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Time for an Update.

Feb 4

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A lot has happened since the Bosun sent his last message of thanksgiving. After crossing the Gulf of Mexico which he told you about, we arrived in Tarpon Springs where we spent a couple of days. Tarpon Springs was essentially founded a century ago by Greek sponge divers. It was (is?) known as the sponge capital of the world. These divers did not have modern equipment; some free dived and others tried all sorts of ways to extend their bottom time the better to collect more sponges. Death regularly intruded--from the bends, from running out of oxygen, and other equally gruesome causes. But the industry prevailed and, even today, the current generation dives for sponges to sell to tourists. Those who don't dive run Greek restaurants (couldn't count all of them), Greek bakeries, and Greek grocery stores. In fact, the Admiral who has been to Greece several times said to me that she had to keep pinching herself to remember she was in Florida, not Greece.


Memorial to Lost Sponge Divers
Memorial to Lost Sponge Divers

A Modern Day Sponge Boat
A Modern Day Sponge Boat

We left Tarpon Springs on the 28th of January to go to Clearwater. Actually, we left twice. The first time we ran into a dense fog bank--you could barely see the bow of the boat. Having sailed the Maine coast for years, we're not strangers to zero viz fog. But, if you don't have to, why do it? And, it gave us an excuse for one more Greek salad in one of the restaurants right near our dock which we were able to return to.


Anyway, we arrived in Clearwater late that afternoon and enjoyed a lovely sunset watching boats go by on the Gulf ICW.



I had a lousy night coughing and thought I was coming down with another cold--couldn't blame the grandkids this time. Wednesday morning we both got haircuts; I went to the hardware store, and the Admiral did a wee bit of grocery shopping. We then enjoyed a leisurely lunch with our financial advisor who is based in Tampa. We hung out the rest of the afternoon and then the Admiral took me to the Black Pearl Restaurant in Dunedin to celebrate my 75th birthday--3/4 century--some kind of a milestone. The dinner was to die for. Naughty, naughty, we both started with foie gras which we accompanied with a bottle of Royal Tokaji, a Hungarian dessert wine normally savored by European royalty. Don't knock that combo if you haven't tried it. I then enjoyed a delicious filet and followed that with

white chocolate cake. Jackie, for the first time in her shorter life than mine, enjoyed a to die for sea bass which she followed with bananas Foster--no accounting for taste on that last.


But, I was really sick and a sleepless, hacking night followed--time for a Covid test the next morning. Sigh, the dark bar lept off the page before I had hardly inserted the swab. I had a Paxlovid prescription in the boat's pharmacy and I dove into it immediately. My wonderful GP in Bangor sent me a cough medicine prescription which enabled a good night's sleep that night and 36 hours later, Paxlovid had swung the tide. What it couldn't do, however, was provide a quick respite for my fatigue. Two lost nights' sleep and fighting Covid had taken it out of me. The Admiral negotiated for two more nights in Clearwater, then two nights at St. Pete and, following that, two nights at Longboat Key. None of this was easy given the post hurricane shortage of slip in this part of Florida.. Her success has provided some much needed time to rest interspersed with relatively short travel days. As I write, I still have a bit of nasal and chest congestion but am up about and enjoying life.


The extra time at Clearwater gave me a chance to photograph some of the marina's inhabitants on my way to and from the head:


Green Heron
Green Heron

Black Crowned Night Heron
Black Crowned Night Heron

Anhinga
Anhinga

Snowy Egret
Snowy Egret

Great White Egret (This shot probably not from Clearwater but they were there).
Great White Egret (This shot probably not from Clearwater but they were there).

Did I mention our holding tank was full and we couldn't get a pump out. As you probably know, last summer's hurricanes decimated a good part of the panhandle and west coast's marine facilities. They're struggling to get slips rebuilt and fuel and water back on line. For whatever reason, pump out capacity seems to be a last priority. As our holding tank filled, we resorted to rest rooms on shore--much less convenient but a necessity. Caught short, we peed in the shower which drains overboard--not to the holding tank. I suspect we weren't the only ones. Happily, St. Pete's pump out facility was working and we finally got relief.


Which brings us to St. Pete. St. Pete's waterfront is pretty with a large public pier and park, restaurants, shops, and a block's walk to banks and so forth. In some ways, it reminded us of our very first stop in Chicago.

St. Pete through Katahdin's Windshield
St. Pete through Katahdin's Windshield

After arriving and putting 223 gallons of diesel into the boat and emptying the holding tank, we enjoyed a late lunch at a nearby seafood place. Sunday, the Admiral took a trolley tour of the City, visited a couple of excellent museums, and generally enjoyed herself. I hung tight at the boat--content to be intellectually active (well, sort of) without having to move around much. The doctor ordered rest!


Monday morning, the day of our run to Longboat Key, brought more dense fog with the Coast Guard reporting a maximum of a quarter mile visibility in the entire Tampa Bay area at 10:00. At times it was down to 50-100 feet in our marina. We hung tight until 12:30 when we embarked on the 30 mile run across Tampa Bay and down the Gulf Intra Coastal Waterway to LongBoat Key Club Moorings. We enjoyed a half mile of visibility at the start which increased to probably eight miles by the end of our three hour run. The dockmaster directed us to Slip M-1 which was not only hard to find but, being narrow and at an acute angle to the adjacent bulkhead, was also tricky to back into.

With that behind us though, Longboat Key Club Moorings turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Yesterday afternoon, we enjoyed their lovely 89 degree swimming pool and today, after laundry and grocery shopping (both very near by), we took their courtesy van to the beach at their nearby resort. For the first time the entire trip, we're enjoying summer type weather (well, late spring) in a place where you can really enjoy the outdoors. The Admiral found it all very relaxing.


One final note. We had intended to go down to the Keys and hang out in Key West for a week or two. However, given the delays we experienced this fall due to electrical difficulties, our unexpectedly long six week holiday break to get repairs and maintenance done and attend to various family obligations, and the slowdown we've experienced due to my Covid, we've elected to cross Florida via Lake Okeechobee. While disappointed not to visit the familiar (to us) waters of the Keys, we're excited to cut through the Everglades, cross the lake, and arrive in Stuart on the East Coast. Stay tuned; we'll share the adventure.





Feb 4

5 min read

9

74

3

Comments (3)

Louise
2d ago

On the other end of the weather spectrum I read this post after a fabulous midday x-c ski! LOVE the bird photos - I lived in Florida for a while and seeing your pictures is like seeing old friends :-) So glad you are on the well side of the bout of covid!

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Martha Hewett
Feb 06

Sure hope you're feeling better. Should be interesting to go by way of Lake Okeechobee. I didn't even know you could do that. I'd think all those big birds you've been photographing would give Bosun the willies.

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Brian W
Feb 05

Stay safe! Sounds like a remarkable adventure, but no surprise to those of us who know Chuck and Jackie.

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