Tarpon Springs - Fort Myers

Tarpon Springs – Fort Myers

November 15- November 28 2012

In Appalachicola, waiting on a weather window for the Gulf Crossing.

Tarpon Springs is known as the “sponge capital of the world” but also as “Little Greece” because of its large Greek community. The Greeks started diving for sponge around 1900 and today it is still a thriving business. Of course that meant they also brought their Greek cuisine and culture here and the village’s air is filled with the sounds and aromas of Greek music and food. Shopping here is a tourist heaven.

The only damage from our brutal crossing, a tv antenna that came undone.

Pelican - Tarpon Springs



Spong diver

smiley face - sponge

Calamari - prepared the Greek way

Sponges

Dinner with Linda and Eddie

Eddie and Gary (Boys will be boys)

Some of the people who crossed the Gulf with us,
Sharon, Jim, Fred , Eddie and Linda

We spent a lovely evening meeting up with MV Blue Angel, MV North Star and MV Spiritus, who were all crazy enough to cross the Gulf at the same time we did.

During the crossing we accidently switched our VHF radio to the wrong channel and while everyone was calling us on the radio, we never heard, so we never answered. They were all very worried about us.  (Shame!)

Anyhow, we were enjoying all the sights, sounds and smells Tarpon Springs had to offer. It was a wonderful reprieve after a nerve-wracking few days and we shared lots of laughs and fun with the crew of MV Spiritus.

The waterfront homes are spectacular

Don't you feel sorry for the people who live here??

A dolphin swimming next to Time& Tide



Dolphin playing in our stern wake

The next morning we took off to Treasure Island and the free dock at the home of Suzanne and Jeff Wright. The Wrights make their dock available to Loopers who travel through this area. It is a great location, only a short bike ride away from the beaches at Treasure Island and the boardwalk at John’s Pass.

Sand Sculptures

Enjoying the warm weather

Treasure Isle beach

John's pass

Gators

Watching NASCAR

The Wright's free dock.

Our buddy boats who crossed the Gulf with us.

We spent Saturday on the beach checking out the annual sand sculpture competition and the evening socialising with the crew off MV Second Noelle and MV The Bar-B. Ray is the skipper who led us across the Gulf so I promised him a beer if we made it across alive.

Sunday we just HAD to watch the last NASCAR race of the season so Gary and I met our new friends at Gators for a few drinks and lunch. We had another excellent day and when it was time to go home, Ray was kind enough to put our bicycles in the trunk of his new Chevy Caprice Classic and give us a ride back to the boat. Unfortunately we ran out of gas and Gary had to get on his bike, go to the boat, get some fuel and get those guys going again.

After a great couple of days we had to move on. (My liver insisted!!) And we motored to Gulfport, a mere 7 miles away and anchored just off the Gulfport Municipal Pier in a lovely anchorage we shared with about 10 other boats. As I am writing this you can hear the pshuuuuut noise of dolphins breathing as they pass right by Time&Tide at anchor.  Paradise.

Gulfport

seems like the ideal place to stop

Saying goodbye to new friends; Ray, Linda, Barbie and Bob

Abandorned boat - Gulfport anchorage

Sunset -Gulfport

The guys from MV Second Noelle and MV The Bar B came to visit us in Gulfport. IT turned out the problem with the car wasn’t an empty tank but rather a fuel starvation problem, so it took them about 2 hours to drive 7 miles. Gary made some suggestion to Ray and between the three guys they got the problem (temporarily) taken care of. The girls and I went to the bar and had a drink while waiting for the guys who took the modified Caprice for a test drive.

We were very sad to say goodbye to our new friends as we have to move on and they are staying in this area for a little while longer. We were so lucky to have met them and now we are blessed with great new people in our lives.

Gulfport

Tightrope walker - Treasure Ilse

Keeping an eye on the cats -Treasure Isle

We stopped at Longboat Key and anchored off Jewfish Key. It is a beautiful little anchorage and we shared it with about 10 sailboats. As we entered the anchorage we got a call on the radio warning us that we were going to run aground. A friendly sailor was quick to point me in the direction of the deeper water and we were soon anchored nice and secure. We took a dingy ride to shore where we met another friendly sailor who showed us the fastest route to the white sandy beach.

Longboat Key

Sand dollar

Tarpon Springs bridge

Gary and I were like 2 kids with our mouths hanging open. Walking past the houses to the beach we saw orange and lemon trees drooping with fruit, a banana tree and wild peacocks. Of course the battery on the camera decided to die right at that moment. Sorry.

We spent the afternoon soaking up the warm Floridian sun and picking up shells on the beach. If I could I would keep them all but we live on a boat and there just isn’t enough room J

We stopped for ice cream at Mar Vista, a famous eatery on Longboat Key. (I am going to interrupt myself here for a moment. Everywhere we go there are famous places to eat and drink. Florida is full of these places, you probably know some yourself. BUT if Gary and I had to stop and drink and eat at every place we would be BROKE< FAT AND ALCOHOLICS>> Most of all we would be BROKE. So, there are great places to eat and drink - world famous places, we just can’t get to them all ) L

Our next stop was Sarasota. On our way I spotted two sharks in the water. Scary!!

Sarasota. WOW!! There are very rich people in Sarasota. We met the President of Pepperidge Farm Cookies while she was out kayaking with her family. The PRESIDENT!!!! ( No, she didn’t bring me any cookies even though I hinted !!)

Our first anchorage was too exposed for my liking so we got in the dingy and headed to a very secluded but very hard to find anchorage instead.  Otter key is very well protected from all the wind directions but it is a tough place to enter if you don’t know what you are doing, and we didn’t. So we checked it out in the dingy and lo and behold, we found a Canadian Sailboat anchored there and they were more than willing to show us how to get in and be safe.

Osprey

Mike and Gary

Don't know what it is called, but it is BIG. We saw it in the
water but left it there to live another day.

We stayed at Otter Key for a few days. Mike and Norma came all the way from Jacksonville for a visit and stayed the night. Gary was introduced to BBQed Boerewors, a South African sausage. Norma had some home-made and it was a treat we all enjoyed. We never stopped talking and laughing. We had a wonderful time visiting with them.

November 26, 2012

We made our way, continuing ever South.  On our way we passed the beautiful community of Venice.

We anchored in a pool just off the ICW at Cape Haze. We were surrounded by houses and shared the anchorage with a sailboat.

Cape Haze



Good catch

As we entered we heard someone whistling snippets of “Long way to Tipperary” and some other song I can’t recall the name of right now. I was amazed at how well sound seemed to travel in the enclosed little bay. The next day, as we were heading out, I head the same whistling and realised it must have been a parrot or a macaw. When we went to bed we heard two owls calling each other, Gary got up to check and sure enough, the one owl was on or boat, sitting on the top of the radar dome in the bright moonlight, hooting to his buddy on shore. We took turns spying on him but as we got the camera out to snap a picture he took off with a silent flap of his wings. We felt him leave more than heard it. A very powerful bird.

The next morning we headed to Cayo Costa and anchored in Pelican Bay. I have no words to describe the beauty of this place.

Gorgeous beaches

A dead horseshoe crab

Pelicans feasting on sardines

Moonlight over Pelican Bay

Sunset over Pelican Bay

The Island is a State park. You can anchor then go to shore in the dingy, pay your $2 to visit the park and enjoy the unspoilt beauty of Florida. We went for a 3 mile walk on the beach and took a closer look when we noticed dark shadows in the water. As we looked closer we saw millions of sardines in the water, followed by the larger silver Mackerel jumping after them in a feeding frenzy. We saw pelicans with their beaks so full of fish they were unable to lift their heads out of the water. It was an awesome spectacle and we saw it all up close.

That evening we were treated to an absolutely breathtaking sunset and full moon rising. As the sun set someone on one of the other anchored boats blew the conch to signal the end of the day. An absolute surreal feeling, I just had to pinch myself.

Moon rising over Pelican Bay

We following day we woke to heavy fog and zero visibility. I decided to stay in bed and plan our route to Fort Myers. Eventually the fog lifted enough and we left the gorgeous Pelican Bay rather reluctantly.

In San Carlos Bay, where it meets the Caloosahatchee River, we encountered yet another Manatee Protected Area Sign. We have yet to see one (a Manatee). We have heard many locals bemoan the plight of the Manatee, that it isn’t indigenous to Florida, that it is a pain in their collective behinds. I still would really like to see one ….

Another thing: we are now in Go-Fast-Boat waters. No such thing as a slow or soft pass…those big boats just come roaring past and wake the living daylights out of us. Gary doesn’t even get mad anymore; but it annoys me to no end. On the rivers you would often hear boaters ask for a little courtesy and an embarrassed waker would slow down and apologize but here people are in too much of a rush and I think the only reply you would get if you requested some courtesy would be a middle finger held up high.

Right now we are anchored in Bimini Basin, a nice safe anchorage surrounded by Cape Coral houses. I am at the laundromat and while Gary is taking care of that chore I am updating our blog. It is 29 November and the forecast calls for a sunny day with a high of 80F. Gotta love this!!!

Full moon over Bimini

……………………………………….to  be continued