Anchors aweigh!
It took longer for us to get ready to shove off than we anticipated. The plan was to load the boat on Monday and begin the 7 hour cruise to Dunedin today. But a late departure means a late arrival, so we opted for a shorter run to Steinhatchee.
1:45 pm we pulled away from our dock. At 4:45 we docked in Steinhatchee! 3 hours to go 62 miles! Fasten your seatbelts, put the tray tables in the upright and locked position — we were flying! at 21 to 22 knots. 3 foot seas and 10 to 15 mph wind on the nose.
Captain Sparrow has the mystical compass that points the direction of his pirate heart’s desire. We have a compass on Bay Breeze that brings the wind from the direction we want to go. Aquavit’s compass tried the same trick but the headwind and waves only stole one knot of gps speed compared to speed through the water.
For about 1/2 hour, just off our stern, 2 pelicans were gliding inches above the waves matching our rate of speed and direction. Probably conditioned by crabbers culling the catch or anglers cleaning fish.
Steinhatchee is an interesting town, with friendly folks. Our introduction was in the early 70s sitting at Cooey’s seafood restaurant - a quaint tiny shack where the fried food was great and the floor had a distinct slope in the over-the-water dining room. Conversation interesting too.”Reckon how many boats we need to bring in the shipment? You got the fellers lined up and any idea how much will they can haul? The mother shop will be offshore 3 miles and will meet up ‘bout midnight and needs to be outta here by dawn” 60 Minutes did a story on the marijuana smuggling along this remote shallow coastline.
Sea Hag Marina reflects an old time mom and pop Florida fishing camp, updated with dry storage and modest cabins. Well-worn floating docks are available for transients. The river current is swift and the tidal range is several feet.
Roy’s Restaurant serves up good seafood - much of it local and fresh, with the best sunset view north of Mallory Square in Key West! Their prime rib is generous and tasty. We called the restaurant and our waitress picked us up in her car. No taxi or Uber in Steinhatchee. The two popular restaurants are only a half mile from the marina, an easy pleasant walk if not for the no-see-ums. This is the no-see-um capitol of the world with so many of these voracious flying fangs that you actually can see um.
Next segment is 100 miles, or so. Looking forward to
Dunedin/Clearwater/Sarasota to meet up with sailing friends along the way south to Ft. Myers.
1:45 pm we pulled away from our dock. At 4:45 we docked in Steinhatchee! 3 hours to go 62 miles! Fasten your seatbelts, put the tray tables in the upright and locked position — we were flying! at 21 to 22 knots. 3 foot seas and 10 to 15 mph wind on the nose.
Captain Sparrow has the mystical compass that points the direction of his pirate heart’s desire. We have a compass on Bay Breeze that brings the wind from the direction we want to go. Aquavit’s compass tried the same trick but the headwind and waves only stole one knot of gps speed compared to speed through the water.
For about 1/2 hour, just off our stern, 2 pelicans were gliding inches above the waves matching our rate of speed and direction. Probably conditioned by crabbers culling the catch or anglers cleaning fish.
Steinhatchee is an interesting town, with friendly folks. Our introduction was in the early 70s sitting at Cooey’s seafood restaurant - a quaint tiny shack where the fried food was great and the floor had a distinct slope in the over-the-water dining room. Conversation interesting too.”Reckon how many boats we need to bring in the shipment? You got the fellers lined up and any idea how much will they can haul? The mother shop will be offshore 3 miles and will meet up ‘bout midnight and needs to be outta here by dawn” 60 Minutes did a story on the marijuana smuggling along this remote shallow coastline.
Sea Hag Marina reflects an old time mom and pop Florida fishing camp, updated with dry storage and modest cabins. Well-worn floating docks are available for transients. The river current is swift and the tidal range is several feet.
Roy’s Restaurant serves up good seafood - much of it local and fresh, with the best sunset view north of Mallory Square in Key West! Their prime rib is generous and tasty. We called the restaurant and our waitress picked us up in her car. No taxi or Uber in Steinhatchee. The two popular restaurants are only a half mile from the marina, an easy pleasant walk if not for the no-see-ums. This is the no-see-um capitol of the world with so many of these voracious flying fangs that you actually can see um.
Next segment is 100 miles, or so. Looking forward to
Dunedin/Clearwater/Sarasota to meet up with sailing friends along the way south to Ft. Myers.
 |
| Steinhatchee at sunset |
It's pretty tough when the no see uns are so big that you can see um. Yikes! 😫🤣
ReplyDelete