Day 171 & 172: Across Sarasota Bay

Day 171: January 5:  It was a pretty day to travel. We got UW at 9:00 a.m. and headed out of Maximo Point toward the more open waters of Tampa Bay. Not wanting to visit St. Petersburg or Tampa, we shortened our trip across Tampa Bay by 6.6 miles by heading south in a channel that runs west of the I-275 causeway. This alternate route has plenty of depth and eventually rejoins the GIWW. 

It was a bit choppy on Tampa Bay; we turned on the stabilizers to try them out since John replaced the pistons this week. All appeared to be in working order as the boat handled the chop well; but the real test will be when John checks the engine room and finds no oil leaks. 

We cruised by the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, often referred to as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge or Sunshine Skyway. Considered the flagship bridge of Florida, it is the gateway to Tampa Bay. It opened in 1987, replacing its predecessor after it suffered a terrible demise on May 9, 1980. 

During a treacherous and powerful storm, with winds gusting to 90 mph and zero visibility, Summit Venture, a Liberian freighter, struck the bridge. A pickup truck, six cars and a Greyhound bus loaded with 26 passengers plunged 150 feet into the water. The disaster took 35 lives with one lone man surviving. 

The wreck occurred near the spot where the Coast Guard Cutter, the Blackthorn, collided with the tanker SS Capricorn, just 3 months prior, killing 23 people. It's an eerie feeling traveling across waterways with such a tragic story to tell. Cruising the Great Lakes, especially Lake Superior generated a similar feeling. 

We hailed two bridges today; the Anna Maria and the Cortez. The Anna Maria bridge-tender was a little reluctant to open, advising us to look at the board to determine whether our boats at 23 feet or so could make it under. The board read 20 feet; we alerted the bridge-tender and he responded quickly, sounding the horn to stop traffic. The Cortez Bridge was just about 2 miles from the Anna Maria; both open on the quarter hour and three quarter hour resulting in boats having to wait about 1/2 hour for the next opening. We approached the bridge and idled along with 2 other boats including one Looper. 

A mix of clouds and sun remained for most of the day. We enjoyed the beautiful homes and marveled at the number of abandoned boats high and dry in shallow grounds. 

Sarasota Bay was extremely busy with boats of all sizes whizzing back and forth. At a particularly narrow section we saw a sailboat, sails up, stuck just off the channel. Folks onboard were motioning to all boats passing by, including us, to pull over and tow them. This was not doable for us given the situation so we continued on. A Seatow boat that happened to be right in the neighborhood stopped so I'm sure all ended well. 

We were expecting some pretty strong winds to pass through overnight so we pulled into an anchorage between Otter and Lido Keys after traveling almost 30 miles in about 4 hours. A small protected cove surrounded by mangroves on the north east side and houses to the west on Lido Key, its only drawback was it is open to the south; the direction the oncoming storm is supposed to blow from. We dropped the hook and the anchor grabbed very well. Frank anchored just off our stern. 

Dinner of fried chicken, pasta and veggies on our boat. Settled in to wait for the storm. 

Day 172: January 6: We had a peaceful night's sleep but at 6:00 a.m. everything changed with the howling wind. Already awake but not yet out of bed, we heard a banging sound; not good. John jumped up to find we had been sliding back toward Summer Fling. It took quick and precise action to avert a calamity. John started the engines and turned on the instrument lights. I pulled up the bridle and put on the spotlight. We hauled the anchor only to find a large cement block hanging off of it. Using the bow-hook I managed to unhook it, watching it splash back into the depths from which it came. John dropped the anchor again and we kept a close watch on the anchor alarm settings for the next hour as the strong south wind blew through the inlet and torrential rain poured down. I wish I had been able to snap a picture of the cement block but I had more important things to thing about at the time! 

By noon the storm had passed and the sun came out. We took the dinghy to North Lido Beach. Its beautiful stretch of sand was filled with shells. People were taking full advantage of the summer like moment, enjoying the sun, water, sand and the occasional dolphin spouting within a short distance from shore. The Gulf was still riled from last night's storm, waves smashing the shoreline. Savoring the good weather, we walked the length of the beach for a couple of hours, relishing the warm sunshine! 

Birds on the beach didn't pay any attention to people as they passed by. There were Ardeas, a genus of herons, large in size and associated with wetlands, royal terns, plain old seagulls and a black skinner (a tern-like seabird). 

Just before we got to the boats we toured the small canal nearby. The houses are amazing and the number of new ones being built is mind boggling! Dinner on Summer Fling and an episode of Reacher before bed.