2021: Gulfport marina to Sarasota anchorage

 9 April 2021

Depart: Gulfport Municipal Marina 12:30

Arrive: Sarasota - Otter Key Anchorage 5:30

Distance: 34 nm

Conditions: Sunny, Warm and breezy

Clark had an important letter to mail and some phone calls to make before we could leave this morning. I figured we would be able to depart earlier if I helped out by mailing the letter for him. I offered to walk the one mile each way to take in the sights and get some exercise. Clark tried to convince me to take my bike, but I was in no rush and wanted to walk. 

It took about 45 minutes or so for me to walk there, drop the letter in the slot, and come back to the boat. I took my time and grabbed some pictures along the way.

Just a few sailboats at this marina.

Heron at the marina - sitting on a S/V boom

When I started out on my walk, I did not realize that I would be walking to St. Petersburg to mail the letter!

St. Petersburg City Limits! What!?

Humps Ahead!

Besides "Humps Ahead" I saw an official road sign that said "No Boat Trailer Parking" - a new one for me.

Google Maps sent me the less scenic route for the trip to the post office. I ended up walking alongside a major highway for a few blocks. On the way back I took the first side street and wove my way to the marina via back streets. It was much more enjoyable and scenic.

"Garbage" Truck?

No doubt about this one's favorite color - 
the car matches the house. 
Wonder which came first!

I saw two houses with murals painted on their garage doors. Unfortunately the one with the giant octopus had their garage door open, so all I saw were a couple of tentacles painted on the corner of the house. Around the corner I saw one with a mural on the garage door. 

They should park their car in the street so I
could get a better picture!

Just before I got back to the marina I saw this big anchor. Looking closely I discovered it was a monument for the Clam Bayou Nature Park.

Anchor Monument - Clam Bayou Nature Park
Gulfport, FL

I arrived back at the marina around 11:00 or so and figured we would be leaving shortly. I grabbed the restroom key and took it up to turn in at the marina office. Then I retied our dock lines to be setup for quick release thinking departure would be imminent. I grabbed a tall glass of water and sat down to chill.

Clark had been busy while I was gone, but the results of his efforts meant that he had two more letters that had to be mailed. I told him that the post office was just a short bike ride away, and he should just go ahead and mail the letters today instead of holding on to them in hopes of finding another post office in the near future. I got out his helmet and told him where he could find the bike rack at the post office. Then I sat down to relax and read for a few minutes.

No sooner had I gotten into my murder mystery than he came out and handed me two 

envelopes telling me how he wanted them mailed. Whoa! What?! I thought he was going to the post office this time. 

He said that he needed to prep the upper helm for departure, so I should go since "I was the one that wanted exercise". After considerable grumbling, I put his helmet away, grabbed mine and my bike, and took off at top speed to get there and back as quickly as possible. Having just explored the area, I had no need to take pictures or sight see along the way. Checkout was at noon and coming up quickly.

I got to the post office and back just before noon. I expected to find Clark ready to go. What I found was him casually chatting away with another boater from the marina telling her all about our repair experiences with our KE52. I found that the upper helm had not been touched during my absence! 

Knowing we had a bit of a trip ahead of us and annoyed that I had biked my butt off to get to and from the post office in record time (for me), I was less than pleased. When Clark told me what they were discussing, I told him to cut it short or we would need to book another night's stay at the marina! 

The two of them were a well-matched pair. Neither one could stop talking! The visitor could not take a hint, and I did not have a 2x4 to hit Clark with to get his attention. When I insisted that Clark help me disconnect the power because I could not get it to unplug, the woman finally realized that we were leaving. I think she thought we had just arrived as at one point she did say "Welcome to Gulfport!"

She asked where we were going, and when I told her Otter Key anchorage, she gave me a horrified look and said, "But that's 5 hours away from here!" I replied, "Yes, and?" I did not see the issue as we would arrive well before dark!

It took a half hour from when I got back to the boat from the post office until Clark was finally ready to start the engines. Most of that time was spent chatting with his new friend. Since it had now gone 12:30 and I had walked / biked the whole morning away, I had the hangries real bad. As soon as we were away from the marina, I made Clark his lunch and then sat down to enjoy mine. 

Since we had just traveled these waterways northward to get to Gulfport, the sights, with a few exceptions, were very much the same on the return trip south. 

Paragliders

This guy is getting lessons.

Tampa Bay Bridge - we did not go under this one

Another busy day of boaters beaching their vessels

Clear water allows us to see depths based on colors --
the lighter the color the closer the sand, i.e. more shallow!

We had to go under two bridges with questionable height clearance today. I remembered them well from the trip north. I checked out the first with binoculars and calculated that we had 23 feet of clearance - we need just under 22. We would be fine. It was a good thing that we did not need an opening as the bridge came down from the most recent opening just as we reached the bridge.  We scooted under with no issues. Otherwise, we would have had a 30 minute wait for an opening.

The next bridge had less clearance. The meter board showed 17 at low steel with an additional 4 feet in the middle. That's 21 feet and we need 22. Another boat, named "Mari Mi", was just ahead of us approaching this bridge. Clark called him to request a pass. The captain said, basically, "What's the hurry we both have to wait for the bridge?" Clark replied, "I hope to get under it." He probably thought we were trying to cut the line!

Looking at our boat one would not suspect that going under would be an option. With modifications to the folding mast connections and practice, Clark and I have the lowering of the mast down to a science. Clark put the boat on autopilot, we ran back to our positions and dropped the mast. Then, Clark, being taller, scopes out the clearance as we approach to confirm we can make it under. I take the helm and steer the boat under the bridge generally hoping Clark does not yell "Abort!"

We made it under this bridge smooth as anything. It helped that I remembered that 17 + 4 was the exact measurement we had going the other way, so I knew we could make it under without lowering any antennas.  About ten minutes later, the bridge opened for "Mari Mi" to pass.

Today's travels took us past Sarasota on our way to Otter Key to anchor for the night.

Sarasota, FL

We arrived at Otter Key around 5 o'clock. I could not believe the number of kayaks out on the water. I asked Clark, "What is this? A kayak convention!" They numbered too many to count. Unfortunately most pictures did not turn out well as we were looking into the sun.

A tiny sampling of the kayaks near Otter Key

When we entered the Otter Key anchorage, we found two boats here before us. One looked like it had no one aboard, and the other had a family of kids jumping off the bow and swimming back to their stern repeatedly. We picked a spot nearby and dropped our anchor.

Interesting obstruction in the anchorage

Even more ominous up close

We had no choice but to anchor near this obstruction. 

Up close and personal with the mangroves

Mangroves on Otter Key across from fancy homes

An osprey had her nest in a tall tree among the mangroves.

We had our anchor down with a 5-to-1 scope hoping that would be good enough for the night. We prefer 7-to-1. Just before Clark shut off his engines, the boat with the kids pulled up their anchor and left. We decided, since our engines were still running, to take their spot for a little more breathing room. 

The only other boat in the anchorage tonight.

We finally had our anchor down and set for the night at 5:30. While underway, around 4:00, I went exploring in the galley to decide what to do for dinner. I decided on spaghetti and meatballs. Since I had "free" engine-generated electricity going along, I made dinner right then and there, so all I had to do later was cook the vegetables and reheat the rest.  Because I cooked ahead, we were able to sit down to eat by 6:00.

Later, Clark jumped up with the camera for a sunset picture.

Sunset at Otter Key