24-25-26 January, 2020 Ft Myers, Florida. City of Palms

My brain has been in idle for the past couple of days.  Great to chill, no tide, current, depth, rude boaters, dragging anchor, crap pots or navigation to be concerned about.

24 January

20 SM; 3.7 engine hours

62  degrees. Great quiet night in long cutoff

Uw @ 0750-real skinny at low tide--3.2 feet.  Very slowly eased out paralleling along side of the sail boats and quickly into 4+ feet then deeper exiting.  Headed to Ft Myers.

Sunrise looking aft

 @0820 reached end of GICW and entered the Okeechobee waterway.  Numerous no-wake zones and rude boaters without regard for their wakes.  Many no-wake areas, congestion, cross waterways and ignorance of rules of navigation on the waterways.  We have made the decision to go the Okeechobee Waterway route to the Atlantic. We have discussed for several days to go on to Naples, Marco Island and across Florida Bay to Marathon, Fl in the keys.  While we have not cruised our boat on that course, we have wintered in Naples area for several years.  We are familiar with the area and waters due to guiding and kayaking. We have kayaked many of the areas, have camped many times all along the keys from Key Largo to Key West.  We have even taken the ferry from Key West to Dry Tortugas Island and primitive camped, and snorkeled.  So, kind of been there and done that, maybe another boat trip another time.  We have not done the Okeechobee Waterway from Ft Myers to Stuart, Fl.  More on the waterway and the 2nd largest fresh water lake in another post.

Ft Myers

A couple of weeks ago, we were still thinking we might/would go around the tip of Florida, so we had mail forwarded to Ft Myers Beach (beach) which is about 18 miles south of were were are now.  We intended to go the the mooring field for a few days then continue south.

Ft Myers Beach mooring field--first come, first serve.

With our change of course and ultimate coming to rest at the Ft Myers city yacht basin our mail is a long way away.   We secured Serenity at 1120 and reviewed options.  Uber was going to be about $75 w/o tip round trip.  Too much.  So, I down loaded the transit app and we walked to the bus stop.  Good news, day pass only $4.00.  One way and three buses later and a two block walk we were at the PO before it closed.  Three hours duration.  Buses were clean, generally on time.  We made it back a little after dark.

Nice transfer station with iPhone charging stations

We are safely tucked away right down town,  The historic waterfront district is right here.  Several fellow loopers are here and at another larger marina about 1/2 a mile away.

25 January
Today was exercise to include walking to find the nearest Publix grocery store, getting bananas and doing a nice early morning 3.5 mile walk.

We spent the day doing laundry, cleaning the boat, fresh water washing the canvas and isinglass then using special purpose cleaner on the isinglass.  Later in the day we walked the 1/2 mile to the other marina to visit our new friends on their 36 foot trawler.  Joyce and Fred have many years sailing experience to include crossing the Atlantic twice together on their own sail boat.  Great stores and great experience shared with us.

26 January
Sunday morning, another guest church.  We found the CityGate Ministries.  What a great gem only .8 mile away.

City Gate

The music was excellent, the sermon spot on.  Highly recommend if you are in the area on Sunday morning.  Afterward, we walked back toward the marina and the historic area was closed off for a free hot rod, custom car display.

Maybe 100-200 vintage, hot rod and custom rides.  Looked at cars and chatted with folks.  Then off we headed for 3.5 mile round trip walk to the Marine trading post, which carries new and used marine supplies and parts.  Wandered around for an hour, bought filters and zip ties.

Marine Trading Post

By this time we were getting hungry and the boat was 1.8 miles away.  So we spotted the cowboy seafood ...something or like that.  So, needing a peanut oil fried food fix we got an order of hush puppies and cajun battered shrimp.  yum-yum.

Good as it looks

It was kind of dirty New Orleans side of the road kind of place, but we are not throwing up yet.  Peaceful day.  Tomorrow serious work on Serenity.

  

23 January, 2020 Great surprise anchorage St James City

23 Sm, 4.0 engine hours

Wind shifted, decreased intensity plus blocking by the mangroves NE the anchor alarm went off at 0100.  Still solid, no drift or unset, but the 180 shift from the past two days with the wind for some reason upset the alarm.  51 deg @0500 with cloudy skies.  Warming today.

Mangrove creek

Uw at 0740, eased back along our track coming in a few days ago.  Very skinny water out of the narrow channel.  Once entering GCIW we traveled at 1500 rpm, not in a hurry, charging the batteries and enjoying the trip.  Most of the trip today was south/southeast and would have been nasty had we tried yesterday.   Extremely long fetch funneled between the barrier islands West and pine island East would surely have stacked the waves steep and close in the 20  knot north wind.  Today, remnants remain but not bad in NE 10 mph winds.  Our planned anchorage was south of St James city. (CITY)   Several anchorages noted.  Reviewing past comments, noted one reviewer said shoal draft boats could enter the canal system and there were numerous bars and restaurants and if dinner was had could probably tie up for the night.  So slowly we entered the privately marked channel that held 10 feet most of the way in.  Just as we were about to follow a pontoon boat into named canal, I noticed off to the port 3 sailboats anchored in a mangrove creek.  Going even slower, Serenity passed along side of the three sailboats and reaching 4.5 feet and far enough away from the last sailboat we dropped anchor at 1130.  Neat so far!  Quiet, light winds, calm and warming, fishing boats passing but respectful.  Respectful for only so long--there always have to be a few jerks and they passed close, full bore.  Oh well, a safe and good day, not going to get too worked up.
Splashed KAOS and paddled around for an hour.  Went around a derelict sunk boat off the side of the creek.  

Sunk cruiser noted from the dinghy KAOS

I sat/laid across a seat in the dink and just let the sun warm me. Winter weather alerts noted on my phone last night for those in the mid-west.  Left overs for supper, swinging on the hook.

Shortly, sun drops behind the mangroves.  Boat traffic dropping to zero.  Should be a peaceful night.

Million $$ view w/o the real estate taxes

1337.1 Hobbs, 1604 Sm elapsed

22 January, 2020 Day III anchorage

41 degrees outside, clear, windy.  Wind has shifted more toward north and we have more protection from the small barrier mangrove island to our north/east.  Serenity more stable, minimal swing and the canvas enclosure no longer buzzing due to the wind.

National Weather Service

Nws issued iguana falling out of trees alert.
'Falling iguana' alert issued in Florida due to cold temperatures: 'Don't assume that they're dead'
Iguanas slow down or become immobile when temps drop into the 40s.
"They may fall from trees, but they are not dead."
Green iguanas are an invasive species in Florida known for eating through landscaping.
We are not making this up.

The National Weather Service in Miami has issued an unofficial warning for falling iguanas on Tuesday night due to the unusual cold snap that's hit the Sunshine State.

"This isn't something we usually forecast, but don't be surprised if you see Iguanas falling from the trees tonight as lows drop into the 30s and 40s," the weather service tweeted. "Brrr!"

"Iguanas are cold blooded. They slow down or become immobile when temps drop into the 40s. They may fall from trees, but they are not dead," the weather service said.

Once temperatures reach a certain level, iguanas stiffen up and fall out of trees, according to Chris Michaels, a meteorologist with WSLS-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, who said this is something that has been observed over the years in south Florida.

"At about 50 degrees, iguanas can become lethargic," Michaels said. "It’s when the temperature drops to about 40 degrees or lower that their blood doesn’t move around as quickly. As a result, they can stiffen up and fall out of the trees in which they frequent."

The night the iguanas fell::Cold snap chills Florida and now iguana meat is up for sale

During a similar cold snap and iguana warning two years ago, well-meaning residents finding stiffened iguanas were advised to leave them alone, as they may feel threatened and bite once they warm up.

“Don’t assume that they’re dead,” Kristen Sommers, who oversees the nonnative fish and wildlife program for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in during the January 2018 cold spell.

Green iguanas are an invasive species in Florida known for eating through landscaping and digging burrows that undermine infrastructure.

A two-week cold snap with temperatures below 40 degrees in 2010 killed off many iguanas, along with Burmese pythons and other invasive pests that thrive in South Florida’s subtropical climate.

This week's cold snap should be short-lived, the weather service said, as temperatures are forecast to rebound into the mid-70s for highs in Miami by Thursday.

Contributing: The Associated Press

When you are in the Keys, these invasive reptiles are everywhere

Wind cranked back up--steady 20 knots which is making a lumpy anchorage this afternoon.  Decided to remain; our planned exit had us in exposed water for a couple of hours, winds/waves probably on the stern but decided to wait for tomorrow.  Many boats remain here in anchorage today.  Just too “cold” and windy, did not splash the dinghy.

Mangrove island to NE of Serenity

Piddled several hours practicing tying rolling hitch then, actually tying spring lines onto main anchor rode and routing back midship to cleats.  My attempt at a DYI bridle.  Adjusted several times without the success anticipated.  Was hoping to reduce/minimize  swinging in the higher winds.  Serenity really sails +- 60 degrees on the hook with a strong wind and reaching each end of the arc, it places a pretty good strain on the anchor.  The Mantis oversized anchor has worked great along with the attached 18 feet of chain then new rode, but the abrupt jerk bothers me.  Will continue to experiment with my DYI bridle.

Plan to get underway early tomorrow as the forecast is northerlies at 10-15.

Cloudiness at sunset

21 January, 2020 White caps and 30 knots

Poor sleep--herky-jerky all night.  Very rolling due to Serenity swinging on the hook.  Beautiful clear skies with the cold front passage last night, but the winds are here.  About 0830--we called our fellow loopers Dave and Kate asking if we could slip ahead of them in the narrow cove and get out of the 20+ knots of wind we were experiencing.  With approval, we fired up and lifted the anchor and slowly eased around their anchorage and motored about a 1/4 mile into the cove with excellent wind protection.  New anchorage We are now about 300 feet off of the mangrove treeline in 5.5 feet of water.  Wind still blowing but now exposed to ripples vice whitecaps we had earlier.

Splashed the dink, rowed couple hundred yards to a sand spit at end of mangrove island.  Short walk, looked at shells.  Wind not bad

Sand spit looking into Charlotte harbor

KAOS on the beach

Rowed KAOS back and secured.  Wind really cranked up and slight direction change to NW and now we are in choppy water.  Serenity swinging back and forth.  Anchor holding.

Serenity in the distance

Freezing wind chills forecast tonight.  Little propane heater out tonight to take the chill off.  Distant clouds to the west blanked the sunset.  Winds are forecast very strong again tonight; 15-20 with gusts to 30 and freezing wind chill.  Sleeping bag back out, gloves and watch cap.  Wind may diminish to 10-15 out of the north tomorrow afternoon, so we may go south to another anchorage.  Need to charge the batteries.

Windy, chilly but another day on the water

20 January, 2020 Freezing wind chill on the way!

20 SM; 3.8 engine hours, one fuel/ice stop

Strong winds about midnight as cold front passed, so was up and adjusting lines and fenders. North wind pushed boat forward and anchor was hitting front of slip.  Had to wander back to stern and tighten stern lines and move a couple of finders.  All squared away, finally went back to sleep.  Pretty strong wind after breakfast, pushing us into the slip; we needed to back out and get underway.  First we disconnected the shore power and filled the fresh water tank and stowed all gear adrift.  Discussed strategy, fixed a spring line and it was time to get going.

UW at 0845, only hour and a bit transit to Cape Haze marina for diesel. Lowest price in SW Florida! Strong NE wind of 12-15 but mostly protected waters once we backed out of slip. Getting out of slip worked pretty good without drama or incident.  The voice activated headsets worth the price.   The marina fuel dock was tucked back off GICW and wind blanked by tall condos making a very easy docking to include backing up to a starboard tie.   Took on 31.5 gallons, bought two bags of ice, reviewed course to the anchorage 20 miles away and we were off the dock.

Fuel dock, Cape Haze Marina

Little Blue Heron in mangrove leaving fuel dock

Car ferry across the GICW--was not expecting this.

Crossing Charlotte harbor was not too bad with wind and waves aft of the port beam.  Nearing the ocean inlet on-shore swells from yesterday’s strong westerlies interacted with the northern wind wave making for interesting passage the last 30 minutes.  We are proceeding to Pelican Bay, Cayo Casta State Park.  Entering the narrow and confined passage with shoaling left and right we entered the small bay having decent depth of 5-8 feet of water.   Many sailboats, several large trawlers dotted the anchorage.  We threaded our way in and around, picking a spot close to loopers we met back in Carrabelle.  Small world.
Cayo Casta State Park
Cayo Costa State Park protects the Charlotte Harbor Estuary and provides visitors with a majestic piece of untouched Florida.
An unspoiled Gulf Coast island evokes images of wind-shaped trees, dunes, beaches and freedom to explore. This especially rings true for Cayo Costa Island. Accessible only by boat or kayak, this former fishing ground of the Calusa Indians features nine miles of undeveloped shoreline for swimming, snorkeling, shelling, fishing, birdwatching and exploration along with several walking and bicycling trails through the island’s interior. Shorebirds are numerous and one might spot manatees, porpoises and sea turtles offshore.

Safely and securely set the hook in eight feet of water at 1305.  SST 72 degrees.  (map) While we are protected from the brunt of the 20 knot north wind, we still have a pretty good chop and the boat is swinging left and right.  Will be a bumpy night.  Have spotted a pair of adult Bald Eagles in the near by trees.  Ospreys, pelicans and plenty of sea gulls throughout the anchorage.  Anchor alarms set, senses alert.  Another beautiful sunset observed from Serenity.  Hope to paddle Kaos to the park tomorrow and hike the trails.  Winds tomorrow are forecast to increase in strength with gust to 30.  Wind chills Tuesday and Wednesday morning forecast near freezing!  Got to get my sleeping bag back out and the little propane heater!   May reposition anchorage tomorrow for a bit more  protection.  There is a small mangrove island to our NE about 1/4 mile from our anchorage.  Not sure if I can maneuver closer--gets pretty skinny quick.

Not a bad view

1331.1 Hobbs; 1581 SM elapsed

18-19 January, 2020. Peaceful, relaxing stay at this wonderful small owner occupied Marina

18 Jan.  Boat maintenance, cleaning and grilling.

Great private/owner operated marina.  Just great friendly people, owner, wife and full time slip renters.  Owner--"Leo" drove us to Walmart--POC got food, I got 8 quarts of diesel oil.  Then we went to hardware store which had a most excellent marine section and I bought two spare RACOR fuel filters.

Marina looking toward ocean

Change oil and filter.  Change racor and engine fuel filters.  Cleaned engine bay.  Cleaned raw water strainer--pretty dirty.

Washed Serenity.  Laundry.  Cleaned inside of boat.  Sweep, wax and clean inside bulkheads.

Walked to beach.

Grilled steaks on nice and clean marina grill.  Our table is an ice cooler!

Fine dinning in our little bitty saloon.

Great day.

19 Jan.  Decent morning, not too windy.  Sunrise 3 mile walk to and from the beach.  Nice to exercise. After breakfast on the boat, we used the loaner bicycles and rode about a mile to the Grace Community Church of Englewood.  (Church) Older crowd and I am not young!

Serenity and blue bay water

Partly cloudy day with 10 mph west winds.  Excellent afternoon to air out bedding and clothes.  Did some planning for the next few weeks of cruising.  We think we know our plan.  Have a plan, not a schedule.  Cold front on the way tonight with potential rain and thunderstorms and strong gusty north winds.  The strong winds due to stay around most of the coming week.  We should be protected in the GICW and a couple of bays to cross.  We are headed to an anchorage at Cayo Costa State park. More about that tomorrow.

Manasota Key bridge

Certainly have enjoyed this little gem of a marina.  Almost want to stay longer.  Great amenities, great people.  Beach is cool too.  Manasota Key  But, time to continue south.

17 January, 2020 Very windy day crossing the bays and GICW southeast toward Englewood, FL

46 Sm, 7.0 engine hours lot of no-wake zones

NE 10-12 knots and a clear sunrise.  Small craft exercise caution.  Sarasota bay is biggest body of water to transit today then in confines of GICW as wind shift East 10-15G 20+.

Sunrise at helm station

Weighed anchor @0740...cautiously retraced our track out of skinny water back to the channel.  Throttled up and making 7 mph crew and Serenity headed for the only big stretch of water today, Sarasota bay.    About two hour transit, strong NE winds with enough fetch to stack chop up to 1-1.5 feet.  Once out of the bay, remainder of the day in the confines of the GICW, no-wake zones and rude pleasure boaters.  Crossed under many 18-30 foot draw bridges without pause.   Squeezed under one 9+ foot clearance at low tide, but requested an opening of a swing bridge that had less than 9 foot clearance.  Many areas both left and right of the waterway, sand bars exposed with wading birds hunting for food.  Many osprey nesting on the taller day markers.  White pelicans numerous.

Sarasota skyline

Osprey nest on day marker--pretty common as we travel south

Entered Leamon bay, wind strengthen 15 gust 20 from the east.  We were headed to sunset point marina at the junction of the GICW and beach road/Tom Adams bridge in the area of Englewood, FL.  This is a private/small marina/condo owned by Leo.  It was time to do engine maintenance and clean the exterior of the boat again.  Leo said he can dispose of my waste oil and filters.  Leo owns about 8 slips and a 4 room condo.  He has free laundry, free bicycles and will take me tomorrow to buy oil.  Leo has been great getting us settled and orientated.  Docks are fixed but new.  Electrical and water outlets are new.   What a hidden gem.

Leo's small condo/marina--what a gem

Leo just opened in January for limited transit space.  No diesel here.  Several of the local slip holders with big boats came by to say hello.  All have been working on their boats--clean and nice trawlers/sport fishermen style preparing for their winter/spring trips to the Bahamas.
My great friend of so many years; we were lieutenants together in flight school in the late 70s, came by to visit for a couple of hours.  Excellent visit with Trapper-Joe catching up on stories of old and new.  We will chill here for a few days while the winds howl, and the cold front comes through.  Chilly air on the way--sweaters back on?

Just a short bike ride to the west is the beach

1327.3 Hobbs; 1561 Sm elapsed
.

16 January, 2020 Beautiful smooth crossing of Tampa Bay

30 SM; 4.9 engine hours

Anchorage was pretty good.  Bridge noise died down, wind died down resulting in a peaceful sleep.  We fired up the Yanmar and repositioned Serenity 0.1 mile to the McDonald's day dock at 0700.

Not our McD flag

Once secured we met our good friends Norm and Joyce for breakfast.  After great fellowship, Norm and Joyce joined us for a very short walk to the Publix grocery store and wandered with us while we got a few fresh items.  Shopping complete we all returned to Serenity for pictures and good byes.  Very nice visit.  Great friends.  The best anchorage for groceries and ice so far.  Excellent.

Norm and Joyce

Charts indicated only an hour on the waterway to Tampa bay.  Continued checking of the local marine weather, tides and routes, it appeared it was an excellent day to make the 13 mile course across the bay.  Tomorrow and for the next few days with the approaching cold front would have prevented crossing for several days due to wind and waves.  Set course and began the almost two hour crossing.  It was very smooth, gentle swell with little to no wind chop.

Skyway bridge with fire in distance

Only as we begin to reenter the GICW did the NW sea breeze kick up one foot wind chop.  Back into the waterway we approached our planned anchorage.  It was not good.  Kind of exposed, confined and too many other boats.  We continued southbound about 2 miles and have anchored at Leffis Key in 8 feet of water.  All secure at 1540. (map) Lot of cruising today at min/no-wake speed due to restricted water, housing/private docks and bridges.  Way too many big boats, big wakes and big rolls.
SST 74 degrees.  Grill back out and mounted now that we have finished the ocean crossings.  Nice grilled ground chuck and fresh cottage cheese.  Yum-Yum.

1320.3 Hobbs;  1515 SM elapsed

15 January, 2020 Big city, big houses, big boats

30 SM; 4.8 engine miles

Relaxing morning, coffee, reading and study.  No rush, very nice anchorage with minimal wake.  Almost pancake flat early.  We are traveling the protected waterway, no big ocean, no isolation, no real worries about boat systems.  We raised anchor @1015 and entered the GICW for a short mileage trip south.  The majority of the trip in the narrow confines of the waterway with mega homes, mega condos and mega high rises.  Plenty of boat traffic, in fact it was pretty busy today and as expected, pretty rude pleasure boat operators who are not concerned about their wake.  I suspect it remains this way until...well until.

Big house--nice location

Big boats

We planned our nightly anchor at a location recommended by active captain.  Upon arrival it was full of sailboats, which is ok, but many appear derelict and not occupied or maintained.  We are planning on meeting  friends from our home cowboy church, who winter at treasure island.   We picked this spot because there is a McDonald’s dinghy dock near and a Publix grocery store in the same parking lot.  It was going to be a 1/2 mile dinghy paddle from the planned anchorage.   With the anchorage full we would have had to anchor even further away.  So, we eased around the corner from the planned anchorage to the little cove with the dinghy dock and it looked big enough and we sounded the bottom with the depth finder and went in a circle a couple of times. We had enough water at low tide and would not interfere with the near by marina boats or the free dinghy dock so we dropped the hook.  All secured @ 1450 in 7.6 feet of water.  (map) SST 76 degrees.  Close to a road bridge, but a pretty sweet spot.  Town of Maderia Beach  Will meet our friends tomorrow at McDonalds.  Sweet.

Nice anchorage; McDs to the upper right

1315.4 Hobbs; 1485 Sm elapsed

14 January, 2020 Final big open ocean crossing

60 SM; 8.4 engine hours

Whew--glad that is finished.  Sense of accomplishment; nothing unique, others have done the "crossing" and some probably in a smaller boat, but we did it.

Uw @0730.  Wispy fog but good visibility. LIGHT WINDS to start and forecast to remain less than 10 knots all day.

Chris Parker forecast received last night.
CWF2 - Depart: crystal river, fl - To: Tarpon springs, Fl - (p) Serenity - 27' , Albin 27 FC

Tue14 should generally be a good day....you're just S of the sub-Tropical RIDGE if high pressure which lies near 30N...and you should have mild mostly SE wind and mild seas. Probably some early morning sea fog, but this should clear by about 10am.

FORECAST:
Tue14 from 4am-10am, departing CrystalRiver: variable wind mostly E-SE@3-8, wind-chop 0-1', some FOG is likely to limit visibility to 1 mile-or-less within about 10mi of the Coast. STRATEGY: motoring S in mild conditions, but with limited visibility.

Tue14, from 10am-6pm, CrystalRiver to TarponSprings: models disagree, but I think the afternoon seabreeze will dominate, so from 10am-6pm wind gradually veers from SE<S<SW<W, all remaining in the 5-9k range, wind-chop 1', chance some sea FOG persists, but probably not as much coverage nor thickness as you saw before 10am, and no other weather related concerns. 

Crossing pretty much as weather briefed.  Boat did well.  Long day, but not beat up.  Salt spray but not too bad.  Zillion crap pots and numerous crabbers out doing their thing.

Anchored at 1540 in 9 feet just as tide falling, should see 6 feet at low tonight.  (map) SST 72.7 degrees. Anchorage near Dutchman key a part of Anclote Key State Park.
Welcome to Anclote Key Preserve State Park
Located three miles off the coast of Tarpon Springs, the park is accessible only by private boat or ferry service.

Continue southbound tomorrow back on the Gulf Inter-Coastal Waterway (GICW) for 150 miles then it ends for good at Ft Myers, Fl.  There it will be decision time.  Go east via the Okeechobee Waterway from Ft Myers on the west coast to Stuart, Fl on the east coast.  Or we continue south toward Naples, Marco Island and then around the tip of Florida to Marathon, Fl in the Keys.  This route is back out in the ocean, but the legs are shorter.  No rush, we are easing down the last 150 miles of the GICW and see what we see.

1310.6. Hobbs; 1455 sm elapsed Sm

12-13 January, 2020 Long bike riding and back on anchorage

12th.  12 mile bike ride on the rental bikes and a one mile walk back to the boat from bike shop. Contemporary church service at 0830 @ 1st Baptist, Rode 5 more miles to an archeology state park.
A National Historic Landmark, this 61-acre, pre-Columbian, Native American site has burial mounds, temple/platform mounds, a plaza area and a substantial midden.(state park)  We hiked all around and visited the visitor center and observed the exhibits.  Recommend if you are in this area.

Then rode back to town and played tourists and walked around all of the various shops of Crystal river.  Warm and sunny day--upper 70s.  Dropped the bikes back at bike shop and hoofed back to the boat.

13th.  Took the golf cart to the Save-a-lot shopping center and then I walked 1.2 miles to ACE hardware.  Cart not allowed any further.  POC walked around the shops.  At ACE purchased two one pound propane bottles and three o-rings for the diesel and fresh water filler caps.  Old seals are deteriorating.  Hoofed it back and POC was ready and we got three bags of ice and retuned to the marina.  Make ready for getting underway.  POC filled the fresh water tank and disconnected and stowed shore power while I replaced the o-rings.  Preparations and inspections complete, on a rising tide we untied the lines at 1445, heading down Crystal river toward the gulf.  We returned to our 1st night anchorage of 9 January, this time I am more shoreward of the channel.  Dropped the hook, backed down and shut off the diesel at 1555.  Ripping flood tide but good hold in 8 feet of water. SST 74 degrees.

Looks to be beautiful evening

Anticipate getting underway pre-sunrise tomorrow and making the 58 mile journey to the Tarpon Springs area.  Weather seems good now, final check tomorrow.

1.2 engine hours; 5 Sm

1302.2 hobbs; 1395 sm elapsed.

11 January, 2020 Pete’s pier

Easy morning just watching the commercial fishing boats go out, followed by the charter fishing fleet then the recreational folks.  Windy in Kings bay, high overcast that should clear later today.  Temperatures quite warm this afternoon, ah Florida palm tree warm.

Pulled anchor and eased 0.4 of a mile to Pete’s pier Marina, along the face dock as all slips were full.  Not too bad, no extreme winds predicted for a few days.   Marina has a loaner golf cart so we loaded up a weeks worth of laundry and headed to the laundromat/shopping center that have West marine and save -a-lot groceries.

Golf cart mirror portrait 

Wandered around west marine, bought groceries and finished laundry and golf carted back to Serenity.

Groceries and food

Fresh water washed and scrubbed the boat.  Later this afternoon we walked one mile to a bike shop and rented two bikes.  Spent the afternoon riding around the parks.  Pretty decent bike paths.
Three Sisters Spring

Hunter Springs Park

Amazing thickness of Spanish moss

Rental bikes

End of the day