So, I called Barb and asked,"Do you want to go sailing?" She gave notice at work that she would be taking an unplanned week's vacation and flew to Tampa/St. Petersburg leaving a recovering Annie in John MacFarlane's trusted hands. Soon after, on a Friday, we were underway bound for Palmetto.
Since it was a Friday, we anchored near DeSoto Point
and did not depart the Manatee River until the next day.
I was dismayed with the number of crab pots near shore and it made me reconsider being so close to land through the nightime hours. We got about 20 miles out as we made our way southbound, clear of the crab pots. Colin Curtis had recommended anchoring in the Little Shark River and we did that for a day while weather passed by. The next day we departed the Little Shark River and we headed across Florida Bay dodging crab pots and skimming the sandy bottom about a foot and a half below our keel. Again, the winds were expected to pick up so we elected to follow the Intracoastal Waterway from Channel Five to anchor in the lee of Key Largo. We motored the next day to Biscayne Bay and then sailed to Miami Beach and anchored next to Star Island and Julio Iglesis' Florida home.
We continued the next day through the Intracoastal and opened twenty-two (?) bridges on our way to Bernie Radoush's waterfront home and our appointment with Howard Wells. He and his crew installed a stainless steel arch on the boat. This installation was the entire reason for the trip from Texas that began earlier this month. The installation took long enough for Barbie to return to Colorado and for me to plan my solo journey to Jacksonville and our dock at Mariner's Marina until the Spring.
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