Gasparilla marina

Sunset over Egmont Key

We are tied up at the marina and getting tidy! I had to wash down the boat because it was salty, from the storms and the seas over the bow. It was good to see a familiar face, Keith, Carol and Face (the cat). We are going to head to town later to get some supplies.

Small squall coming in

Charlotte Harbor

Whew! After a long journey we are on the hook up here behind Gasparilla Island, in Charlotte Harbor.  We left Tarpon Springs Monday morning and after talking about anchoring up behind Anclote Island for the night we said never mind and headed for Egmont Key, in Tampa Bay, it was a lovely sail with just one storm, no rain, but the wind blew and the waves got big and we plowed through some rough seas, but our "little ship" made it with no problem. The next day we left Egmont Key around 9am and boy where we in for it, never mind that fair weather sailor, we hit a bad storm and for awhile we could not see 50 ft in front of us, it was so weird, sailing so fast and seeing only rain and waves. After a 12hr sail we dropped the hook behind Gasparilla Island and this morning I called Gasparilla Marina..waiting to hear back from them. The auto pilot still is not working right, so we need to address that issue!

The storm

Big party barge coming out of Tampa Bay

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Tampa

Whew! After a long journey we are on the hook up here behind Gasparilla Island, in Charlotte Harbor.  We left Tarpon Springs Monday morning and after talking about anchoring up behind Anclote Island for the night we said never mind and headed for Egmont Key, in Tampa Bay, it was a lovely sail with just one storm, no rain, but the wind blew and the waves got big and we plowed through some rough seas, but our "little ship" made it with no problem. The next day we left Egmont Key around 9am and boy where we in for it, never mind that fair weather sailor, we hit a bad storm and for awhile we could not see 50 ft in front of us, it was so weird, sailing so fast and seeing only rain and waves. After a 12hr sail we dropped the hook behind Gasparilla Island and this morning I called Gasparilla Marina..waiting to hear back from them. The auto pilot still is not working right, so we need to address that issue!

The storm

Big party barge coming out of Tampa Bay

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New antenna

Well.. we are installing the new antenna for the chart plotter and when we get that done we will be able to leave Tarpon Springs. We still have not decided where to go, but we talked to the John, he has a boat here and he told us we are very limited on where we can go here...the water is so skinny..his boat draws 5ft and he worries...we draw 7ft. go figure... Pierre says he does not need to worry..I will do it for him.. I am going to watch the weather for the next few days and see what happens, I am so ready to leave this place. We have met some really nice people here, Jackson and his wife Arlene! Gene and his son Shane...Kenny Coffey...I hope we can keep up with them! Life is good on the water!!

Sponge fun

We had a wonderful time with my sister Nickie and her husband Jeff, they drove down and I went out to meet them, but in my haste, I forgot my phone and the clicker to get into the place. So I waited and waited in driveway...then I walked down to the gate and found them, they had been driving around looking for a way to get into the marina!! I would forget my head if it was not attached to my body...we had a good laugh about that! I was a little disappointed at the festival, there was not a sponge to be seen...but is was so good to see my sister..I love you guys!! I hope we can see you again before we leave here!

!

We got up early today and hopped into the golf cart to go and do laundry, we thought...well its a holiday weekend so the laundry mat should be empty. Wrong...it was packed!! I was going to go back to the sponge docks and do some shopping, but when we got back to Mar-Marina, Gene and his son Shane were here and they had bought a 6 by 10, 2 ton military transport vehicle so of course Pierre had to go look at it. While we were in the office talking to them Jackson came by and told us to please come to his house they were having an estate sale. They are selling off everything and moving aboard the boat they just bought, to sail away, just like us! So we put up the laundry and off we went...well we spent the whole day at their house, helping him with the sale and playing with their cats! Codi, Arlene has some cool plants!

Sister alert

Look at all the stuff!

Super excited, my sister is coming down from Spring Hill tomorrow and we all are going to the Sponge Docks to the festival. Pierre and I biked to Walmart and to West Marine today and the past few times we went by this little sweet restaurant. So today we stopped in for lunch, it was different, there was stuff everywhere. But the food was very good! My salad was as pretty as it was good! We are still waiting..waiting..for Sigma Marine to find out about our chart plotter. We can not go anywhere without it!

More and more stuff!

My salad, looks good Huh?

The biking Lesnes

We biked to Walmart today, it is about 4miles from here and we got stuff for the bikes..locks baskets and Pierre got a thing that goes on the back so we can bungy a crate on the back and go shopping. When we got to Walmart I went in a bought locks so we could lock up the bikes, then we both went in and got the stuff we needed for the bikes, but we could not get the stuff home, so I went back in and bought a screw driver and an ajustable wrench so Pierre could install the stuff on the bikes. Then off we went to Ballyhoo's,  a restaurant that the guys here told us about. I had the chicken coconut salad, and it was huge! So at least we have supper! Guess what? It did not rain today, sweet!