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Longboat Key to Marco Island

 We left Longboat Moorings and traveled the ICW to Venice, Florida. At Venice, we turned and went out into the Gulf Waters to make our way to Boca Grande Marina.  We were sorry we didn't stay on the inside as it was very choppy in the Gulf and made the trip not as enjoyable, but, on the plus side, no boat traffic and no low bridges.

Sights along the ICW to Venice

Low bridges 

Boca Grande Inlet

Since we have been to Boca Grande several times, we only planned to stay one night and have dinner in the restaurant, Eagle Grille, at the marina.  In the many times we have come here, the upstairs fine dining restaurant was always closed for the season.  Today,  they are not closed for the season, but it is Monday, and of course, they are closed on Mondays. With our "tiny" boat, we are not docked along the long dock as were with Perfect 10, but are given an outside slip.  It made for not a nice night. Much rocking and wave slapping against the hull. The next day we were anxious to move on to calmer waters, but not too far.  We will use our anchor for the first time off of Cayo Costa, a state park accessible only by boat.

Prime 11 at anchor. Taken during our dinghy cruise.

A unique place to watch our Cincinnati Reds' home opening day!

Beautiful Sunset

From Cayo Costa we head down to Sanibel Island.  We also have stayed here before, so we didn't venture out.  After two nights eating simple boat meals, we ate dinner at the marina's restaurant, Grandma Dots.  I think another simple boat meal on board would have been better. 😉

Arriving to our slip, after given the all clear from the dockmaster, we find it's not empty.  We are told to wait until the owner of the day boat is finished with lunch at Grandma Dots.  So, we hang out in a canal idling. Arriving to Sanibel around lunch time, is not a good idea.

Pileated Woodpecker

We stay only one night and head to Marco Island where we will stay for a couple nights.  We managed to secure a slip at Eslpanade Marina, which is close to West Marine (there is always a need) and a Winn Dixie and Publix.  While Esplanade doesn't have a pool, it is within walking distance of several restaurants and also has free laundry.  Highly recommend the new restaurant Deep Lagoon Seafood and Oyster House. Now onto a first... a visit to Everglades City to celebrate Easter!

Maiden Voyage From Dunedin to Longboat Key

 We departed from Dunedin's Marker One Marina on February 16th, heading to Longboat Key, approximately 50 miles.  Our journey took us through the ICW past Clearwater and out into the Gulf of Mexico at Clearwater Beach. 

The view from the boat of our condo visit with friends Maura and Richard.

The view of the inlet at Clearwater Beach from the above condo.

The water is great and all runs well!

We arrive to Longboat Pass, off of Anna Maria Island.  Another perk for our tiny boat...we fit under the bridge which should make all those snowbirds on the bridge quite happy.  Longboat Key has about 8,000 full time residents and peaks to approximately 22,000 in season.  On an island that is 10.8 miles long but only .5 to 1 mile wide, the line of traffic can get impressive.

Bridge can stay down!

We arrive to one of our favorite places, Longboat Key, with no equipment failures... at least while running the boat.😜

Stick with that water diet!🤣

We enjoyed our time at Longboat.  Thankful for all our pickleball peeps, dock mates, and our snowbird friends from home that visited.  A big thank you to our friends Ray and Gordon who happily made Ace hardware runs and to Stephanie & David for being our dinner drivers. Not having a car can be a real challenge! 

We are very blessed by not only the beautiful scenery, but by the beautiful people who call Longboat Key home (at least in February and March 😉). 

Manatees were plentiful at the marina this season

Dinghy ride views

Full moon over the marina

Longboat Beach

Longboat Beach

After almost two months at Longboat, in which we tweaked everything on the boat, at least twice (the reason for the Ace Hardware trips) and a two week hiatus back home in Cincinnati, we are ready to head further south into the Keys.  Let's go!

Getting Started

Similar to the housing market, the boat market is crazy. Buyers are at distinct disadvantage as to availability, negotiations, and timing.  Captain Tom, well researched in boats, was set on a Back Cove. To find a relatively newer one, equipped as desired, took time and several failed deals. Finally "the one" was located in Bristol, Rhode Island, for which we had to act fast and buy sight unseen, a scary undertaking. The plan was to truck her down to Dunedin, Florida and take possession there, mid October 2021. Unfortunately, with all the trucking issues, February 2022 became the new October possession date.  We rented a car, packed everything we could, and drove to Florida on the heels of an ice storm to see what we bought 4 months prior. 

I(cy)-75

In Dunedin, we stayed at a the Meranova Guest Inn.  The Inn was in downtown Dunedin, easy walking distance to restaurants and cute boutique stores.  

Meranova Guest Inn

 During our stay at the inn, and while we had use of the rental car, we commissioned our Prime 11.

Storing all this stuff was like playing a giant game of Tetris!

Dunedin is a great little Florida town, near the much larger and busier Clearwater Beach. It is the home of the Toronto Blue Jays for spring training, delayed this year, hence no games during our visit. The Pinellas Trail, a 39 mile long bike and pedestrian trail, bisects downtown Dunedin.  Along the trail, and within Dunedin, are a surprising number of breweries, including Dunedin Brewery which is Florida's oldest microbrewery. Dunedin is also home to Honeymoon State Park, Florida's #1 state park.  The weather was so wet and cold while we were there, we never ventured out the causeway to see it.

We enjoyed Dunedin. Experienced some wonderful meals, visited with some friends, watched the Bengals in the Super bowl and returned our rental car (thanks to Maura and Richard Johnson for being our Uber!).  

Friends from home! Let's go Bengals!

Now we are ready for the inaugural first trip, to one of our favorite marinas...Longboat Key Moorings.

Cheers to calm seas and clear skies!

Picking up where we left off...and beginning a new adventure!

Its been 7 years since we first began our trip aboard Crazy 8 from Cincinnati to Southwest Florida!  

Crazy 8

Since then, we have been boating on the waters of Southwest Florida, aboard 4 different vessels, always  searching for the Perfect One! After our river adventure, we sold Crazy 8 searching for a smoother ride for the Gulf waters, so hence came Cloud 9, a 48' Cantius.

Cloud 9

We enjoyed Cloud 9 for a while, then realized we were missing some of the comforts from home... mainly space.  Perfect 10, a 53' custom build Marlow was purchased.  And she was Perfect!  A great Covid quarantine yacht with lots of room, a king size bed, 3 staterooms, 2 heads with showers, a wonderful galley, a relaxing salon, and even a washer and dryer!  But all the perfection comes with a price. The cost to maintain and insure, along with the amount of upkeep to operate and the availability of slips, all combined to make a less than perfect boat for our needs.

                                     

Perfect 10

After much contemplation as to what kind of boating we wanted to do over the next several years, a decision was made to sell Perfect 10 in this hot boating market and downsize to a boat in which we can travel more economically, faster and easier.  We made the ease of travel a priority with our first goal set on the completion of The Great Loop, of which we have traversed a small portion on Crazy 8.

Prime 11

Keeping with our numbering theme, we name our new ship, a 41' Back Cove,  Prime 11.  While she doesn't have all the amenities of Perfect 10, she is a nice running boat, definitely more economical and much easier for the two of us to handle and maintain.  We call her our "tiny" boat and so far,  we are adapting well to tiny boat living.

Buster and Bailey

Besides the boat changes, our new live aboard family has also changed.  We no longer have our two salty dogs to keep us company on our travels.  We had to say goodbye to Bailey in October 2018 at the age of 16 and we just recently lost Buster in February of this year, at the ripe old age of 17 1/2.  We will miss them but we know they are now together chasing all the pelicans and squirrels they can! 

With the pandemic behind us🤞, we are eager to travel again, by waterways, and explore the eastern half of our wonderful country in which we are blessed to call home.

      

The Great Loop

For those unfamiliar with The Great Loop, it is a continuous waterway that allows boaters to explore Eastern North America.  It is nearly 6000 miles with just over 150 locks.  Approximately 150 people complete the Loop in a given year.  Those who complete the journey are officially called "Loopers". On the left, is a map of the route it encompasses.  The Orange line from Cincinnati to the Keys is the route we have completed. If all goes well, we will cross our wake at the yellow star which is Lake Barkley in the Land Between the Lakes.  Then we no longer will be half looped, but official "Loopers"!😀

 

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First Mate Jackie and Captain Tom