Part Two Carrabelle to Sanibel Island - East Coast Camano ...



Part Two, Carrabelle to Sarasota

Thursday, April 12, 2007 Carrabelle to Steinhatchee

We took our gear from the motel room to the boat and I went over to the marina office to settle the bill and check the weather status with Buddy, the weather Guru. Buddy said things still looked good to go so at 7:15 we headed down the Carrabelle River 1.5 miles to the St Georges Sound.

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Leaving Carrabelle

Once we cleared the channel we headed towards the eastern point of Dog Island, we went past Tyson’s Harbor which is a well protected, except from the North, anchorage and ferry landing on Dog Island. I think it might be a good place to visit on another trip. Leaving from there would cut 5 – 6 miles from the trip to Steinhatchee. Once we were clear of the tip of Dog Island we were able to enter the coordinates for Steinhatchee Channel and steer directly there. I don’t have an auto pilot on Spirit and usually don’t wish for one but it would sure be nice to have on these trips in open water. The weather was nice, a bit of wind and maybe 2-3 foot seas. The forecast was for 10- 15 K but

it seemed less than that.

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Beautiful clear blue water half way across to Steinhatchee

For most of the trip we traveled about 9.5 mph and were burning 3.5 GPH

The trip was rocky at times but without any problems. We arrived at the Sea Hag Marina Steinhatchee at 4:15 PM we pulled up to the fuel dock but they had just run out of diesel and it was getting a bit late so we proceeded to our slip at the end of a floating dock that was still floating, but had seen better days and a few hurricanes.

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Floating docks at the Sea Hag Marina

Steinhatchee is a sport fishing area, there are lots of Charter boats operating out of the Sea Hag, they have a well stocked tackle and bait store. Grouper, Snapper, Redfish and Speckled Trout seem to be the main species caught. Most of the charter boats are the center console Bay Boat type about 22 feet long and carrying 2 or 3 clients plus Captain, there were several larger boats also. They leave at dawn, some told me they go 30 to 40 miles out for grouper and snapper. The redfish and speckled trout are caught in shallower water. The boats come back in the afternoon, there are cleaning tables near the docks and the fish cleaning crew stays busy for hours judging from the sound of their electric fillet knives.

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Steinhatchee sunset

66 Miles today

Friday, April 13, 2007

In spite of today’s bad luck date we left Steinhatchee for Crystal River. Our first order of the day was to take on diesel at the Gufstream Marina across the River, at 7:30 we were headed down the river with full tanks. It was breezy and the waves a bit larger than yesterday but not too uncomfortable and it got smooth as the day went on. After clearing the channel we headed south for about 15 miles then took a more Southeast course passing west of the Suwannee River and then Cedar Keys. I would have liked to visit Suwannee but everything I read mentioned very shallow water, about 2 or 3 feet, at the entrance to the river, our draft is 3’6”, we will stop at Cedar Key on our return trip, weather permitting.

This leg of the trip is done in shallow water, 8-12 feet deep, the bottom is rocky with patches of grass and there are LOTS of crab trap floats! You really have to keep watch for them most of the floats are white and the whitecaps make them hard to see. As far as I know we didn’t hit any, at least none got tangled in our gear. Just north of the entrance to Crystal River there is a huge power plant, the stacks and cooling towers can be seen for miles. On our way in to the river we saw lots of fishermen in their boats trying their luck.

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The Crystal River Energy Complex

The entrance to Crystal River is beautiful, there are small islands with palms and the

Water is nice and clear.

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One of the Islands along Crystal River

The channel is well marked, we went up several miles and at 6:15 were at the Twin Rivers Marina. We were assigned a slip but as we tried to back into it found it had only a couple of feet of water. We were assigned another deeper one and were able to get in but our keel was in the mud and there was only a 50 amp outlet available and I didn’t have the correct adapter to be able to use it. Aside from that it is a nice marina with fuel, bathrooms, and laundry facilities, it does have the drawback of being about two miles from the town of Crystal River. The owner and staff were very nice. We had dinner on board.

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Crystal River sunset from Twin Rivers Marina

93 Miles today

Saturday April 14, 2007 Twin Rivers to Pete’s Pier Marina, Crystal River

We took on fuel and left Twin Rivers at 9:20 AM traveled up Crystal River to Pete’s Pier Marina. Crystal River is famous for the number of Manatees there, especially during the winter when the water is kept warm, about 72 degrees, by the many freshwater springs. There is a tourist industry built around the Manatees and the Springs every day boats leave the marinas with tourists in dive gear to see and swim with the manatees. Swimming and looking at the manatees is permitted as long as they are not harassed. The scenery along the way is beautiful there are several nice parks near the river including one with an Indian mound. At the town the river widens to form Kings Bay there are several marinas, restaurants, and a motel/marina along the banks of the bay. We checked in to Pete’s Marina and were assigned one of the covered slips. The weather forecast calls for very windy conditions for the next few days so it looks like we will be here for a while, this is a nice place to spend a few days so that won’t be a problem. Once we were settled in the slip we took the dinghy for a mile or so ride for lunch at the Ale House Restaurant in a motel/ marina complex on the bay, the burgers were good. [pic]

King’s Bay seen from Pete’s Pier

Sunday, April 15, 2007 Petes Pier

It got windy during the night and is very windy today 25-30 K and a bit of rain in the morning temperature in the 50’s so it is pretty miserable weather. The strong winds are pushing water into the bay and raising the water level just over the docks. It looked like the vhf antennas would hit the slip’s roof so I laid them down. A motoryacht maybe 45 feet long is tied up at the fuel dock, he is perpendicular to the wind and the tide has raised him so high the pilings are lower than his rub rail and banging the hull with each wind gust. He called Boat US towing to pull him off of the face dock they brought him out to the bay, I think he anchored in the lee of the west side of the bay. In the afternoon we walked to a shopping center which has quite a few businesses a hardware store, grocery store, West Marine, several restaurants, a laundromat and others.

I called Tarpon Springs Municipal Marina this morning and reserved a slip for Tuesday.

0 miles today

Monday April 16, 2007 Pete’s Marina

Windy again today, the local paper said the wind was gusting up to 60 MPH yesterday not far from here. I am due for a blood test to check my Coumadin dosage so I called the local hospital, they accepted my insurance card, performed the test and faxed the results to my doctor in Thibodaux, his nurse then phoned me with his recommendation, everything went surprisingly well. We brought clothes to the Laundromat and had lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant.

0 miles today

Tuesday April 17, 2007 Crystal River to Tarpon Springs

We left Pete’s Pier marina at 7:45 NOAA is forecasting 10 – 25 K winds for today, we’ll see how it goes. The scenery was beautiful going down the river quite a few tour boats were around lots of people in dive gear looking for Manatees. We did not see a manatee the whole time we were there, maybe because the wind was so strong most of the time and we really didn’t go out of our way looking for them. We did see several on other places later on.

The wind was less than predicted and the tide was low as we went down the channel we still had about 2’ under the keel in most spots, as we cleared the last markers I turned Southwest and promptly hit bottom I was going slow and able to back off then take a more westerly course for a while then turn south with no problem. Again there are lots of crab traps all along the way.

This will be our last leg in open without the protection of barrier islands or being in a canal. The rim route is very scenic with lots of interesting places and nice people along the way, you must keep in mind that the water is shallow for a long way out from the coast so a stop at any given port will call for a long trip, up to 15 miles, in and back out again.

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Tour Boat on the Anclote River

We turn up the Anclote River to the Tarpon Springs Municipal Marina this is a small marina with about a dozen slips, public rest rooms with showers (not the best we’ve seen) are attached to the marina office. The restrooms close to the public at night, except marina guests who have access at any time. No other facilities are available. In spite of some shortcomings it is so well located that I would definitely stay at this marina the next time I visit tarpon Springs .Ted the Harbormaster is very helpful, he was in the Polish Merchant Marine for many years and has lots of interesting stories. Ted keeps his Albin 31 at the marina and has done a lot of cruising in this area and the East Coast so is a good source for local knowledge.

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Tarpon Springs Marina

The marina is located right on the waterfront, this is a tourist area with lots of restaurants, tour boats, and souvenir shops with loud hawkers promoting them. A couple of blocks off the waterfront things calm down a bit. It is a very interesting town, a large percentage of the population still speak Greek and preserve their Greek traditions. The restaurants we went to were Mr. Souvlakis and Mama’s we enjoyed the food very much at both but Mr. Souvlakis was our favorite. The lamb, marinated Octopus and flaming grilled cheese were fantastic.

73 miles today

Wednesday April 18, 2007 Tarpon Springs

We spent the day in port looking around town doing a few things on the boat. Ted gave me a ride to a hardware store to buy a water hose, the one we have been using(15 years old) has a couple of pinholes. After lunch we walked across the bridge to The Landings Marina

It seemed very nice and has complete services including a restaurant. It would make a good stop if the municipal marina were full, it often is. Back on the boat we heard Coco barking, he could see a pelican perched on our bow rail, he did not appreciate the intruder on his boat.

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A visitor on our bow rail

0 miles today

Thursday April 19, 2007 Tarpon Springs to Caladesi State Park

We left Tarpon Springs at 9:45 AM I had read about a nice anchorage in the canal which brings cooling water in to the power plant near the mouth of the river. On our way out we turned in there to check the depths and have a look for future trips. It is near a nice park with a small beach and there is a restaurant nearby. There were two boats anchored there the water is about 8 feet deep, it looks like a nice spot to stop on the way in or out of Tarpon Springs I imagine on a weekend it would be pretty crowded. There is a floating barrier to keep boats from going in too close to the Power Plant.

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Power Plant canal anchorage Anclote River

Out in open water near Anclote Key there was a breeze and light chop. At the southern tip of the Island there is an abandoned light house. Ted had recommended we stop at Three Rooker Island which is much larger than it appears on the charts but we passed it up and continued to Caladesi Island.

The entrance to the Caladesi State Park marina is through a well marked channel through some shallow water then through Mangroves. Once inside the mangroves it widens out where the marina is located it is very nice and protected from all sides it is a first class facililty, the floating docks have power and water. Onshore there is a large building with Ranger station, bathrooms, and a grill type snack bar/convenience store. Outside there are nature trails, and a nice area with BBQ pits, where you can then eat under thatched pavilions. A beautiful beach on the Gulf side is a short walk on a raised boardwalk. It truly is an impressive place. I tried fishing off of the docks in the evening but had no luck.

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Caladesi State Park Marina

In the slip next to us was a couple in a trawler returning from the Marine Trawlers Owners Association Rendezvous they have been doing volunteer work with the rangers, they told us the bird watching here is excellent. We gave them a Louisiana birding calendar with beautiful pictures which they enjoyed.

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Picnic and nature trail area, Caladesi Park

Dinner on board

17 miles today

Friday April 20, 2007 Caladesi St. Park to Clearwater Municipal Marina

We have a short trip today so we walked over to the beach for a while looking for shells we found a few “keepers”. At 10:30 AM we headed back out the channel to the waterway headed south to Clearwater.

At the Clearwater Marina we were assigned a slip on the outside dock, there is a lot of traffic there and it got rocky at times from the tour and charter fishing boats. The Marina is in an area with lots of shops and restaurants, and it’s own restaurant which is quite good. The beach is a short walk from here, at sunset there are crowds on the waterfront and a party atmosphere as they look over the Gulf and celebrate the sun setting on the horizon.

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Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico

9 miles today

Saturday April 21 Clearwater Beach Marina

Spent the day in port, we walked over the bridge to the Clearwater Aquarium, it was a bit of a disappointment it seemed a little bit run down and a lot of the exhibit tanks were empty, maybe due to hurricanes? Later in the day we had lunch at a seafood restaurant named Frenchy’s they are in several cities along the coast it was quite good but crowded.

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Pirate tour boat in Clearwater Harbor

This morning there was quite a bit of smoke in the air I heard later that it was from some huge forest fires near the Georgia / Florida border blown here by the south winds, we would see almost every day until we were back on the Florida Panhandle. Some days it would be very thick like a dense fog.

0 miles today

Sunday April 22, 2007 Clearwater Marina to Twin Dolphin Marina, Bradenton

We left the slip at 10:30 AM and stopped at the fuel dock to fill up with diesel and then pump out the holding tank. Here I had a most unpleasant experience, I was holding the tapered nozzle into the waste outlet on the deck, when I opened the vacuum valve about a quart of the three or four day old contents of the tank spurted out giving me a foul shower. Oh well, I got it pumped out, Marsha handed me a change of clothes. Luckily the marina shower is right around the corner so I was able to get a long hot shower quick! One consolation, there was no one else but the dock hand around, if some of my buddies would have seen that they would have been falling off the dock with laughter. The dock hand told me it happens often, (probably why he was standing clear) maybe the vacuum setting or some problem with the hose adapter? Anyway, I got back on the boat and we headed off to Bradenton.

Being Sunday the waterway was crowded with boats of all descriptions with many big, fast and making big wakes! Nothing much you can do about it but learn to live with them. We arrived at Twin Dolphin Marina at 3:45PM and got into our slip in the transient area. The marina is very nice with all facilities including pool and BBQ area. A good bulkhead keeps wakes and waves from rocking the boats inside. There is a very nice, but pricey, restaurant on the grounds, the food there was very good.

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Twin Dolphin Marina, Bradenton

45 miles today

Monday April 23, 2007

Did some work on the boat this morning then walked into town for lunch. We ate at an Italian restaurant called Zio’s, it was quite good. After lunch we walked around town some more, there are some nice older wooden houses nearby. On the way back to the marina we saw a Florida History Museum and went over to have a look inside but it was closed. Too bad, it looked as if it would have been interesting and was only a couple of blocks from the marina. That will be something for the next trip.

0 Miles today

Tuesday April 24, 2007 Bradenton to Sarasota

We left Twin Dolphin at 10:15 AM and had an uneventful trip to Sarasota, with light winds.

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Sarasota Skyline

We arrived at Marina Jack at1:45 PM and were given a nice slip not far from the Marina office building and restaurant. The marina is located very close to the downtown area there are all sorts of shops, restaurants and a Whole Food Market within an easy walk. We looked around some then had dinner at a Spanish Tapas bar/restaurant. In a “tapas” restaurants the menu is made up of all kinds of appetizers (tapas) so you order maybe three or four or more items per person and share them. It is a very interesting variety, some typical dishes might be: Shrimp in garlic butter, stuffed mushrooms, cold meat and cheese assortment, grilled sausages, olives, and crusty spanish bread, all washed down with a good glass of wine.

28 miles today

Wednesday April 25, 2007 Marina Jack

We had a walk in to town to pick up some items for the galley. Back at the marina we had lunch at the restaurant overlooking the water. We were joined by a childhood friend of mine and her husband who live in Sarasota, we had a nice time reminiscing about old friends and growing up on a sugar plantation in Puerto Rico in the 1950s. After lunch we went back to the boat so they could have a look at it and we had a drink on the flying bridge before they had to leave.

0 miles today

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