Wildlife of Snead Island

 We rode our bikes around the island and part way into Emerson Point Sanctury and saw a lot along the way.  We hope to actually walk the paths tomorrow but here is some of what we saw.

Baby gator checking us out

.

You can see how thick the duck weed is in the
ditches along the road. We saw about 8 baby gators

but this one stuck around to be photographed.

Daddy gator waiting for his next meal.  It might have been

the mama but we're were not getting in the water to check.

We also saw a large number of turtles of all sizes
all covered in duck weed.

At first, we thought this massive shape was just trash

but then legs and head popped out.  The turtle next

to it was large in its own right but nothing like his

friend.  A gentleman walking by said it was a leatherback.

We've seen ocean going leatherback seaturtles but never one

on land.

Down a finger canal we saw a pod of manatees.

You can see the nose sticking out of the water and 

another one beside it.

This was a fluke just after it was out of the 

water, really it is!

Manatees are massive and slow movers but

rarely surface.  Another friendly neighbor explained

that this canal has an artisian outflow that draws the

manatees in to the fresh water.  Yesterday all 6 in the pod 

were on the surface sunning but our phone battery had died.

Bradenton YC Second and Third Day

 We had a great first night on the seawall and woke up ready to.....do chores.  Oh well, if you want clean clothes, clean boat and food you have to stop living the dream and live the reality.  We had 10 days worth of laundry and neither of us felt like hauling that 2 miles to the laundromat so Uber took us and brought us back.  After that chore, made longer by bad dryers, we put that task away and rode our bikes back into town to grocery shop.  I'm sure we look a sight with bags on our backs and on our bikes but we get the job done.  Blue Moon got a good scrub-up from salt water and bird poop.  Tanks were all refilled and life was back to living the dream.

One thing we alway enjoy is walking the docks and seeing

other boats.  This is a waterside view of the club.  We had

a wonderful dinner there and the views are spectacular.

If you zoom in you can see the mama osprey feeding

her babies.  Every time we ride by them, she make a lot of

noise letting us know not to mess with her brood!

The yacht club's sailing center.

This club has the owner's names at each slip which is 

somewhat unique in our experience.  The docks did fairly 

well in the last summer hurricanes but 5 of the slips did 

need to be rebuilt.

Reality of waiting for a ride to do laundry.

Bradenton YC

 This is another favorite spot for us.  We left Clearwater YC and motored along the ICW to the western side of Boca Ciega Bay, just before entering Tampa Bay.  We ususally stop at Gulfport, a quirky little town, but they were hard hit by the hurricanes.  They had no dock available for us to reach shore.  Hopefully things will be more normal for them on our trip back home.  From our anchorage we then motored on to Bradenton YC.  They also were hard hit but on well on the road to recovery.  The fact that they have fuel is a real bonus for us especially since we've had to do so much motoring.  We plan to be here a few days to catch up on tasks and laundry.

Bradenton YC.

Skyline along the ICW

This looks like a lot of water but most of it is only 2-4 feet deep.

Sunshine Skyway bridge links the two sides of Tampa Bay.

Blue Moon on the club dock facing the Manatee River.

Across the Gulf and Clearwater

 We left Dog Island knowing it would be a motorboat ride.  Nothing against motorboats but we really prefer to sail. It is quieter, less polluting and much cheaper since we're not burning fuel.  Oh well, we've had some fabulous days sailing, just not this trip so far.  We did our trip planning for the lowest seas and arriving at or near high tide to get through the tricky route to the Clearwater YC, our destination.

It was the strangest crossing, this was our 19th, ever.  It was completely calm, flat seas and we never came across another boat.  It was eerie to be so alone but sleeping, eating and meal prep has never been so easy.  We made it in to Clearwater and anchored off the club.  This is easier for us since less manuevering is required, especially when you're tired.  We went to shore and found that the area had sustained much more damage than we had realized.  The club itself had over 5 feet of water inside with the hurricanes of last summer.  They have done a remarkable job of recovering but we did find out that no fuel was to be had along the waterway until much farther south.  Once we took a walk around we could see many closed andn damaged stores and condos.  Very sad indeed and we wish them all well.

Not to make the stop a bust, we went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.  This was made famous in the movies A Dolphin's Tale and it's sequel.  We had visited the aquarium several years ago but it was much smaller then.  A generous donation funded the new, huge aquatic center for rehabilitation and rescue animals.  It is a non-profit with the primary mission of rescuing and rehabilitating injured or sick animals.  If the animal is not able to be returned to the wild, they make a home for it.  We visited the hospital and watched a procedure on a sea turtle.  We also watched a dolphin demonstration and so much more.  This is a great place for kids of all ages.

The new dolphin center.

The amount of beautiful artwork was amazinng. It was all

over the entire complex.  I am sharing only a small part.

Arriving at the Clearwater Pass after about a 24 hour crossing.

So long Dog Island until the next time.

We were able to fly our light air sail for about an hour 

before the wind once again died off.

These were blown glass globes floating in the tank.

Can't resist a unique photo opportunity like this one.

The lionfish display was also educational about how 

invasive and ruinious the critter is to the gulf ecosystem.

Click to zoom in on more art on the side of the building.

Clearwater provides a free dinghy dock for visiting

boaters. We always appreciate the curtousy.

Dog Island

 We left Apalachicola once the tide and fog would allow.  This will always be a memorable part of the trip for us since we had to navigate around a dredging operation.  For almost and hour we eked by the miles long hose and the vessels at each end.  They were dredging the ICW channel and it could only be done with them in the channel.  That didn't leave much room for us and our keel.  We are grateful they are keeping the waterways navigable but our white knuckles joined our white hair!  We eventually passed and moved on to our anchorage at Dog Island to wait on good weather/sea conditions to cross the gulf.  This is an unusual place.  It is populated with a lot of vacation homes, some permanent residents and protected species of birds and mice.  The only way over is by a ferry or personal boat.  If you're curious, check it out on the internet.

I'm sure this was a shorebird print but we've never seen one

so perfectly shaped like an asterisk.

Blue Moon just offshore. You can see how close

we were able to get to the shallow by the color of the water.

The owners of this house had gone to the expense of pouring

a concrete drive from their boathouse to the water's edge.

The road from the ferry dock is only a sand path.

David keeping the dingy secured to the land so it won't float
 off with the tide and leave us stranded.

The houses on the far, western end of the  island.  This

is where we anchored for ease departure through the pass.

The island is a mix of beaches, scrub and marsh.

We walked about a mile on each side of the island and never

saw another person.  The poles bring electricity from

one end of the island to the other.  The eastern end is seven miles

from where we anchored and has most of the town including

a volunteer fire department.

One house had it's own water tower.  We're not sure

what the source of water for it comes from.

Apalachicola

 Our next few nights were spent in Apalachicola, one of our favorite towns in this area.  We have been visiting here since we were first assigned to Hurlburt Field in 1987.  It has definetly had it's share of blows in the recent years.  Hurricane Michael and the decision to stop the free flow of water down the Apalachicola River.  This latter event has ruined the previously world famous oyster industry.  It takes a steady inflow of fresh water to mix with the salt to make a perfect oyster habitat.  Apparently the City of Atlanta was the Goliath that beat this little David.  

Anyway it is always a treat to visit the super friendly little town and watch their effort to not just survive but reinvent themselves and thrive.  We did our part in boosting the economy with several excellent meals, drinks and souvenir.  If you ever have the chance, visit and see for yourself why we keep going back.

Looking down the main street towards the river.

One of the shrimpers, Miss Martha, is on the dock.

This building was once a collection of nautical treasures

and lots of junk.  It is now the Apalachicola Yacht Club.  They

were closed when we were there but we'll be checking it out in the future.

I did shop in this unique store.  They did have local honey,

soaps and a wide variety of other trinkets and treasures.

Super friendly staff helped me find the perfect coffee cup

to replace the one I had broken earlier.

There is a lot of work going on along the river and this barge

made several trips past us over the course of our two day visit.

The dock we stayed on is behind this large, open former

warehouse turn event space.

Fog has been a constant on our trip so far.

If it's Spring it must be foggy.

A shimper headed home.

Across the street was this cute breakfast spot.

The classic VW Bus is painted on the front of the

to-go counter with a variety of breakfast delights.

The Trip Across The Panhandle

 The last post was cut short due to a touch of Mal de Mer (seasickness) but we're now settled and all better.

Our first stop along the path was the west end of St. Andrew's Bay.  We had hoped to make the yacht club there but delays prevented that.  We like to visit the club by boat or by car but since they were closed on Mondays, we pulled up anchor and motored on down the Intracoastal Waterway-ICW, until a place called Farmdale Bayou.  We then motored, this is becoming a theme, motoring, since there has been very little wind, all the way to Apalachicola.

One reason we head south.  We had a record setting snowfall of 6 inches.

It's always a challenge to pack enough and this was phase I

It was definetly still winter in the ICW.

We've never seen snow along the sides, this was a new one on us.

We love the variety of plants, birds and animals along the way
We saw two eagles which is always a treat.  Sadly, they fly 
too fast for my camera.

there are many places like this along the way, spots 
to fish or simply esacape to.

Old tech indoor dryer

Always sad to see a wrecked vessel.  It was
somebody's dream come true, once.

The water flowing behind the mark indicates

a strong current-against us!

Our first night's sunset

The tiniest yoga studio.

What's Up Now

 In rereading the last post I realize I left the story hanging.  We left the Bahamas early because of weather.  Isn't it always the weather?  Anyway, we made it to Stuart Florida and David switched crews. I went home to work on the house and yard and our friend Eric helped to bring Blue Moon the rest of the way home.

There has been such a large gap since our last trip due to my other (left)shoulder requiring surgery and all the recovery.  Thanks to skilled surgical staff and wonderful physical therapists, I'm now able to pull a halyard to raise a sail.  Remember, we're a ketch so we have his and hers masts.  I need to pull my own weight or at least my own line!

We departed Fort Walton Yacht Club on Sunday, January 23 with the goal of getting South.  That's about it, south.  We'll make up the agenda and destinations as we go.  We went quickly last time and missed a lot of our favorite places.  This time we'll meander down and hopefully find them recovered from recent hurricane activity. 

I'm still trying out a new way to post photos so stay tuned.