We had an easy trip south from St.Pete's to Sarasota. Once again, we took advantage of our yacht club membership and got our "free night" at the beautiful Sarasota Yacht Club. Unfortunately it was Monday and the club facilities were closed, but the docks were open and the staff as great as always.
Venice
I had planned to sail from Sarasota in the Gulf for the short trip to Venice, However, I was advised by a member at Sarasota YC that the inlet there was badly shoaled. For that reason we reluctantly continued on "down the ditch" Nonetheless, it was a great relaxing trip passing through several Bascule Bridges along the way, including Blackburn Point swing bridge - a railroad brige that pivots from the center, making for a narrow passage (on a cat).
We also caught up with our friend and SSCA Cruising Station Host, Melinda Schell who had kindly allowed us to ship a pump to her. Yes, first significant breakdown was the seawater pump for 3 of the AC units. While we didn't need AC, it also serves as a reverse cycle heating system.....but fortunately we had a couple of space heaters on the boat. However, we will need it soon and Melinda was kind enough to bring us the pump.
Cabbage Cay
Our next stop was the delightful Cabbage Cay - we did get to sail most of the way, coming inside at Boca Grande. Cabbage Cay has a wonderful nature trail where you can see huge turtles and many other forms of wildlife. The restaurant/bar there is excellent, but pricey. Surprisingly, the small marina is reasonable at $1.95/ft - so we did take a slip for the night. It was a little tight getting in....but nice!
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| Cabbage Cay |
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| Restaurant at Cabbage Cay |
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| Guest Ted and Ebba enjoying Dinner |
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| What a Surprise! |
Naples
The plan was to stop at Ft. Myers Beach..........but - the mooring field was full with 40 boats ahead of us on the waitlist. Every marina I called was full - until April. Geez - what's going on! So i made a decision to head straight for Naples and we got a spot at the Naples Yacht and Sailing Center. A dock was more convenient as daughter Helen was making a surprise visit, and Ted and Ebba were leaving Saturday. So all things work out well! We arrived at the YC at 6:20pm as the sun had just set - but crap - there was a boat in a our assigned slip and the dockmaster had left for the day. But Amanda was great and found us an alternative slip, so all was good! We will be her until about Sunday and then push off towards Marco Island.........well that's the plan.
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| Janet and our oldest Daughter, Helen |
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