Mary, Deb, and Andy...at our waterside table in Tapron Springs
This is a sponge diver, just getting ready to head out of the harbor
The next generation of boat captain who will go out and look for sponge
A very typical person who you meet on the street in Tarpon Springs.
Is this the perfect picture of a Greek fisherman...or what?
I'm not sure how Deb convinced me to take this picture...I have officially lost the battle.
Lots of draw bridges like this one on the intracoastal
This is an old wooden boat that had run aground, and has rotted away...just outside the channel we were in
The Sunshine Skyway bridge at the entrance to Tampa Bay
One of the wierdest clouds we have seen
Log 72
Day 189
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
6:20 AM EST
Location: Bradenton, FL...on the Manatee River
Weather: 50* with calm winds...forecasted to be 72; sunny; North winds 5-10 mph
A cold front came through last night, dropping the temperature down to 50 overnight, but the weather is forecasted to get warmer each day now. Thanksgiving (tomorrow) will be 75 and by Sunday it’s supposed to be 80...sounds good to me. No real chance of rain for several days.
We had a very nice cruise from Clearwater to Bradenton. We decided to stay inside, which means we had to wind our way along the intracoastal and pay close attention to stay in the channel, because it’s very shallow if you just get a little outside, but the scenery is worth it. There are also a lot of bridges along the way, but we only had to wait for them to lift one bridge, as most of them had at least 20 foot clearance and we need 18’ 6”. At this point the intracoastal is fairly wide open, meaning it’s a lot of rivers and small lakes tied together. It still has a very narrow channel, but in several places that channel goes through the middle of a lake. The channel depth runs between 6 and 9 feet, in the center. Go just a few feet outside, and it can go to 1 foot very quickly. There is also a lot of no wake zones we traveled through, aggravating to some...but we were in no hurry. About 2/3’s of the way here we were crossed the open waters of Tampa Bay, and ran a route parallel to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a real cool sight to see from the water. From there it was about 5 miles across the bay and another 5 miles up the Manatee River to Bradenton (home of Tropicana...a former customer of mine).
We arrived in Bradenton about 1:30, and after a quick rinse of the boat, we headed up to check in at the marina office, and get our bearings of the area. This marina staff could not be friendlier, or do more for you. The harbor master, Charlie, knows everything, and everybody in this area. And, he is happy to give out information and advice. We had a lot of questions...and he had a lot of answers. So, following his instructions, we took a walk up “Old Main Street” to see the downtown. Hard to believe, but we ended up in a tavern...Kangaroo Bar I believe it was called. Just a local bar, with lots of friendly folks. They also had a big barrel of salted in the shell peanuts which you could help yourself to, and Stella beer on tap. My kind of place, but after 1 beer we were back to the boat. For dinner we had pork chops on the grill, and for our movie, we watched some old Andy Griffith reruns.
Yesterday...I got up and walked into town and had breakfast at Robbins. Charlie said it was a good spot, and he was right. It was a warm sunny morning, and the walk was excellent. After breakfast I came back to the boat and got ready for a air conditioner technician to get on the boat and fix our helm area A/C unit. I thought it was low on Freon, and it turns out I was right. He did a great job, and $217 later, the unit works just fine. While this was going on, Deb went to do laundry, a project that lasted about 3 hours. Just before she was coming back it started to rain, but it only lasted about an hour, and then the sun came out again...but not as humid or as warm as before because the front was coming through. The afternoon was spent giving the boat a good wash. I got up on the hard top and washed everything with good soapy water, and worked my way down, putting lots of soap on everything I could, to get the salt off. This is something I’ll have to do more of, in order to keep the rust to a minimum. The late afternoon was spent with another dock walk. For dinner we had rotisserie chicken that Deb picked up in Clearwater, and the movie was Shawshank Redemption...one of our favorites.
Today...Andy and Mary (on Good News) will be arriving at the marina this morning. According to Mary’s blog, they anchored out just a mile or so down the Manatee River last night, so I’m sure they will be here by noon. No real plans today...I’ve got a long list of boat to do’s that I keep working on. The good news is...none of them are really major at this point, so there is no fire drill. I also want to go fishing at some point, and this is a good place to take a long dinghy ride, which I’m sure we’ll do as it warms up this week.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving...and we certainly have a lot to be thankful for. I get many emails from friends, and people we don’t even know, who have heard about the blog and now are following it, and they tell me how lucky we are. Well I don’t think luck had anything to do with our ability to make this trip, but we are certainly fortunate to have what we have...and do what we do. Not for one minute do we take it for granted. Each day is special in its own way...and I’m sure this one will be no different.
Bob
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