Milestone 1: Completed June 3, 2010 Milestone 2 Completed October 30, 2010 Milestone 3: In Progress (forever - I'm sure the list will never end) We managed to buy a cell phone amplifier that is too powerful for our boat, as well as mapping software that is not yet compatible with our display. Recent major purchases:
We checked out the generator and inverter and have stocked up on several spare parts. The boat is definitely sitting a little lower in the water now after our last CostCo and Wal-Mart runs! Milestone 4: Traversing the Tenn-Tom waterway to the Gulf of Mexico. We had our mast unstepped on Monday, November 1, in preparation for our trip down the Tenn-Tom. Our Itinerary: November 1, 2010: Cast off the docklines! Milestone 5: Destination Mobile - Accomplished November 13 Turns out, the generator was wired incorrectly into the inverter, putting into some kind of loop. We had the problem diagnosed and everything rewired in Mobile. Milestone 6: St. Petersburg or bust! Attend boat show the first week of December. Attended boat show on December 3-4, 2010. After leaving Mobile we stopped in Pensacola. We set out for Destin - the first leg on our trip to St. Petersburg. The seas were definitely not cooperating. We got pounded with 5 foot waves as soon as we left Pensacola Bay. After about 30 minutes of bashing around, we decided to head back to Pensacola and find a nice marina until the weather settled down. We rented a car for a weekend trip to St. Pete for the boat show and left our boat in Pensacola. Destin: We spent one night at Harborwalk Marina. Getting into the harbor was a challenge, but with a bit of help from another boat we made our way in. The sand is really bad about shifting in the entrance and "something happened" to the red marker that used to be there. Stay to the left, pretty close to the bridge. Panama City: We spent a week here at Panama City Marina. Good marina with cable TV and wifi. Clean restrooms and pretty good laundry room. Port St. Joe: We stayed two nights at Port St. Joe marina. No TV, but they do have wifi. They also have nice restrooms and laundry facilities. You are a block from downtown St. Joe with easy access to restaurants, a grocery story, fishing outfitters and lots of shops. The jump..... A long 32 hours got us from Port St. Joe to Anclote Key! Tarpon Springs: We spent a week at Anclote Harbors Marina. It has wifi, but no tv. There are two sets of washers and dryers (one set each in the restrooms). There's not really much around the marina, but we got a ride to Publix and did our shopping before we left. Hotwire installed our solar panels and we left the next day for Clearwater. Clearwater: We anchored in Clearwater, barely getting there before dark. It was pretty shallow and nerve wracking getting back to the cut. We headed into Clearwater Municipal Marina for diesel and found the one shoaling spot in the channel. After sitting for 90 minutes trying various strategies to get off the sand, the tide finally came up enough to float us off and get us into the marina. Bradenton Beach: After fueling we headed toward Tampa and passed outside the bay, going into Bradenton Beach. We had two bascule bridges and one scary piece of narrow water to get to the Bradenton Beach Marina. We stayed here for 3 nights and enjoyed ourselves here. A couple of short blocks away we found a beautiful beach and a free trolley that ran throughout the island. We rode the trolley to West Marine and walked to Ace Hardware and Publix, which were nearby. We enjoyed a fried chicken picnic on the beach before catching the trolley back to the marina. Venice: We stayed at Crow's Nest Marina and had a nice dinner at the Crow's Nest Restaurant. Cabbage Key: We anchored here one night before going to Punta Gorda to check it out. Then we came back to spend a second night before heading to Sanibel. Punta Gorda: We didn't realize it would be a full day trip to Punta Gorda. We stayed one night at Fisherman's Village Yacht Basin. It is a nice operation with a pool, fuel docks, boaters lounge, washers/dryers and loaner bicycles. (Too expensive for what we got, but convenient to a little shopping center and restaurants. Diesel was $.50 higher per gallon than Burnt Cane Marina, which we passed on the way to Punta Gorda. Sanibel: We anchored off the beach, just off the fishing pier. When we woke up the next morning it looked like we had moved way closer to the beach. Actually, the beach had moved closer to us. There was a lot more tide than we expected, but two anchors kept us from grounding. Naples: We stayed at the Naples City Dock for two nights. The old downtown area is really nice, with some good restaurants and shops. We rented a car for a day and went to Sam's and did some other shopping. Marco Island: We anchored here at Factory Bay. The anhorage was very nice and calm. After leaving here we wouldn't see civilization for a while. Indian Key Pass: We anchoraged a few miles inside the first marker at Russell Pass. The tidal current was really swift and the SW wide was pushing us hard against the current. Our anchor was growling at us all night as the tide had its way with us. We were ready to leave at the first streak of light! The closer we got back to the pass, the foggier it got. We were pretty much enveloped by the time we got back to the pass. I spent at least 5 miles sitting out on the bow, straining to see crab pots that we had to dodge. Crab pots were everywhere, up until we reached the Everglades boundary. Yes, we spent a night in the Everglades National Park. Shark River, Everglades National Park: As we got closer to Shark River the water became increasing dark green. Then it began to turn a yucky brown as it became brackish. We found a wide spot, which appeared to be pretty sheltered and anchored for the night. There was one other sailboat anchored near the entrance and they dinghied down to chat with us for a while. They had been there for one night already and hadn't seen a sign on an alligator. I was hoping to see an alligator, or at least some beady red eyes staring out of the glades at night. All I saw was a fin (I do believe it was a porpoise) and some interesting birds. Once again, the current started causing us problems and our anchor started dragging in the middle of the night. I had succcessfully avoided the mosquitos until this point. Let's just say I was the midnight buffet for the Shark River mosquito population. We ended up moving closer to the mouth of the river (to make for a quicker get away in the morning). At the first hint of dawn we pulled anchor and put the Everglades behind us. Finally after 5,273 crockpots (give or take) we made it to the Marathon pass. Marathon: We arrived in Marathon on February 7. We paid for a week's stay at the Sombrero Dockside Marina and put our names on the waiting list for the city mooring field. The day we finally gave up and left for Key West, they called from the mooring field with an opening. Oh, well. Key West: This was a great place to spend the Winter. The City Mooring Field is the most reasonable deal in town. If you don't mind a bit of a dingy ride to the dock, it is an ideal place to hang out on a mooring ball. Dry Tortugas: We loved it here... almost like being in the Caribbean. The water is a beautiful clear blue and a white sandy bottom. You can anchor out in front of the Fort for up to a week. This is a National Park, so be sure to check it and pay your fees. Also be sure you don't take your dingy (accidentally, of course) into part of the large swimming area.
|