SARASOTA AND THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

We left St. Petersburg under gorgeous, sunny, blue skies. A light breeze from the west put a ripple on the water. The trip took us to the bottom of Tampa Bay and then south into protected waters again. Of course, running in shallow water continues to try my nerves, but, again, it’s something we can all get used to. The trip to Sarasota took us under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. This is a beautiful bridge, all shiny and new. It is not quite the spectacle that the Golden Gate Bridge is, but it certainly runs a close second. It was an easy trip. We had more water than we needed as we have decided to always run at high water or when it is mid-going-high when ever possible. I would recommend taking this plan of action to heart, especially during the winter months when the tides are lower than usual and the water is lower than usual as well, especially after the wind has been blowing from a northerly direction over a couple days.

 As we wound our way through the bays and channels towards Sarasota, I was struck by all the beautiful homes on the banks. Some of them are so big, you could get lost going to the bathroom. I heard a number of major sports stars have homes in Big Sarasota Bay. While many of these homes are quite spectacular, none really compared with the Ringling Mansion visible on the north shore a couple miles north of Sarasota. At first, a visit to the Ringling Mansion is the only thing bringing us to Sarasota. However, as we discovered later, Sarasota is a vibrant, lively city that has just about everything. I am beginning to realize that the image of Florida as a tired and quite retirement community is vastly misplaced. Sure, there are lots of folks who come here to retire. Who wouldn’t? The waters are, for the most part, absolutely beautiful (especially the further south we get), and the weather is actually quite good (also, the further south we get). Prices of everything seem fair, sales tax is only 7%, and folks are generally friendly everywhere we have been. For the person who wants to retire and still enjoy the finer things in life, based on what we have seen so far, the West Coast of Florida is the place to do it.



There is theatre, opera, ballet, museums galore, and many, many fine restaurants. If you like a single family home, there are many very nice models. If you like condo living, however, where your biggest concern of a home maintenance type, is locking and unlocking your door, then this is also definitely the place. There are festivals every weekend, markets, and all sorts of special events. What occurred to me is this: The folks who retire down here in style are folks who had to have been movers and shakers in their working lives. When they want to put together an art festival in the park, or a special museum exhibit, or, for that matter, to establish a museum, they do it. I’m all but certain the municipalities do not endeavor to stand in their way. It’s nice to see such active communities. Back to Sarasota……



We got in later in the afternoon. The sun was shining and it was quite warm. The water all around was a vision of sea-foam green and quite clear in the first several feet. We anchored in front of Park Island, just south of and adjacent to Marina Jacks Harbor. Marina Jacks is a very classy, full service marina. However, us poor folk prefer to anchor. There is nothing wrong with spending all your time in a marina if you love stagnant air and fiberglass all around you. Then, what’s the point of cruising? From our vantage point, anchored in front of the city, we had the most beautiful views of the city, the park, and the marina, plus, we could see out over the bay and enjoy unfettered sunrises and sunsets. There were many other boats anchored in this little bay, but there was still plenty of room.

As we approached in the very well marked and easily identifiable channel, there was a sign concerning the Bayfront Mooring Field. So, I called on the radio and inquired. We were told that the mooring field was not open, but that the area was a “free” anchorage and to stay anywhere we could get our anchor to hold. In St. Petersburg, we saw some chatter on the internet concerning the mooring field situation in Sarasota. It seems that there were some folks who wanted to do away with the rights of us boaters to anchor in front of their waterfront area. I can understand this in the case of derelict boats, but to pass an ordinance that says it’s a crime to anchor for more than 72 hours? What ridiculous, bored, fastidious little ferret came up with that idea? If it’s derelict, tow it away. Real simple, and certainly a lot less expensive than going through all the hassle of permitting in order to say out a bunch of mooring balls. Well, they tried it, but the locals managed to create such a stink that nothing could get done before the permits expired thus setting the promoters of mooring balls back at least a couple years. However, the sign is still there.



Speaking of signs, that is something we sure see a lot of on Florida’s West Coast ICW. Sign after sign. I am not just talking about the navigation aids. Slow down, speed up, turn left, turn right. There should be more signs, however, that say, “Don’t be a Schmuck!” For instance, you see signs that say, “Slow Speed - Manatee Area - 35 MPH”. WTF???!!! You’ve got folks here who operate boats with absolutely no respect at all. We have been clobbered more than our fair share of times by inconsiderate operators of large (and I mean large) glistening bleach-bottles who feel compelled to operate their machines at the highest speed possible in close proximity to other boats and especially while passing slower moving boats, thus causing a huge wake that rocks you like crazy. I have not been hit as hard by the wake of a freighter in the Santa Barbara Channel as I have been hit here.  I am sort of besides myself. It seems so unlikely that it is actually possible to buy a big boat like that and take it out without any sort of licensing requirement. I have just become an advocate for operator certification for boats. I wish the municipalities had the wherewithal to police this sort of activity as well. It’s called Negligent Operation. If you get caught, you should lose your props for a period of time. Get caught a couple times, and you lose the boat. Real simple.

Anyways, when we dropped the hook, we spotted a really cool looking palapa on the sand near what looked like a dinghy dock. Brenda suggested that maybe there was a bar over there, so I pulled out my trusty Droid and hit the Places app and, lo and behold, we had just discovered O’Leary’s Tiki Bar and Grill. O’Leary’s??? Yes, this was the first Irish tiki bar I have ever discovered. So, we buzzed over to the beach, beached the dink and walked over the sand and broken shell beach to the bar and ordered. What a spectacular cruiser hang out. The drinks are generous, the bartenders are friendly, the food smelled really good, and there was good music. All of this, right on the water. No glitzy bar rails or anything fancy. Just a down to earth, cool tropical style place right on the water. If you passed by Sarasota and did not stop here, you missed something really fun. We had a good time watching the sun go down and the stars come out.




The next day, we slept in and then noticed just how fine the weather could be. It was sunny and warm. It was so nice, we decided to do nothing. We sat around on the back deck, drank coffee, talked, napped and basically just enjoyed a great view. Later in the afternoon, we took the dinghy back into some canals nearby and explored. There are some really cool homes back in there. The water is very brackish and there were mangroves everywhere. We got back pretty far, so far, in fact, that we had to lift the dinghy motor and use our oars to push through the thicket on either side. Eventually, we determined that we were going nowhere and the bugs were getting thick, so we spun around and pushed our way out of there. It was very neat. It was super quiet, and super green. Of course, we were looking for the apparently ubiquitous manatee, but found none. I say “ubiquitous” given that, everywhere you look, there is another sign that says, “Slow - Manatee Zone”. You would think they are all over the place. But, alas, we found none. We had a nice dinner aboard, and watched a few movies and turned in early. Overall, a great day on the water. The next day, we would visit the attraction that brought us to Sarasota in the first place.



You’ve all undoubtedly heard of the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus? Well, John and Mable Ringling set up their summer home in Sarasota. In 1936, when John Ringling died, he left his estate and amazing art collection to the State of Florida. The Ringling Museum and Estate are now stewarded by Florida State University. It is a 66 acre museum complex that houses much circus memorabilia as well as John and Mable’s fabulous art collection in a number of buildings, including, the “Ca d’ Zan” mansion. You have an opportunity to visit the grounds which are completely manicured and beautiful, Mable’s famous rose garden, the Ringling Museum Library, the Museum of Art, the Asolo Theater, and the Circus Museum.

The circus was a big money maker for John and his brothers back in the day when the circus truly was, “the greatest show on earth.” As such, John and Mable developed a taste for the finer things in life. John and Mable loved to travel to Europe and loved art. John was a regular at the New York and London auctions at which he purchased masterpieces by famous artists such as Rubens, Titian, Velasquez, Halls and Gainsborough. John also managed to get his hands on some serious statuary work as well, and acquired a collection of Cyprot, Greek and Roman antiquities. All of the art is tastefully displayed in an easy and accessible manner. Unlike the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg where you had a security guard breathing down your neck every minute, this museum was easy to enjoy.



The Circus Museum was really cool, however. The first building you come to along the path invites you in with a short film that talked about the logistics of the circus. The Ringling Brothers Circus managed to move thousands of people, animals and equipment to over 150 cities each year - all by rail car.


There would be an advance team that would go out ahead and market the event. Then a crew would show up and select the place. Then, early in the morning, arriving from their previous night’s show, the trains would arrive and the unloading would begin. In a matter of hours, these men and women, with the assistance of animals, would essentially assemble a small city, complete with everything from a hotel to a barber shop. The kitchens would prepare over 4500 meals per day.


 The logistics are impressive. Then, from the theater, you walk into a large exhibit of costumes, posters, news paper articles, and other trinkets. Finally, in this building, you get to see the model a man named Tibbals spent nearly 50 years working on.











It is an absolutely perfect replica of the Circus that spans at least an acre, all done in miniature, each piece meticulously created by Mr. Tibbals. Although it is a model of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1919 - 1938, he had to call it The Howard Brothers Circus because he could not get a license to call it the RBBB Circus. Silly, isn’t it, especially now since it is in the Ringling Museum.

According to a video playing in a mock up work shop, if one were to actually look closely at the model of, for instance, the ticket booth, you could look inside and see the cash registers, open them, and find miniature dollars and change. According to Mrs. Tibbals, she recalls telling her mother that she was ecstatic to have actually found a man who loved to play “dolls” as much as she did. We had a lot of fun here.


Overall, Sarasota is a great stop along the way. It’s easy. Access is easy. Public transportation is easy. The downtown area is compact and has many restaurants and other shops and bars. There is a great farmers market on Saturdays that spans several blocks and includes everything from farm fresh produce to good music, beautiful flowers, and hand crafts. I’m very glad we stopped here.

Right now, we are anchored in a place called Englewood Beach on Lemon Bay while making our way further south. Our destination this afternoon is Cayo Costa. It’s a state park and I have received a number of recommendations for it. As usual, we’re just waiting for the tide.

ANCLOTE RIVER, REDINGTON SHORES & ST. PETERSBURG

Ok ok, I know. It’s been a few days since my last blog entry. The truth is, sometimes I just don’t feel like writing, and I am not sure my last few entries have demonstrated my best efforts. I’ve also been tired. The last couple nights have been difficult because it has been rather rolly in the anchorage. Additionally, we had yet another one of those Gulf winter storms roll through last night. It seems like it has been one after another. For that matter, we left Tarpon Springs on Tuesday knowing we had only a short weather window to make it down the Anclote River and to some place relatively safe as a storm was approaching.

Here are some pictures of the trip from Tarpon Springs down the Anclote River, through Clear Water, and on the St. Petersburg.

When cruising, we reference a couple different cruising guide resources. Our starting point is the Skipper Bob cruising guides. It is my understanding that Bob and his wife spent nearly 20 years cruising the nation’s ICW’s. He took what appear to be his chart notes and cruising notes and published them into an easy to read and easy to follow, mile by mile-type resource. The guide will tell you, for example, that, at mile marker 467.2, there is a fuel dock and that they offer inexpensive dockage if you full up there. Or, the guide might tell you that at mile marker 150, you will come upon the such and such bridge and that, its vertical height at mean lower low water is 37 feet. It will tell you that the subject bridge monitors VHF channel 9, or there might be a phone number to the bridge tender. These are all very handy items.

We combine the use of Skipper Bob Guides with another set of cruising guides called the Waterway Guides. These are pretty good as well. I find, however, that they are more geared to the cruiser looking for the more high end, full service marinas to stay in every night as the guides give rather short shrift to anchorages or storm holes. They do provide a lot of very useful information, however, in terms of what there is to see or do in many places along the way. There are bridge clearance and mileage charts as well as excerpts from NOAA charts for reference.

Ultimately, however, perhaps the best resource we have found is ActiveCaptain.com (AC). AC is a truly interactive cruising guide that enables and encourages all users to add information. For example, if you find a great little spot, you can insert it onto the chart with a marker. You then fill in the blanks to review the place. Various things are rated including, but not limited to, holding qualities, wind protection, current protection, proximity to shopping, etc. What’s really great is that “locals” who use it, put in all their favorite spots. We found the anchorage at Redington Shores using AC.
Redington Shores was a stop over spot to break up the longer trip between Tarpon Springs and St. Petersburg. Basically, you go through this “hole” between two homes into what is best described as a lake surrounded on all sides by very nice homes and a couple businesses. The AC writer who described it talked of the best way to get into this place, which is a good thing, too. The uninitiated cruiser might have been tempted to run right across the middle to the described anchorage. If he did that, he would have been hard aground and picking oyster shells out of his bottom and gear for days waiting for some assistance getting off the high and dry. The anchorage at Redington Shores does appear on the NOAA charts, but like most of the really small, out of the way places, the details are simply not there, leaving places such as these to the locals only.

Well. Following the writer’s directions, we hugged the shoreline after entering just west of G3 and found plenty of water along the banks. Actually, you run an arm’s length from the end of people’s private docks back to the northwest corner where you anchor opposite the two story Wachovia Bank Building. There is a dock there you can use for your dinghy, and which we took appropriate advantage of. My point in all of this is that, when there is a storm front headed your way, you need to either get into a marina and tie up good, or find an anchorage that affords great protection from the wind and seas, and good holding, and ride it out. We are getting rather good at the latter.

So, we stitched and mended our way to the back of this “hole” and set the hook in around 7’ of clean water. We let out more than 100 feet of chain and set it hard in the direction the storm was going to be coming from. Now, around here, you also have to prepare for the clearing wind following the storm front. When a low pressure system flows in bringing rain, lightning and thunder, you can almost be certain, it will be followed by some brisk wind from the opposite direction as the high pressure fills in the gap in space and time left by the fast moving low. So, you have to make sure you have ample space to swing in both directions.

There really was nothing to do in Redington Shores. It’s an outer suburb of St. Pete’s, or just another one of these beach communities so common in this region. Had we needed it, we could have found excellent access to shopping for groceries, and there is always an abundance of restaurants. The writer of the review on ActiveCaptain.com described a place right on the water that had an all you can eat pizza buffet. But, not unlike many other items of interest we read about, it, too, was gone - out of business. Ok. So we didn’t get to gorge ourselves with pizza. No real loss there.

We got in late in the afternoon and prepared for the storm forthcoming the next day. We didn’t do much other than that. It was quite relaxing. The protection afforded from the storm was superb. We rode out a full day and night of pounding rain and then the following day, of smoking’ wind, and we were just fine.
The following day, we waited for the middle tide and then left for St. Petersburg. We decided we would stay in the North Basin which is a free anchorage. One cruising guide says we could stay for a week while another said we could stay for 2 weeks. Well, I doubt we’ll stay long enough to be concerned in any case.

Here are some pictures of coming into St. Petersburg.

THE SUNSHINE BRIDGE.

When we got in, we anchored up amongst several other boats. Some of them appear derelict, two or three of them have full time live-aboards on them. The anchorage is protected on three sides by a grass-topped, low concrete wall. As I said, the anchorages is protected on three important sides. However, the one side that is not protected, is the one we wish most was. When the east wind blows, this anchorage gets “uncomfortable”. Well, the east wind blew for the last 2 days making sleeping at night, at least for me, a chore. Brenda, on the other hand, can sleep anywhere, anytime, and was seemingly not bothered at all by the movement of the boat or the slamming of the swim step into the water. Most irritating of all, however, was the sounds from the water tanks.

When we got to St. Petersburg, we went into the municipal marina to pump out the holding tank and, while there and available, took on water. Our water tanks are baffled, but not completely. So, when the tanks are basically topped off, the water can slosh around inside the tanks above the baffles. When the boat is still, it’s no big deal. However, when the boat is rocking, it is quite loud. All it takes is a couple showers and a sink full of dishes to solve the problem. Problem solved.

After anchoring, we dropped the dink and headed for shore. There is an electric boat marina that, for $5, will allow you to tie your dinghy up for the day, come and go as you wish, etc. This worked out great. When we got there, nobody was around. I had my $5, but there was nobody there to take it. $5 saved. So, off we went.

HIS NAME IS "BENNETT", ONE OF MY FAVORITE BIRDS.  LOOK HOW HE SEEMS SO CONTEMPLATIVE.

We headed out to the end of the pier to catch a cocktail and the sunset. Both were great. The St. Petersburg Pier is really something. Along the walkway out to the end, there is exhibit after exhibit describing the local wildlife and birds, the reasons the water in the area is so clean, and pictures that help you identify all these things. It is really cool. As I will describe later, this town obviously has a city planning philosophy that incorporates creativity and a sense of fun, quite unlike municipalities such as Santa Barbara or Ventura, California.

THE ST. PETERSBURG YACHT CLUB.  VERY EXCLUSIVE!

THIS IS THE VIEW FROM OUR ANCHORAGE.

ROSEATE SPOONBILLS

At the end of the pier is a five story, upside down pyramid. There is an aquarium, conference and meeting rooms, and several cool stores and restaurants. We went to the top, because we saw there was an outer deck. At the top, we found the bar and sat outside on the deck so we could enjoy the view. St. Petersburg has a fabulous skyline. Later we learned that those beautiful tall buildings are actually very architecturally spectacular high rise condo complexes. The tops of these buildings were intriguing insofar as there appeared to be penthouses up there that were as big as the base of the building, no doubt affording some very wealthy retired person more than several thousand square feet of living space and unbelievable views.

Interspersed among the high rise condos are a couple bank buildings and other commercial buildings housing a variety of financial institutions and mortgage companies. But, most wonderful, are the parks. The waterfront area is one park after another complete with fountains, statues, benches, and Banyan trees. Have you ever seen a Banyan? They are very wide at the top and rather wide at the bottom. However, instead of a single trunk, the tree’s midsection appears to be comprised of thick vines. They are covered with yellow and gold leaves on top of a thick green canopy. The city maintains these parks very well as, even in the dead of winter, the grass is green and healthy looking.

HIS NAME IS "DANA"

St. Pete’s, as the locals call it, is also a place where you can find a number of cool museums. There are several including the new Dali museum, a Museum of History, a Fine Arts Museum, a Holocaust Museum, and several others. There are also stores that describe their wares as “wearable art”, whether it is jewelry or fine gowns, they are very beautiful and definitely constitute “art”.  It is not a big city, but it has everything one could want in addition to being a beautiful place. There are generally lots of restaurants and night club spots on the first few blocks up from the water front. There are resorts and spas, an airport (mostly for small planes and private jets), a Publix, all the typical food joints one sees at the foot of office towers, and lots of stores selling high end wares. We found the West Marine and met a couple of nice folks in there. Interestingly, you see nothing of the police presence, but there are cameras EVERYWHERE. Hell, who’s going to complain? If you’re a criminal, you’re not going to walk into this town’s police station and complain. If you are one of the wealthy retired folks who lives here, you’re not going to complain. And, if you are one of the folks who works in any one of a number of financial institutions or other consumer service locations and have to walk to your car after dark, you’re not likely to complain, either. According to the statistics I have found, there is not much crime in this city and it is very safe. Unfortunately, the events of a couple days ago left a deep scar in the hearts of the City and its police department.

THE NEW DALI MUSEUM.  IT WAS VERY COOL.

Some good for nothing piece of shit decided he wasn’t going to back to jail “no mo”, and tried to evade officers who came to the house he was not supposed to be in to serve an arrest warrant because he failed to appear at his November 1 trial for sexually assaulting a teenage girl. (The guy is a multiple time loser with a deep felony record involving convictions for rape and other violent sexually assaultive behavior.) When the police arrived, the woman in the house told them he was hiding up in the attic and was probably armed. Two officers went up to the attic and were shot by this A-hole, one of them fatally. The other fallen officer was stuck in the attic and his colleagues were not sure of his status. Heroically, several additional officers got their ballistic shields out and went in there to get their stricken comrade. The garbage in the attic again started firing, this time through the ceiling. Another officer was fatally wounded. They did, however, manage to get their buddy out. He is going to survive. So, now ever piece of tactical equipment between Clear Water and Tampa arrived. Helicopters flew around overhead like a cloud of mosquitoes. Try as they, the could not convince the loser in the attic to come down. There was more gunfire and the police riddled the house with bullets. Apparently, the criminal sent a text message to a friend or relative saying he had “been hit.” The police didn’t know this at the time. However, by then, they had had enough and began dismantling the house piece by piece until there was nothing left but a pile of rubble in which they found the dead body of the rodent they were seeking. This whole incident had the town buzzing. Everyone was pretty shook up and kept saying that, this kind of thing just doesn’t happen in St. Pete. Our condolences extend to the families of the brave law enforcement officers who were wounded and who lost their lives, and our gratitude that there will not be any need for a trial. So stay home Jesse and Gloria! Florida is no place for you right now.

Previously, I discussed using cruising guides to find good storm hang outs. We found a good one here (except for the east wind), and spent most of yesterday doing work stuff and preparing the boat for the storm that was on the horizon. I have previously mentioned my Radar App on my Droid phone. It is so cool! We watched the storm approaching from as far as 150 miles out to sea. I am getting pretty good with it such that I was able to walk downstairs, and close the windows and tell Brenda it would be raining in a few moments, and it was. And then did it rain! It rained harder than I think I have ever seen it rain. We have endured several of these blasters over the last couple months. Frankly, I am getting tired of them. But, on the brighter side, we are becoming quite the experts at dealing with them.
First and foremost, you have to make sure you have plenty of anchor and chain. If you catch yourself thinking, for even the slightest moment, about whether or not you have enough scope, let more out. It’s like reefing a sail. If you are thinking about doing it, then do it.



Second, these storms are packed with gusty winds. So, make sure everything is tied down or put away. If it can blow away, it will blow away.



Third, if it is possible to fish the dink out of the water, do so. We were unable to do that because the lump from the prior east winds made doing so more difficult than we cared to endure, so we otherwise secured it with a couple lines, pulled her along side, and inserted fenders between her and the boat, tilted up the motor, and closed the gas can air valve. Now, we could move in a pinch if we blew off the pick without worrying if we would catch a line in the running gear.  Windows secure. Check. Deck gear secure. Check. Batteries charged. Check. Flashlights handy. Check. Etc. Etc. Etc.

WOW!  NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL RAIN.

On the radar, you could see this one coming. The thick red line that indicates the strongest winds and rain was nearly 1000 miles long and at least 20 miles wide and was followed by thick patches of yellow and orange, indicating high winds and heavy rainfall. When it hit, it was not so bad, actually. It kind of slid in, as opposed to the storm that hammered us up in St. Andrews Bay. But, the rainfall was heavy. It lasted heavy for about 2 hours and then started tapering off. It’s still raining as I am writing this the morning after the storm hit. However, it is starting to clear and the northwest wind is starting to pick up. This is the clearing wind I was talking about. It will blow all day and then taper off in the evening. At least I will have a chance to pump the 7” of water out of the dink and then we will be able to go to shore and enjoy something. There are trolleys that run all over the city for a quarter. It should be fun.

I’ll write more later. Bye Y’all.