon! An exciting day for us.  Three of us left Little Shark River near the same time, all headed for Marathon. It was nice to have a little company on the water to converse with now and then. The waters were a bit choppy today. The little white caps made it difficult to spot the bobbing crab pots until we were closer than I preferred. I felt like I had the binoculars glued to my eyes all day.  Now in the mode to automatically look for the tell tale lines of crab pots to maneuver through I thought we had the configuration down pat. WRONG!  About 20 miles out of Marathon a new configuration appeared!  Crab pot fields; lots of bobbing pots in close proximity, forming a large square and making it extremely difficult to find a passage through!  Our trail wake was beginning to look as if a drunk was at the wheel.  UGH!  We had used the waypoints suggested in skipper Bobs but as we closed in on the 7 mile bridge I was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of passing under the bridge at a point that was not the designated pass.  Other boats were doing it but I was hesitant. Tom called the marina indicated our position and asked for guidance. The gal indicated that she could not advise but if it were her boat she would go on down to Mosier pass and cut back to the marina. That's what we did.  The mooring field at Marathon City Marina in Boot Key Harbor is on a first come first serve basis and we were required to anchor and come to the office in person to get on the waiting list.  There is an anchoring field inside the harbor but Tom suggested we stay on the outside. It was now very calm and  about 10 other boats were anchored here so we figured it was crowded on the inside. Soon after we were anchored we had a visitor. Jim from the boat Blue Angel heard us calling in and came out to greet us.  We had met Jim and his wife in Demopolis. What a nice surprise to meet them again here.  Soon after we jumped in the dingy and headed for the office.  We were 14th on the waiting list for a mooring ball! The sunset was amazing and the Atlantic like glass. We were actually anchored on the Atlantic in the Keys! WOW, I wonder if other first timers thought this was as big a deal as we do?

                                                                   Crab Pot Field

                                                       Sunset on the Atlantic from our boat

                                                                    Another view

                                                   A view after the sun went down

                                             A view of the 7 mile bridge from our boat

Friday, January 20th; From Naples to Shark River Anchorage.

Charts were checked and double checked for today's open water travels on the Atlantic to the anchorage in Shark River.  We would be in sight of land but wanted to be sure of our waypoint entry. The weather gods were again shining on us as the water was calm and the sun shining. We filled the 70 mile day watching dolphins play and keeping a close eye out for crab pots.  The highlight of the day was the sighting of two sea turtles, one large, one small. I was excited but then the mom in me came out with an " I hope other boaters are watching as close as we are for these guys" I worry they will get hit.  Tom just shook his head, and added " Is there anything you don't worry about?"   About 5:00 we navigated our way into the entrance of Little Shark River.  Our chartplotter indicated we were right on the mark for the entrance but the markers were somewhat vague. Seeing another boat already anchored in the entrance confirmed that we were on the right track. We hailed the trawler to ask why he had not anchored in the recommended area at the bend in the river. We were worried that it might be to shallow. He indicated that the bend was a little crowded with other boats, so we joined him, anchoring in the entrance as well.  I LOVED this anchorage and want to go back there and spend several days hopefully in the bend.  The river is a part of the Everglades National Park and the natural surroundings made for a beautiful backdrop.  There were dolphins playing, birds of all kinds flying and fishing and an alligator sunning himself on shore.  As we sat on the bow pads and fished while the sun set you could hear the schreeching owls, howls and other wild calls from within the glades. The night was clear and the stars bright. No city lights to obstruct the view. Even now writing about it I can close my eyes and visualize this beautiful and peaceful night all over again.  I caught several fish but none big enough to keep but thats ok as long as I am still catching more than Tom.  We stayed out to enjoy the beautiful night sky until the skeeters came out.

Tom working on the head - Like the position?

Peanut helping me read the charts

Peanut checking the waymarks

A bird drying his wings which helped us see the crab pot

                                               

January 15-19th, NAPLES; A great time was had by all

We arrive at the Naples City Dock and Mooring Field about 2:30 in the afternoon. You are required to pump out your holding tank before you tie up to a mooring field so to the dock we went.  We had quite an audience of tourists who had wondered down the dock so I was happy that the show we put on made us look like we really knew what we were doing.  The marina is in a perfect spot for boaters.  You can walk to Tin City, the old Naples shopping area, the main shopping area on 5th street and the beach. All of the places a tourist would want to see.  A very nice market and West Marine are also within walking distance but stores such as Walmart, publix, etc are not. Only a few hours were spent working on the boat. Most of our time was spent visiting with friends and neighbors who are Naples Snow Birds.  On Monday we spent the day with Pete and Jan. This was a real treat for both tom and I.  We buddy boated with them from Chicago to Tennessee at the beginning of our trip almost four years ago.  They are living on their boat in a very quiet and peaceful marina outside of Naples. Because they have a car we enjoyed an all day tour of Marco Island, Everglade City and Goodland. We were also able to re provision at Walmart and Tom was able to get yet another part for the blankety blank blank head that he has been working on for two weeks!  On Tuesday we took our next door neighbors from Burns Harbor, Cliff and Joice and the in laws of Tom's niece Betsy for an afternoon ride on the gulf.  Both couples are wintering in Naples.  The gulf was smooth and the day warm, a great day for a cruise. The dolphins danced around the boat as we exited and entered the harbor to the Atlantic, which thrilled the gals.  Tuesday evening we had dinner with Betsy's in-laws, Kent and Elizabeth. Wednesday my neighbor Joice and I shopped while Tom worked on the head again.  Late afternoon Tom and I packed a picnic dinner and headed to the beach to watch the sunset. I had a great day, Tom not so good as the head is still not working!  On Thursday we had to leave the mooring ball because you are only allowed a four day stay.  Luckily enough a slip opened up and the kind gals allowed us to move to the slip for the night for the same price as a mooring ball.  It was great to be in a slip with a walkway, electricity and large shower facilities. Peanut was thrilled. As soon as she realized we were tying up to a dock she started to squeal and jump around!  Dogs are so smart.  I had a great night sleep Thursday as I didn't have to get up to turn the geni on in the wee hours of the morning. On Thursday I wandered around a bit trying to find a cheap hair cut, (no luck), and Tom worked on a few of the jobs on his list and then we headed over to Cliff and Joyce's condo for a cookout. The six of us had a great time sharing stories, great steaks, and good wine. 

Sunset over the Naples Fishing Pier

                                                         

                                                                    Naples Fishing Pier

Sunset on Naples beach next to the fishing pier

The marina office and fuel dock at Naples City Marina

The area at the end of the city dock & Marina. There were shops, restuarants and condos here.

This little fellow sat 6 inches from my foot the entire time I was eating my dinner on the beach.

The condominium complex with shops and restuarants where Clliff and Joyce are staying

They had a great view of the river from their balacony

January 15th - A stressful trip to Naples

We had now officially ran out of ICW to follow and the ocean was pretty choppy 2-3 footers but nothing we couldnt handle. It was another beautiful day weather wise and we were excited about getting to Naples.  About an hour out Tom went below to take a shower.  Soon afterwards I hear sirans, yes sirans! I turned to find a sheriffs boat coming at us with lights and sirans going.  I put the boat in neutral and started yelling for Tom.  Of course he couldn't hear me from the shower, Ugh!  When the sheriffs boat pulled along side I politely greeted him and asked if there was a problem. His response was very official. You did not pay last nights mooring field fee of $13.00.  The city wants to prosecute!!!!!  Now I am really yelling for Tom, still no answer!  Of course with the 2-3 foot waves we are now sideways and rocking badly! You would have thought Tom would have come out to check on what the %#@&;* was going on!!  I apologized profusely and indicated that my husband was supposed to call in and have an extra night put on our credit card.  His response was, well he didn't. I asked if I could pay now. His answer, if you have cash.  I ran below still screaming at Tom. He yells a few not nice words and adds :What is going on?"  I yelled back that the sheriff is after us!  I with my $20.00 bill run back up with Tom behind rapped in a towel! Now Tom is going to get involved, giving me direction on how to get the money to the sheriff as both of our boats are rocking horribly! In an attempt to pull up beside us for the %&#@ $20.00 bill he hit our boat head on!  His response, I didn't mean to do that!  So he has his money but I am really unhappy, as I had asked Tom to call in and have them put another day on our credit card. Yes, they had our credit card information and choose not to just add another day.  Angrily I put the boat in gear to get out of the sideways waves and avoid to crab pots that were directly ahead of us. The problem? We were towing our dingy!  The waves had pushed the dingy up to the boat and the line underneath it. When I put it in gear the rutters cut the line and the dingy was no longer attached and the line it was tied to is under the boat. Soooo, Tom puts on a pair of jocky underwear, not sure why not a bathing suit, and a life jacket. He has a knife in his teeth and goes down to the swim platform. He is kneeling on the swim platform holding on to the boat with one hand and trying to cut the line from underneath the boat with the other as waves are crashing over him.  I really should have gotten a photo of that!  He then re-ties the dingy and I keep my fingers crossed that we can move forward!  All because of $13.00 dollars. We kept a close eye on our gages for quite a while but all seemed to be fine, thankfully.  I went back to driving and Tom went below to wash the soap off.

January 12-15 Fort Myers Beach, the good, the bad and the frustrating!

The ICW from Punta Gorda to Fort Myers Beach was narrow and slow but the scenary continues to fill the time well.  The ICW ends near Fort Myers so we were again using our charting skills along with the help of two friends who were riding with us for the day. One of them from Fort Myers.  As you approach Fort Myers the ICW connects with the Ockeechobee Waterway.  Certain that we were not going that way I put in waypoints to take us across a bay and into Matanzas Harbor to the mooring field.  The water was wonderful and the sun warm so our friends were sunning on the front deck.  All was going well until we realized there was a problem with our approach. The bridge ahead was fixed and to low and the water color was changing, not a good sign for depth.  Our friend from Fort Myers indicated we were going the wrong way to go under the bridge. A quick recheck of charts while in neutral indicated my flaw in planning.  We were supposed to follow the path toward lake Ockeechobee then turn off into a marked channel behind Estero Island.  Sooooo,  we turned around and and corrected the error. Even thought the charts showed enough water I was thankful we caught the error BEFORE we hit the shallows, and a little unhappy with myself for the misguided plotting.   We were excited about Fort Myers beach for two reasons, we had not been there before and we had a guide with a car!!
There were two sections to the mooring field and the first was filled because it was close to the dingy dock.  We ended up quite a ways from the dingy dock but away from the noisy bridge traffic.  Our first stop was Bonita Bills, recommended in Skipper Bobs book.  A couple was providing the music at the bar/restaurant and it was great.  It was definitely an over 60 crowd, filling the dance floor and overflowing to the area around their tables. We had a ball watching and dancing with people our age who were having so much fun. We were excited, a great start to our visit we thought!  We enjoyed our guided tour by car provided by our friend and I especially enjoyed the fine art fair that we attended but that's where the good ended.  The mooring field is run by Matanzas Inn and it it was definitely not a priority for them. Most of our questions, including those about the area could not be answered. Tom and I walked down to Fort Myers Beach, only four blocks away, then took a trolley down to the end of Estero Island and back. No one seemed to want to give out friendly information and the people on the city trolley were not very nice to each other. When we got to the end of the island the driver announced it was the end of the road. I smiled and explained that we were just riding round trip to see the island. He quickly retorted with a "well you gotta pay again", so I jumped up to put our fifty cents in again.  Our plan to move on to Naples was delayed by a day because one of our kayaks broke loose and floated away overnight.  We spent the next day hunting for it by dingy throughout the area but had no luck.  While making one last ditch effort to find it we ran out of gas in the dingy. Now we are trying to row against the current and a good wind to get back to the boat! Happy campers we were not! Another couple saw us struggling and towed us back to our boat.  Needless to say I was upset about the kayak loss. Alas all ended well as our good friend John surprised us with a new kayak he found on craigs list! 

                                      Passing Fort Myers beach on our way to the mooring field

                                                                           Fort Myers

Sunset from our mooring ball at Fort Myers

January 10-12 Punta Gorda

Our stay at Punta Gorda; As we approached the mooring field we came upon about 30 small sailboats in the area we had to cross. There were several larger boats with them as well as smaller runabouts.  Thankfully they passed by before we arrived. We were the only boat in the mooring field which surprised us for thirteen dollars a night.  It was a short dingy ride to the marina dingy dock and the marina was buzzing with activity.  A few of those one man sailboats were coming in. some with an escort boat, now I was really curious. There were sailboats tied up all along the small dock, lots of people, and several large tents along the shore. Obviously it was some type of regatta, I thought but why do so many of the boats have escort boats?  We found a small spot and tied up.  As we passed the sailboats they had names of countries on the side of them and there were wheel chairs at the end of some of the docks. The marina was hosting the National Para-Olympic single man sailboat races!  How awesome is that?  I was really excited and in awe of the strength, agility and attitude these men and women had.  I was also impressed with the ingenuity that went into the retrofitting of these boats.  One morning we witnessed one of the sailors in his wet suit scoot off the dock and into the water and proceed to scrub down the outside of his boat. It just goes to show you that you are only as handicapped as you allow yourself to be!
We tootled around Punta Gorda on the free loaner bikes the marina had, checking out the downtown area and fisherman's village. Fisherman's Village is filled with shops and resturants. It was an enjoyable stay, the staff at the marina are wonderful and everything is in walking distance or a bike ride away.

                                            One of the sailboats competing in the Paraolympics

                                        Be sure to look closely at the adaptations made for the sailors

                                                All the flags from the nations competing

                                                One of the bridges that we had to wait for

                                                 Waiting for the swing bridge to open

                                                      All by ourselves in the mooring field

                                                                 The USA team boat

                                                        A competitor and his escort

January 9th - Sarasota to Punta Gorda

Back to basics; we left the resort marina bright and early on Monday the 9th of January.  Another morning that I was thankful we had a new chartplotter. The sun was bright and directly in our eyes so Tom watched closely for crab pots as I kept my eyes on the track line which took us back to the ICW exactly the way we came in. Cruising down the ICW we were in awe of the number of homes, hotels, etc. along the way that had empty slips and docks. There seemed to be hundreds if not thousands of them. Tom was really bothered by it and I wondered why people didn't put a sign at the end of their dock advertising that you could tie up for a small fee.  We anchored in a cove that had some very nice homes along the shoreline. We shared the water with a sailboat and a few dolphins. The evening was beautiful the water like glass so we did a little fishing while watching the sunset.  We hoped to pull into Punta Gorda early enough to spend some time in town so we were up and at um early.  There were several bridges ahead of us that had to be raised for us to pass through.  We arrived at the first and realized it was on a schedule and we were 15 minutes early. This gave me an opportunity to to practice my piloting skills, keeping Laughter in the middle of the channel. Once we arrived at Charlette Harbor and turned in towards Punta Gorda we realized we realized it was 22 miles from the mouth of Charlotte Harbor to the mooring field. No worries, no schedule!  Thankfully we had great directions from the marina as the markers into the area had been knocked out during Hurricane Charlie and never replaced. 

Sunset on the cove anchorage

dolphins playing

Four great days in a luxurious marina in Sarasota

On Thursday, January 5th we pulled up to the T-dock assignment at the Hyatt Regency Resort Hotel in Sarasota.  It is a small marina with the Hyatt on one side the Ritz Carlton on the other and private high rise condomininiums directly in front of us. A tremendous thank-you extended to our friend Captain Rich for arranging our stay!!  We had access to the pool, hot tub, fitness room and because we were on the T-dock we had our very own large patio with chairs provided.  We had a ball in Sarasota. We rode our bikes downtown to the shops and to a motorcycle rally held called Thunder On The Bay.  We walked peanut to a nearby beach to watch a sunset and hunt shells.  Our friend Chris came in by car from nearby Bradenton and took us to Mote Aquarium and shopping for some needed supplies and with the return of warm weather we enjoyed sitting in the sunshine on our own little deck visiting with the curious who came to talk with us.  Tom spent one afternoon with a local charter captain, Captain Mike.  Captain Mike helped us get our depth finder set correctly and successfully reprogram the alarm for it. He walked us through the charts giving us anchorage ideas from Sarasota to the keys and he was took a look at our generator to see if it was the selenoid switch as suspected that prevented it from starting.  As it turned out the generator started on every try which was a relief to us but we are still going to order another celenoid just in case.

Tarpon Springs to Sarasota

We arose bright and early on Wednesday, January 4th wanting to pull out of Tarpon by 9am.  We checked the tides on a local website and felt we should be good to go.  We had a short side channel to pass through before reaching the main channel on the Anclote and out to the ICW.  I saw that we were stirring up mud so we inched forward. Unfortunately we still found the bottom.  The current was strong so in a few minutes we were afloat again.  It was apparent that we were not getting through so it was back to the dock. The dockmaster indicated that he felt the storms and high winds the day before affected the water levels. This time I checked the tide app on my IPAD!! The morning peak tide for Tarpon would be at 10:10 am, so at  10:05 we tried again, I stood on the bow this time, watching the water as we crept through the same area. Success!  Exiting the Anclote was much quieter and calmer than our entry.  No boats speeding passed us.  No boats speeding towards us!  No boats at all, must be to cool for the locals. The sky's were clear and the sun bright but definitely cool enough that we had to keep the plastics down for comfort on the fly bridge. We had heard there were quite a few bridges on the ICW and that for sail boats and some power boats having to wait for each bridge to open was annoying.  We passed under nine bridges today with the lowest being 23 ft at center. Since we need 19 feet to clear we had no waits today. Much of the day was spent at idle speed as required, but no matter, as it gave us more time to gawk at the mansions, interesting homes, islands etc.  Our search for  a suitable anchorage began about 3p.m. We chose Boca Ciega Bay because of its size and proximity to the ICW.  Can you say twice in one day!! We entered the bay to anchor in the six foot charted white water as directed in Skipper Bobs book. Although the chartplotter and paper chart indicated we were there the depth finder said 18ft so Tom kept moving forward and guess what?  We found the bottom again!! This time we were stuck. We had been pulling the dingy behind so Tom used it to pull us back into the charted area.  We anchored for the night an hour and a half after we started!  Lesson learned, believe your charts and chartpotter!  The sunset over the bay was pretty and the lights from all of the buildings made for a beautiful evening, unfortunately it was to cold to sit out on the aft deck and enjoy it. Finally settled in I attempted to start the generator without success. Down in the engine room went Tom. Nothing a little bungy chord wouldn't fix temporarily! Two things to make sure you have lots of on board, bungy chords and duck tape!

                                           a sample of some of the large homes we saw

                                                 sunset over the town at our anchorage

New Years and Beyond in Tarpon

We drove home for Christmas on December 19th and flew back to Tampa on the 29th.  Our friend Kris picked us up at the airport.  We decided to stay in Tarpon for New Years as there was just to much to see to leave yet.  On New Years Eve we took a trolley to Clearwater beach and bummed around on our bikes. We then boarded the trolley again and stopped in Dunedin ( pronunciation is Dun -ee-din. Clearwater beach sand was a beautiful white and there were lots and lots of people!!  Dunedin is a quieter village on the water with upscale shops and a fresh fish shop where I bought lobster tail and grouper to grill for our New Years Eve dinner.  Then back on the trolley again to head back to Tarpon.  It was a beautiful warm sunny day filled with fun!  A 10 minute ride back to the marina from the sponge docks and a quiet evening on the boat completed our New Years Eve.
On New Years Day I went to mass at the Greek Orthedox cathedral which was a beautiful church and service. Then we tied the kayaks to the dingy, loaded them up with fishing gear and lunch and headed to Anclote Key for the afternoon.  We soon realized that it was much further than we thought and the boat wakes were causing havoc for us sooooooooooo we turned around and headed for a little beach.  We fished and sat in the sun, or at least I did. Tom scrubbed the kayaks.
Our plan was to leave Tarpon on Monday January 2nd But the weather turned ugly with high winds gusting to 35 miles per hour by evening.  It was a good choice to stay as we rocked and rolled all night. the waves on the Gulf were said to be 14footers! In fact the winds broke the bolts that secured one of our bumper holders on the bow of the boat and the force of the wind flattened one of the bumpers we had between our boat and the dock. We will leave on Wednesday when the winds are predicted to calm down and the Bay won't be so rough.

                       I caught this Black Drum off the side of the boat. We had him for dinner that night.         
                                          He was really good!  Also caught a stingray but cut him loose!

                                 The fog started to roll in on the beach at Clearwater but it was a busy beach!

                                                                     Lunch at the beach

                                                The pier at Clearwater is lined with venders

                                                               Downtown Dunedin

Dec 17th - The city of Tarpon Springs

Tarpon Springs is known as the "Venise of the South" It is hailed as the sponge capital of the world, established in the 1800s by Indians and early settlers. Later Greek immigrants came to the area to continue their traditionally  trade of sponge diving which greatly enriched the area. It is said that Tarpon Springs  has the largest Greek community in the United States.  The original downtown area is filled with antique and resale shops. The "Sponge Docks" area is the tourist area along the river. The streets are lined with Greek restaurant, shops and bakeries.  If you want good old American pizza or a burger you are hard pressed to find it along the Sponge Docks. I enjoyed going in and out of the shops and Tom enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and talking with fellow loopers who came from Clearwater by Trolley.
We rode with our friend Kris to pick up our car in Tampa which made exploring the area easy. Another of our friends Smitty came to spend a day exploring the area with us.  There is lots to see and do in Tarpon!

                                                  Baskets of sponges outside one of the shops

                                  One of the sponge boats along the wall at the sponge docks

December 16th - Our arrival at Tarpon Springs

We broke off from the caravan at about 9:00 am to begin our course into Tarpon.  I was concerned as we had been told not to arrive before 10 am. The sun is still low enough in the sky before ten that it prevents boaters  from seeing the white crab pot markers. Fortunately we choose a course that brought us straight in rather than at an angle. This was definitely a good decision as the sun was still low but off to our starboard corner rather than straight on. OMG the crab pots!  Our fellow boaters definitely did not exaggerate and they were everywhere!!!  Regulations indicate that crab pots are not to be in a navigational channel, BUT, the lines of them came directly to the edge on either side and extended as far as the eye could see!  Until we were in the actual navigational channel on the inside of Anclote Key we really had to rely on our compass and course to keep us in a straight line and free from entanglement in the traps. We were relieved to finally come to markers for both sides of the channel headed for Anclote River and the Tarpon Springs Yacht Club Marina.  When we entered the river I slowed down.  This caused some serious problems as we about got run over!!  Boats were coming from behind passing us on both sides at full throttle. At one point two fishing boats came straight at us. I felt like I was playing chicken because I was not moving over out of the channel!!  The boat coming directly at me cut the other off and passed. You can imagine the wake!  Whatever happened to manners and a slow pass?  Definitely not the norm here.  About a mile in we passed a no wake sign and everyone finally slowed down.  Believe it or not a lady yelled at me from a restaurant to slow down!? That was wild. The Yacht Club is about 4 miles down river just before a low bridge.  It is very quiet.  All in all it took us about an hour and a half from the time we turned until we docked.

Florida's Forgotten Coast

Florida's Forgotten Coast is located along the Gulf of Mexico in the North Florida's panhandle along the Big Bend Scenic Byway. It consists of Apalachicola, St. George Island, Eastpoint, which is a stones through away from Apalach and areas surrounding them.  We visited this area by car and now by boat. They are rich with history and as quaint as can be.  Gone are the tall condo's and hotels seen along the panhandle and in South Florida. What you will find are fishing villages, beautiful old homes, great shops and lots of yummy sea food. 
Apalachicola was established in 1831. Shipping cotton was it's biggest industry and it soon became the third largest port on the Gulf.  By the 1950's the waterfront was lined with brick warehouses used to handle the shipping of cargo for Europe. Now they are quaint shops and resturants. The industry soon turned to lumber from the areas cypress forests and then to oysters and seadfood.  Apalach(as the locals call it) is known as the Oyster capital of the world. Their oysters are known to be the cleanest and healthiest that exist and Tom can attest to their beauty! Apalach and its neighbor Eastpoint make up Franklin County. They harvest more than 90%  of Florida's oysters and 10% of the nationwide supply.  If you enjoy a layed back vacation without the fancy beaches and hotels you may want to check out Apalachicola. They have lots of great events throughout the year and a very active theatre that brings in major plays and concerts.
St. George Island is really a tourist area.  The island is long and consists of many rental houses along with a plantation of very large summer homes for stars.  Once on the island everything is there that you need and you can get around by bike rather than car.  There is a great park at one end of the island for hiking and exploring. We spent a spring break there and really enjoyed it as it never felt crowded, we could walk to the local watering holes, restaurants and shops and we had the gulf on one side and ocean on the other.
Carrabelle is not really an official part of the Forgotten Coast but there is so much history there and it is a quiet sleepy little town so I chose to include it.  The town of Carrabelle was incorporated in 1893.  It had an eclectic beginning which included the production of turpentine, maritime shipping, sponge diving, moonshining and military training.  Carrabelle was the sight of military training for WWII's landing at Normandy.  As we stood by the plaque on the beach commemorating the training sight it wasn't hard to imagine the boats and men charging the shore over and over again in preparation for that historical event. Carrabelle is also the home of the worlds smallest police station.  It was actually used as a police station for years.  The shops there are interesting and the area fun to explore. 

                                              Shrimp boats at dock in Apalachicola

                                                           One of the local eatery's

                                                      The Inn at Apalachicola

                                                   A view of St. George condo rentals

                                               A view of St. George Island from the top of the lighthouse

                                  Worlds smallest police statation in Carrabelle - sorry its sideways

                                                     The training sight on the beach