Random thoughts on our Great Voyage

We had lots of commentary and support as we made our way down the river.  Some by phone, some by email, and some in our many face to face encounters with folks.  We thought we might share a few with you as we close this blog.

Why are you doing this? Because we can! And to help Tim fulfill his dream of completing “The Loop” that he started 20 years ago

You are a woman of Steel (Donna Mack)

You are the most adventurous people we know. (John and Carol Miller)

I should do a blog (Maggie Simons from France) Hint, no you don’t as it is a wicked mistress

I didn’t see that one (this trip) coming (Nancy Hanna at Forepaughs Restaurant in St. Paul) two years ago with Mack’s and us.

How can you leave us for that long (Mike and Nancy)

We have a bet on how far you will go (brothers Anderson) and the bet was Iowa. HA!

We are thrilled that you will be home April 8^th (Mary and Conrad)

All you do is just sit on the boat, right? (Various people)

Wow, all the way from Minnesota. (Various people)

Didn’t know that the Mississippi went all the way to Minnesota. (Way too many people)

When we looked at the distance from Carrabelle, Florida to Clearwater Beach across the Gulf of Mexico, we were scared for you. (Mary and Conrad).  So were we!

Are you ready to go home?  Yes.

Would you do it again? No, why would we? Other venues to visit and conquer.  And we don’t have a bigger boat.

Pretty boat, what is it?

How many times did you take the mast down? None.

Were you ever scared? YES.

How was the internet service? Mediocre, at best.

Did you see an alligator? No. Snakes?  No.

What was the nicest marina? Top 5…Lake City, MN; Green Turtle Bay, Kentucky; Sarasota, Florida; Bradenton, Florida; Fort Meyers, Florida.

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about this? Get a bigger boat. And then go back to the drawing board, and get a bigger boat.

What did you miss the most? Home friends, our own bathroom, friends,  TV, the many holidays and special occasions that we have celebrated with the old friends for a long long time.

What surprised you the most? Making new friends along the way. Meeting up with them again and again as we journeyed. That we didn’t go home at all, as so many people did.  How much work the journey was, and that it was often hard work. Kathy was surprised at how little we sailed.  Guess she hadn't thought that one through.

Another thing that did not surprise us, but often left us awestruck, was the abject beauty of our country. We have tried to describe it in our blog, but I don't think we did it justice.  We live in a beautiful land. So much of that land is untouched by human hand.

It is, indeed, a different perspective from the waterways.

Did you go to anywhere famous?

• Cairo, IA
• Paris, Tennessee
• Aberdeen, Alabama
• Cuba, Tennessee
• Dunedin, Florida
• Panama City, Florida
• St. Petersburg Florida

Through how many states did you travel?

• Minnesota
• Wisconsin
• Iowa
• Illinois
• Missouri
• Kentucky
• Tennessee
• Arkansas
• Mississippi
• Alabama
• Florida
• Walmart

Getting ready for Kathy to Go Home 4/4-4/8/2015

Saturday, April 4, 2015 through Wednesday April 8^th.

It was time to start thinking of Kathy’s get home strategy.  She had airline tickets for April 8^th, but decisions needed to be made about what she should take home, what groceries and other provisions needed to be purchased for Tim's remaining stay on Sea Fever.

Tim arranged for a rental car so we could run errands, spend our last five days together before we were a month apart, and so he could drive Kathy to the airport on the 8th.

Oh, and we had to go luggage shopping, since neither of us had any on the boat! And we thought Walmart was in our past! Ha!

Tim kept on working to find a boat transport company to take Sea Fever back home. He talked to several companies who had continually said that they would get back to him "next week".  Ironically, he went back to a company that he had used 20 years ago out of Hastings, Minnesota, a town 30 miles from our house! The company administrator said she would check the schedule and call him back the next day.  As his experience was not good with call backs, we were skeptical. 

But sure enough, she called us right away the next morning, gave him an estimate, a pick up date, and the task was done!  Hurray!

We ate dinner at a restaurant called The Island Outpost, which was part of a Florida group of restaurants under the corporate name of Frenchies.   Good food, and only two blocks from the marina!  We returned to the boat, and enjoyed what time we had left in the Florida sunshine.

Count the masts at Marker1 Marina, Dunedin, Florida

On April 8^th, Kathy made it off the boat.  Short piers, no long walks.

Kathy’s brother, Jim, took responsibility for heading over to 337 Mill Street and making certain that the heat was turned up, the water turned on, and the incessantly buzzing fire alarms had new batteries.

The Tampa-Mpls flight was on time.  Kathy’s friend Nina picked her up at the Airport and took her grocery shopping and she sank into bed at 337 Mill about 11 PM, after calling Tim to say good night. After an amazing adventure, it was good to sleep in her own house, with the shower and bathroom just 10 feet from her bed.

Kathy missed Tim…but an extra fond reminder was found in the mail the following weekend.  Remember the ring in Sarasota?  Outside of it being cleaned, it hasn’t been off her finger.

The over half a year journey was at its end for Kathy, and soon for Tim.  Hardly seems possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Caladesi Island State Park 4/1 to 4/3/2015

Wednesday, April 1 to Friday, April 3, 2015

Another of the barrier islands that was on are list to visit was Caladesi Island State Park, just across the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway from Marker1 Marina in Dunedin, Florida.  Tim spent about an hour figuring out how to set the lines at Marker1 so as to easily tie up Sea Fever upon our return. Off we went to pump out the head, and then made our way to the island.

The weather was warm and calm, and the marina at Caladesi was easy to navigate. We docked the boat ourselves and checked in with the park ranger.

Caladesi is a state park and the island is only reachable by private boat or ferry. Private boats can be docked at the 108 slip marina and stay all day or overnight after registering with a ranger. Ferries run from Honeymoon Island or Clearwater beach.

The ferry ride lasts 15 minutes and there is a 4 hour time limit for each person getting off the ferry. The cost for the 4 hours and the ferry is $10/person. It was pretty funny watching the ferries come in and unload all the folks with their coolers, and chairs. The ferry tickets are date stamped so that at the end of the day, the park rangers know that the beach is emptied of beach goers.

Ferry riders off for their 4 hours on Caladesi Island

The deserted beach changed quickly by mid-morning!

Great Blue Heron waiting for all the visitors to leave

 

The island is rustic.  There are bathrooms but no hot water showers.  There is a decent snack bar.  But because the island is mostly all natural, there is no bug control.  The no-see-ums were so big you could see-um, and they were voracious!  By the next morning, the screens were black with bugs! And there were only 7 boats in the 108 slip marina.

Early morning at Caledesi Island Marina

We stayed on the island for two nights.  Here are some of our pictures from beautiful Caladesi Island State Park.



Wheel chair dune buggies

Kathy at the windy beach on the Gulf of Mexico 

 

A romantic walk in the waves
(It is not us, by the way!)

Cactus Flowers by the beach



Tim in the cockpit of Sea Fever
 

Ibis fishing  for dinner in the gulf



 

Downtown Dunedin 3/30

Monday, March 30,2015

While we took it easy on Sunday, we were back up to adventures on Monday.  We figured out the bus schedule (almost) to head to downtown Dunedin. We walked to the bus stop, hopped on the bus, and missed our stop, got a transfer and headed back the way we came.  Ironically, the bus doesn’t go to downtown, so another 6 block walk was in order to get to downtown.  It is a pretty downtown, with restaurants, all sorts of shops and nice restaurants. Lunch, after the bus escapade and the walk from the bus stop was definitely in order. And then a tour of the town and of course, the marina.  Found our way back to the bus stop, and headed back to Sea Fever.

Jolly Trolley and Tarpon Springs 3/28

Saturday, March 28^th, Taking the Jolly Trolley to Tarpon Springs

Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the US. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and, from what we could tell, has changed dramatically over the last years. It is also one of the places that people end their crossing of the Gulf of Mexico. (We ended our journey in Clearwater Beach).

The Jolley Trolley requires exact change, so we raided our change collection, and headed down the road to catch the Jolley Trolley. 

Jolly Trolley on the way to the Sponge Capital of the World

We wandered the streets downtown, and had lunch at a Greek restaurant (what else?) and watched the tourist boats, shrimp boats and sponge boats ply their trade.

Passenger boat to check out the marina at Tarpon Springs

Harvested sponges in Tarpon Springs

Working boats in Tarpon Springs

We headed back to catch the trolley home and considered it a day well spent.

Publix and other fine shopping in Dunedin, 3/27

Friday, March 27^th Check out the Dunedin Publix

We got up early, made our grocery list, and out went Kathy on her required grocery shopping spree. The Publix was just about 6 blocks away, but there were other sights to see on the way there. There was the thrift store:



Florida thrift store offerings

And the reading materials for sale: 

Who needs a Kindle?

And the sidewalk sign touting all the wondrous commodities that could be purchased at the local liquor store.



Caviar and cold beer.  Yum!

Once the groceries had been properly stowed, we ventured back out to find the major transportation stop for the weekend, the Jolly Trolley, where for $2.00 for Kathy and $1.00 for Tim, we could grab a weekend ride up to Tarpon Springs, the sponge capital of the world.  So that will be our Saturday excursion!

Bradenton to Dunedin, 3/26

Thursday, March 26^th, Bradenton to Dunedin

A very long day. We managed to get the boat from Bradenton to Dunedin, some 52 miles, in order to beat the major cold front with 30 mph gusts and thunderstorms promised for Friday.

We left at daybreak, passed the Finney home around 9 AM, waved and were on our way again. Between Bradenton and Dunedin, there are 5 bridges that are lift or swing bridges.  Some open on schedules, and some open on demand. The Marker1 Marina in Dunedin was staffed until 5 PM, so we hoped to make it by then.

Along the way, we enjoyed the company of two dolphins for about half an hour. They surfed the pressure wave just off Sea Fever's stern and surfaced every few minutes right next to the cockpit for a quick breath of air.  It was great fun.

The dolphin escort from Bradenton to Dunedin

We were pushed along by very strong winds from the south but the journey still took about 9 hours. We were very tired by the time we arrived at the Marker1 Marina.

As we attempted our approach to the marina, neither of our marine radios could connect to the marina office, nor would either of our cell phones, so we didn't know what our slip number was, nor how to navigate to it. We went in blind, in high winds, hoping that we we would get more direction as we got closer. 

Unfortunately, the dock boy directed us to the wrong slip.  So after the boat was tied off and connected, we had to undo all the lines and the electric connection,and move the boat to another slip in a 20 mph south wind.  Tim wasn't pleased but Kathy remained calm. Those of you who know her understand that even though she seemed calm, her lips had disappeared! Not a good sign.

With help from about 5 dock hands we got the boat into the new slip and tied up without incident.

Fixed docks with short finger docks and pilings that were just barely within reach brought up memories of Turner Marine in Mobile where Kathy had so much trouble. It was a challenge to get on and off the boat, especially at low tide.

Weekdays were nice except for the roar of three huge forklifts moving boats in and out of the dry storage racks.  They have lots of dry storage here.  It really is a marina made to cater to powerboats.  But it is free, and there promises to be fun things to do and see.