Stats for November 21, 2018

Origin: Tarpon Springs Marina

Destination: Clearwater Beach Marina

Distance: 21.3 miles

Speed: 7.6 mph

Time on the Move: 2 hours and 47 minutes

After not loving Tarpon Springs the day before, we woke up uncertain of what to do the next morning. It just seemed like there were SO MANY options!! Marinas and anchorages near and far. It was overwhelming. After thinking it over for a few hours that morning, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to stay in Tarpon Springs and I must need a BEACH to get back on track. When mama ain’t happy, take her to the beach!!

We heard how amazing Clearwater Beach Marina was from several other loopers who crossed right to Clearwater. It had good proximity to the beach, so we called them up and reserved the last slip that would fit a boat our size for the next 2 days. WOO HOO.

The crew seemed happy to move on down to the beach. It was a sunny afternoon, great for a boat ride. The short trip, however, was a bit of an eye opener to what travel in this area of Florida would be like. There were boats EVERYWHERE, some going very fast (and it was only a Wednesday?! Who are these people and why aren’t they at work?!). There was an emergency call on the VHF about a capsized kayaker who was missing, so there were emergency boats and a helicopter searching one area of our route. The person was found, so that was good, but it was a bit of an eye-opener.

Also, there were several bridges we needed to pass under. I tried to follow along in the guidebook to see what the vertical clearance of the bridges was ahead of us actually arriving, but that is easier said than done. Quite often I’m making food underway, directing schoolwork, or otherwise entertaining and catering to my crew. On this trip we learned how fast those bridges can sneak up on us. Then we have to quick name the bridge, look up vertical clearance, check the tide level, recalculate vertical clearance, and if it is too low for comfort (we’re not actually sure what our air draft is at this moment, so put that on the to-do list) we have to determine if they open on demand or on a schedule, look up the schedule or call for an opening, and avoid ramming the bridge despite the efforts of the current and the winds. It is BUSY!!

But the trip was worth it!! Clearwater Beach Marina was amazing at first glance!! We sterned in (easier than Tarpon Springs but not without troubles), chatted with some new-to-us loopers on the dock, and then headed for the beach. Colin said he felt like we were finally actually in Florida because of all the high rise condos everywhere.

We had a great visit from our friends who summer in Hubbard Lake, Michigan, Jonathan, Terri, and Fred. They live nearby in Florida the rest of the year and saw we were nearing their home, so they called to see if they could come visit. Of course!! It was great to see a friend from home and all the kids were thrilled with the play time and dinner out. Thanks for the Christmas presents, too!!

Thanksgiving morning started with more of the same. Beach fun for the kiddos and mom and boat work for Mike. He wanted to get the oil changed on the engines (ahem, watch football) for our 2nd time on the loop (we anticipate 4 or 5 total oil changes). The rest of us wanted to go to the beach. It was a nice sunny morning–it was amazing how many people were on the beach on Thanksgiving.

By the time we went back to the boat for lunch and got Mike out to the beach, it was overcast, windy, and chilly. We toughed it out for a while and then headed back to the boat.

Somehow the kids watched “Captain Underpants” while I threw together a quick Thanksgiving dinner. We had ham with sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, and apple strudel. It was surprisingly easy for me to throw it together last minute and everyone loved *most* of it. I call that a win, even though ham was a little strange to have for Thanksgiving. (You might remember I was unable to find a small turkey before we made the crossing out of the panhandle, and I haven’t been to a grocery store since). I heard a statistic that most people spend at least 8 hours preparing Thanksgiving dinner and it takes 12 minutes for most people to finish eating. I was pretty happy with my choice to go the beach instead of cooking all day!!

After dinner, we went for a walk at sunset and came back to watch “Dolphin Tale.” If you don’t have an elementary, middle schooler, or high schooler who has introduced you to the story, “Dolphin Tale” is about a dolphin who was sent to Clearwater Beach Animal Hospital when she was found washed up on shore, tangled in fishing nets. Spoiler alert: she ends up having part of her tail amputated and learns to swim with a prosthetic tale. She has since become a champion for amputees and tweens who love her story. It was a surprisingly good movie with lots of well-known actors. Mike, however, spent the movie working on clearing our freezer of ice build up with a hammer and screwdriver. At one point there was a very loud hissing noise, and we realized quickly that using a hammer and screwdriver to defrost the fridge probably wasn’t the best choice.

Now that we needed to shop for a new fridge, it looked like we were going to be staying in Clearwater Beach a bit longer. It was an easy decision at that point, because doing the fridge shuffle would only be possible at a marina, and really we were trying to talk ourselves into staying longer anyway. I teased Mike that he stabbed the fridge just so we would stay for another week. Our friend Ben even called him a fridge slayer. Hilarious.

The rest of our time at Clearwater Beach was spent fishing, getting sandy, eating in delicious restaurants, and, of course getting a new fridge (that sounds much easier than it actually was).