A busy day - Day 74 - Tarpon Springs to St Petersburg, FL

Wednesday we awoke to sunny skies and light northeast winds.  A perfect day except for the fact that it was 28 degrees at 7:30 AM.  Not good for the Florida citrus growers but far better than Chicago at 17 with a wind chill.

Our "to do" list for today included a visit to a doc-in-a-box to remove a nasty splinter in Diana's hand, returning the car to Enterprise, refueling and cruising 35 miles to St Petersburg.  We estimated 60 minutes for the doc-in-a-box, 45 minutes to return the rental car and 45 minutes for refueling.  If all went according to plan we would be enroute to St Petersburg at 10:30 AM; assuming we arrived at our first stop at 8:00.

The first order of business is, of course, walking Kodi.  The tide was low but Kodi is a real trooper.  Thought you might enjoy seeing how she figures out how to get off the boat.  Note the short and rather narrow catwalk.  Also note the three treats (called Zukes) adjacent to the fender along the catwalks centerline.

"How am I going to get those treats? That's a big jump! 

"I think jumping down is going to be easier than jumping up"

We knew that the doc-in-a-box opened at 8:00AM from the previous day's scouting.  We got there at 8:30 only to find out it was not a doc-in-a-box.  They referred us and we drove to the real doc-in-a-box only to discover that they opened at 10:00. 

Diana's hand hurt and we needed to get it fixed delayed our plan.  We arrived at the doc-in-a-box as the bell tolled the ten o'clock hour.  Diana finger got fixed and, as estimated, it only took an hour.  The rental return went almost as planned and we got off the dock at 11:35.  Refueling at the F&J fuel dock took almost an hour. 

Approaching the F&J fuel dock.  Note the Chevron sign

The stop at the F&J fuel dock was interesting.  Nobody came out to help us tie up and when I stated I needed 270 gallons they pointed to the diesel pumps.  You guessed it they also did not offer to wash the windshield.  This was not exactly what one would call full service. 

Finally at 12:27, we were on our way down the picturesque Anclote River. 

Fishing boats along the Anclote River

On the surface we were two hours behind schedule.  However, with only 35 miles to cover we had a good margin for getting in before dark even traveling at our preferred 10 MPH.  Estimated time of arrival would be 4:00 PM.

The cruise down the intracoast waterway is very picturesque with upscale homes, condos and marina along the shore.  Even upscale launch ramps (recall the photos of launch ramps for our river travels).

Upscale launch ramps along the GIWW

A palatial home

Another palatial home with three boats in the front yard

Then there were a few surprises.  Turns out that I miscalculated the distance.  Instead of 35 miles it was 55 miles.  Also, I did not take into account the number of no wake zones.  Further, to add complexity, the route to St Petersburg is a bit complicated and our chart pack is not easy to use.  Very quickly our margin of error disappeared and if we continued to travel at 10 MPH we would not get into the marina before dark.  Add to this the fact that we are operating in unfamiliar shallow waters with narrow channels.

The bridge opened for a sail boat and began closing as we went under

Fortunately, I have achieved a comfort level with the intracoastal buoy system, even running at speed (20 to 30 MPH).  So, we put the pedal to the metal and off we went - at least wherever we could.  The result was a spectacular run across the intracoastal and Tampa Bay. 

Around 4:30 I asked Diana to look up the times for sunset on weather underground.  Diana reported that official sunset was 5:37 PM, civil twilight was 6:03 PM and nautical twilight was 6:32 PM.  Our goal was St Petersburg by 5:37 PM using the "other" times as the margin for error.

At 5:13 PM we crossed under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and ran up Tampa Bay to St Petersburg arriving at 5:41 just as the sun set.  Fortunately, our run was east and north so the sun was not in my eyes, which would have further complicated negotiating these tricky waters.  And despite the seeting sun there is plenty of light on the water as nautical twilight was still 55 minutes away.

Upon arrival Diana met Tom and his wife, Brady, while she was taking Kodi for her after-cruise walk.  They keep their 40 foot C&C sloop at the municipal marina and are serious cruisers.  They then invited us to join them for dinner at an out-of-the-way Italian Restaurant.  We had great fun.  You meet some very interesting people when you a cruising the Great Loop. Note: Tom worked for Cargill and traveled the world during his 30 year career.

The evening ended with a walk through the park that runs along the bay, which was lined with magical holiday decorations.

On the way we stopped at the Vinoy Hotel.  It was built in 1925 as a seasonal hotel, went out of business in 1974 and then was vacant for 18 years.  It was restored in the 90s.  We had learned about the Vinoy during yesterday's visit to the Tampa Bay History Center. Click here for the Vinoy's history.

Model of the Vinoy in the lobby

Another spectacular and successful day.  Stay tuned for St Petersburg adventures.  We are staying for 4 days.  There is plenty to see and do (actually too much).

Written by Les.