Second Wind on the Great Loop and Beyond

Monday, January 22. We headed out of Tarpon Springs a day earlier than we would have liked, but our non-schedule "Plan" is keeping us moving. Duffy and Russ of Work of Art helped us cast off. Hope we see them later along the Loop.

Fun things to do and great people to see, so we're heading south. As we cruised down the protected Intercoastal Waterway, we experienced a new phenomenon: bridges with limited heights. We had to figure out how to ensure we could fit under them. Then it was neat to go under SEVERAL bridges, with traffic passing overhead. We also ended up talking on the radio to a local cruiser, who gave us his interpretation of the plentiful “Slow Speed, Minimum Wake” signs. He had it on great authority that as long as your wake didn’t curl, you were all right. Somehow we don’t believe that would hold up in a court of law. That much wake could do some damage.

At first the Intercoastal Waterway was comfortable, but then we hit Tampa Bay. Whoa! All of a sudden, Wham! Bam! Wham! Bam! There were some healthy waves in that large bay! For the second time ever, we went below to drive from the downstairs pilot station. After we crossed the Bay, the water calmed down again, and we headed to our destination, Bradenton. We stayed at a highly recommended marina and took a short walk downtown. It started raining, and we realized we were exhausted from all that pounding, so we called it a night early.

# posted by Second Wind @ 8:16 PM