Orion Jr at Riviera Dunes Marina
We traveled north from Venice (where our last post left off) on the Gulf Intra-coastal WaterWay (GIWW), stopping at Sarasota for a couple of days. As the waterway began to open up for Tampa Bay, we made a right turn and headed into the Manatee River on our way to Bradenton, pausing to anchor off the DeSoto National Memorial just west of there. In a short final hop, we arrived at Riviera Dunes Marina where Orion Jr will sit for the next month. In the meantime, we'll visit with family and friends and, of course, do boat projects.
Sarasota anchorage at sunset
Sarasota
The trip north from Venice was pretty easy and mostly uneventful. The only hiccup was some confusion on the bridge opening schedules, which both Active Captain and Skipper Bob had wrong. That's pretty unusual. At any rate, shortly after clearing the 2nd bridge, we entered Sarasota Bay, and had a decision to make. Do we anchor near the barrier island at Otter Key anchorage or stay near Marina Jack on the mainland side. We decided to check out the Otter Key anchorage first, which required us to head toward the Gulf as if we were going to head out the inlet before turning into the channel to the anchorage. The marks for the inlet are no longer charted, since the Coast Guard stopped maintaining them several years ago due to shoaling. The Sarasota Yacht Club stepped into the void and has placed and maintained the existing marks for the inlet. Dave had used their waypoints for the marks' current locations, but it was still pretty confusing as we headed “out” the inlet toward the anchorage. As we approached the entrance for Otter Key, the depths dropped considerably, but we made it through OK. Otter Key was a pretty anchorage, protected and surrounded by expensive homes, but there appeared to be no “official” place to tie up your dinghy. We wouldn't be comfortable going ashore here, which made this a less interesting place to stay. So, we headed back out to go across to Marina Jack. On our return trip, we discovered we had gone way to the wrong side of one of the marks on our original approach, having actually crossed right over the shoal that the marks were trying to help us avoid. Thank heavens for our shallow draft! We stayed in the channel on the return trip.
The trip north from Venice was pretty easy and mostly uneventful. The only hiccup was some confusion on the bridge opening schedules, which both Active Captain and Skipper Bob had wrong. That's pretty unusual. At any rate, shortly after clearing the 2nd bridge, we entered Sarasota Bay, and had a decision to make. Do we anchor near the barrier island at Otter Key anchorage or stay near Marina Jack on the mainland side. We decided to check out the Otter Key anchorage first, which required us to head toward the Gulf as if we were going to head out the inlet before turning into the channel to the anchorage. The marks for the inlet are no longer charted, since the Coast Guard stopped maintaining them several years ago due to shoaling. The Sarasota Yacht Club stepped into the void and has placed and maintained the existing marks for the inlet. Dave had used their waypoints for the marks' current locations, but it was still pretty confusing as we headed “out” the inlet toward the anchorage. As we approached the entrance for Otter Key, the depths dropped considerably, but we made it through OK. Otter Key was a pretty anchorage, protected and surrounded by expensive homes, but there appeared to be no “official” place to tie up your dinghy. We wouldn't be comfortable going ashore here, which made this a less interesting place to stay. So, we headed back out to go across to Marina Jack. On our return trip, we discovered we had gone way to the wrong side of one of the marks on our original approach, having actually crossed right over the shoal that the marks were trying to help us avoid. Thank heavens for our shallow draft! We stayed in the channel on the return trip.
Downtown Sarasota
Crossing Sarasota Bay, our next stop was the anchorage off downtown Sarasota. With the installation of a mooring field, the “no anchoring” perimeter was pretty large, making the available anchoring spots pretty far away from anything on shore. We opted to pick up a mooring, which for our size boat turned out to be only $18 a day. Since they gave us use of the dinghy dock and some pretty amazing showers on shore, this was a pretty good deal. Once the boat was attached to our mooring, we headed ashore to explore. The marina is right in downtown Sarasota, with lots of restaurants and even a Whole Foods grocery store a short walk from the dock. We got the lay of the land, before ending up at Two Senoritas' happy hour. We had some of the best margaritas at $2 each along with some delicious appetizers that were free. It was amazing. We will definitely look to visit them again on our return trip. Since we arrived so late, we decided to stay a second day, which gave us more to explore and do some boat chores before heading out for points north on Tuesday.
At anchor near DeSoto National Memorial on the Manatee River
Up the Manatee River
We didn't have many miles to cover between Sarasota and Bradenton and we still had 3 days before we were supposed to pull into our marina for the holidays. So, we looked for a place to stop en route, deciding on an anchorage on the Manatee River near DeSoto Nation Memorial. Since the marina was further up the same river, this would be on the way and would be interesting to explore.
We didn't have many miles to cover between Sarasota and Bradenton and we still had 3 days before we were supposed to pull into our marina for the holidays. So, we looked for a place to stop en route, deciding on an anchorage on the Manatee River near DeSoto Nation Memorial. Since the marina was further up the same river, this would be on the way and would be interesting to explore.
The first encounters between the gold-seeking European explorers and the native people in the Americas was about as cruel and violent as anyone could imagine. Our visit to the DeSoto National Memorial revealed that DeSoto's 4-year expedition through what he called “Florida” (which was actually much of the southeast) was no exception. The belief is that he made landfall somewhere in Tampa Bay, and possibly at the site of the park. Then, in a vain search for the same riches the Spaniards had plundered from the Mayas and Aztecs further south, DeSoto forged ahead, letting nothing get in the way of his expedition to pursue the elusive riches of gold or silver. Shortly after his death 3 ½ years into the expedition, his troops quickly abandoned the search as futile and returned to Spanish-held Mexico. The National Memorial had a film and interpreters who brought the peoples of both sides of these encounters to life. We were able to anchor just off the park's beach and we rowed to shore to explore the grounds and take in the exhibits. The anchorage was peaceful and had plenty of room for the few boats that were our neighbors for the couple of nights we stayed there.
On Friday, Dec. 7th, we made the short trip further up river to our marina for the holidays, Riviera Dunes. We were about to make history, being the first sailboat to arrive at this marina full of power boats. When we asked why this would be, we discovered there were 2 40 foot fixed bridges to pass under, which made it an exclusive power boat enclave, until our arrival. Since Orion Jr has a 35 ft mast (which we re-checked, just in case), we should have no problem passing under. Not to get too over-confident however, Dave called the local BoatUS to confirm the charted bridge heights were accurate. With their assurance that the bridges were as advertised, we made our plans to stay there. That doesn't mean we didn't keep a close eye on the bridge height boards and slow to a dead crawl to pass under. It is typical of these things that the first bridge's height board stopped at 38 ft. So we had to “extrapolate” what the actual height was. While Cathy watched the mass pass under the bridge, there was a moment when it looked uncomfortably close, but that's true on any bridge, even 65 ft ones, so we held our breath and passed through without incident. We passed through an open RR bridge before making a successful s-l-o-w passage through the 2nd bridge. Better to have the drama be imagined than real.
Once in the marina, several of our neighbors stopped by to comment on the fact that we were the only sailboat they had seen there. I guess that makes us local celebrities. The trip up river was worth it, because the marina was lovely. Wide floating docks, a pleasant “social deck” where we could grill and eat out, and large, clean showers. The restaurant on site has a live band playing every night, which we've enjoyed with wine and hor d'ouvres at the tables on the social deck. The staff is friendly and helpful. It seems we made a good choice. Now that the boat was settled in her slip for the month, we began to make plans to see family and get some work done.
Our nephew Jeff in front of his new home
Family and Friends
After just a few hours on the dock, we were already getting a rental car to head across the state to Melbourne. We had a dual purpose – one was to see our nephew Jeff in his new house. The other was to attend the Waterway Radio Cruising Club picnic. We arrived early Saturday afternoon and met our nephew at his house in a new subdivision in West Melbourne. After taking a tour and catching up, we headed out to the Eau Gallie Convention Center to the Seven Seas Cruising Association GAM being held there. We toured the vendor fair, where Dave found some replacement line for our stern anchor. We caught up with Dorothy and Glenn from Dot's Way who were helping man one of the booths before they began to head south. That night we stumbled across a holiday lighted parade.
After just a few hours on the dock, we were already getting a rental car to head across the state to Melbourne. We had a dual purpose – one was to see our nephew Jeff in his new house. The other was to attend the Waterway Radio Cruising Club picnic. We arrived early Saturday afternoon and met our nephew at his house in a new subdivision in West Melbourne. After taking a tour and catching up, we headed out to the Eau Gallie Convention Center to the Seven Seas Cruising Association GAM being held there. We toured the vendor fair, where Dave found some replacement line for our stern anchor. We caught up with Dorothy and Glenn from Dot's Way who were helping man one of the booths before they began to head south. That night we stumbled across a holiday lighted parade.
WRCC Picnic in Melbourne
The next day, we joined our fellow Ham Radio / Cruising enthusiasts at the WRCC picnic, which was also in Melbourne. We got to associate some faces with the call signs we hear on the radio every morning, while enjoying some good food. By late afternoon, we had said goodbye and were heading back west to the boat.
Being in Bradenton (or technically Palmetto), we were now close to our niece Janelle and her husband, Mike. We also were not that far from Val and Graham from Bonnie Lass, who had found a new spot to spend their off-season in Palm Harbor near Tarpon Springs. On Tuesday, Val and Graham came to see Jr and have a lunch together at the marina. The next Saturday found us sailing (in very light winds) with Janelle and Mike on board down the Manatee River on a pleasant Florida afternoon.
Boat Stuff
While in one place for the month, we began planning out our projects. Dave wanted more solar charging capacity, since our aging flexible panels are performing below their peak. So, he purchased a 2nd fixed solar panel, which he mounted next to the existing one on our PVC “arch” over the cockpit. Since Cathy needed to do some sewing while in port, we began discussing some alternatives for doing this, which led to Dave building a table prototype that would fit the existing mounts in the Main Saloon and the cockpit. Cobbling together a board from the “shelving” section, some 1 1/4” PVC pipes and some end caps screwed to the bottom of the board, we had now had a table. Initially, it was very unstable, which led to some fiberglass work on the floor under the forward fitting that held the table leg to give it a more solid mount. With this done, the table sat solid enough to use for light duty – meals, computer work, etc. although not strong enough to support the sewing machine.
We spent the rest of the time getting things together for our projects that we needed to get done while here. Cathy was to make new cushions. Dave wanted to install a tiller pilot. The windex had fallen off in a thunderstorm shortly after our arrival. The cleat for our port headsail sheet needed replacing. And so on. Then there was Christmas shopping to do. We would have plenty to keep us busy and out of trouble.
Being in Bradenton (or technically Palmetto), we were now close to our niece Janelle and her husband, Mike. We also were not that far from Val and Graham from Bonnie Lass, who had found a new spot to spend their off-season in Palm Harbor near Tarpon Springs. On Tuesday, Val and Graham came to see Jr and have a lunch together at the marina. The next Saturday found us sailing (in very light winds) with Janelle and Mike on board down the Manatee River on a pleasant Florida afternoon.
Boat Stuff
While in one place for the month, we began planning out our projects. Dave wanted more solar charging capacity, since our aging flexible panels are performing below their peak. So, he purchased a 2nd fixed solar panel, which he mounted next to the existing one on our PVC “arch” over the cockpit. Since Cathy needed to do some sewing while in port, we began discussing some alternatives for doing this, which led to Dave building a table prototype that would fit the existing mounts in the Main Saloon and the cockpit. Cobbling together a board from the “shelving” section, some 1 1/4” PVC pipes and some end caps screwed to the bottom of the board, we had now had a table. Initially, it was very unstable, which led to some fiberglass work on the floor under the forward fitting that held the table leg to give it a more solid mount. With this done, the table sat solid enough to use for light duty – meals, computer work, etc. although not strong enough to support the sewing machine.
We spent the rest of the time getting things together for our projects that we needed to get done while here. Cathy was to make new cushions. Dave wanted to install a tiller pilot. The windex had fallen off in a thunderstorm shortly after our arrival. The cleat for our port headsail sheet needed replacing. And so on. Then there was Christmas shopping to do. We would have plenty to keep us busy and out of trouble.
