Mar. 30 Tarpon Springs to St. Pete Beach

49 degrees in the morning, not quite as cold as the last two days. 32 miles to cover, and our friend Susie will have dinner ready for us at home, so we got an early start. The wind is in the hangover-from-front-passage phase, i.e. light from the east. Good thing for a reliable engine. Although we could have gone outside to the Gulf via the channel south of Anclote Key or Clearwater Pass, there is no point to being outside in the Gulf if we need to power anyway. The trip down the ICW was enjoyable but uneventful. We stopped at John's Pass to top off the fuel tanks: 8.8 gallons for a week's cruising with a lot of engine hours. The boat gets better miles per gallon than our car. Reached home at 4:30. It was disappointing to cut our cruise short, but despite its challenges we had fun.

Mar 29 Hernando Beach to Tarpon Springs

When we worked our way out the channel from Hernando Beach the tide was rising but much lower than when we entered the evening before. It is good the water there is clear, because it felt I could have jumped off either side of the boat into knee-deep water- it was that narrow. Once out in the Gulf, the wind was from the north, but light; we had a long distance to cover so we motor-sailed to Tarpon Springs. The morning temperature was only 42F but the sky was clear and it was soon comfortable to be on deck. We called ahead to the Tarpon Springs City Marina and got the surprising recorded message that they were closed Saturday and Sunday. We went all the way up river to the marina anyway and found an empty slip into which we tied up with the help of a man named Blair (?). We invited ourselves and our liquor over to his boat for drinks. He and his girlfriend bought a large old houseboat last fall and he has completely gutted and rebuilt the interior since then, using materials, hardware and furniture he bought used from wherever. An amazing job in a short time. Then we walked up the street to Rusty Bellies seafood restaurant. Maybe its just because when we've been there we have been cruising, which makes good food taste better, but we believe it's the best seafood in this area. They have their own boats and everything is fresh. On the way back to the boat we stopped at a Greek bakery for dessert and breakfast pastries. If there were more Greeks there would be a honey shortage. Good stuff.

Mar 28 Homosassa to Hernando Beach

Making a new plan: a non-emergency health concern makes it sensible to get close to home, so instead of continuing north we headed back toward home. It was clear and 46F when we woke up The trip down the Homosassa River was very pretty, and I carefully followed the channel from marker 83 down to the mouth of the river at marker 32. Then I made a bonehead error and passed on the wrong side of a marker, putting us hard on a rocky oyster bar. We were on a slightly rising tide, but putting an anchor out and hauling together with full throttle failed to dislodge us. After several tries we finally got free at exactly the time of high tide and continued out the 5-mile channel into the gulf before we could turn south. The wind was from the N at 15 and we had a magnificent passage under reefed main, wing-and-wing with the working jib. That gave us all the speed Carina's hull could deliver. The day gradually warmed to about 60, and by staying bundled against the wind we were comfortable. Although our last experience with Hernando Beach Marina was negative, it was our only choice for the distance we were able to make for the day. The winding channel at Hernando Beach is so shallow and narrow it would be impossible to turn around, even in our small boat. The marina is under new ownership and they have been working hard to make it a good facility. The bathrooms were large and clean, and we docked alongside a new floating pier. The shrimpers reportedly came in at 3 a.m. as usual, but we never heard them.

Wildlife notes: We saw flying fish on Thursday, and an eagle in the Homosassa River on Friday. Today while we were aground, three manatees frolicked nearby. Also during our time in contact with the planet there were many dolphins around.

Mar. 27 Bayport to Homosassa

Most cold fronts are led by a line of rain and wind. That was what hit last evening, and we assumed that was all the rough weather we'd get. But shortly after midnight the boat shook from very strong wind and sheets of rain. It heeled the boat over 15 degrees and kept up a noisy blast for a long while. By morning it was sunny and calm, and the only storm damage was some fraying on the main halyard where it had chafed on a shroud. After breakfast we carefully picked our way out the shallow channel- so long the markers ahead disappeared over the horizon. That's it for us and Bayport. Few boats go there and we've done it twice now. Enough. Once outside the river in the channel, the wind picked up to 15 kts from the west, on our nose. But when we finally reached the end of the channel and turned NW, we had a great sail under working jib and reefed main to the outer channel leading into the Homosassa River. As we turned into that channel it started to rain and didn't stop for the next five hours. Although the temp was above 70, the wind and wet made for chilly sailing. Below, all the latent opportunities for water to find its way in revealed themselves. Now I have a to-do list again. The beautiful, winding Homosassa River is tricky navigation, but nothing difficult compared with Bayport. We docked at Riverhaven Marina, where we'd been before, where we restored our spirits, consumed some too, ate dinner aboard, showered ashore, and did what we could to dry out. The weather forecast is for no rain but strong wind tonight and tomorrow morning. We'll get an early start and head for Cedar Key unless it looks too rough, in which case we'll probably anchor near the mouth of the Homosassa and make a new plan.
Highlight of the day: marina owner said, "That's a BEAUTIFUL boat. And she only charged 75 cts per foot.

March 26, 2015: Dunedin to Bayport

Sleeping is usually hard the first night of a cruise but we both slept well. The bar (located about 10' from our boat) did close at 10, and by the time we were ready to turn in, all was quiet. Up at 7:15, we got our customary leisurely start, leaving the dock at 9:30. It was dead calm in the marina, but by the time we were out in the Intracoastal Waterway there was a light breeze from the SW. We powered a couple of miles to the Dunedin Causeway, the last bridge on the Gulf Coast going north. Then we raised the sails and cruised at at decent speed with the genoa wung out on the whisker pole. The wind, still behind us, gradually increased to 12 kts, giving us all the speed we could hope for. By the time we passed through St. Joseph Sound and reached Anclote Key it was turning from a breeze to a wind. It continued to increase throughout the afternoon. We changed from the genoa to the working jib, but the fitting on the end of the whisker pole pulled out. It will be an easy fix, just held on with an adhesive; I should be able to fix it underway, maybe better then it was. The wind increased to about 17 kts, we dropped the smaller jib, and as the wind's fetch increased as we scooted north, so did the seas. The side-to-side rolling became uncomfortable so we diverted 10 degrees to the west to put ourselves on a broad reach. After a half hour we jibed and reached back the other way. It didn't slow us down, and the boat's motion was much better. Our two choices for a day's destination were Hernando Beach and Bayport. Hernando Beach has probably the worst marina anywhere. You have to climb over a derilect boat to get ashore, the gates are locked at 8 p.m., construction on the bathrooms stopped in mid-job, and at 3 a.m. the commercial fishermen come in, yelling at each other. So we didn't go there. We had stopped at Bayport once before, though none of the cruising guides even mention it as a possible place to get in out of the Gulf. Bayport has neither a bay nor a port, just a shallow entrance to the Weekie Watchie River. Shallow as in 4 feet at high tide in places in the channel. We poked around as far upriver as we could, looking for a deep enough anchorage out of the channel.  We settled for a spot on the edge of the channel, and anchored just ahead of the arrival of a strong cold front with plenty of wind and rain. The forecast is for more wind and rain tomorrow, and we may just stay here. With the storm raging outside, Sandy cooked up a delicious dinner of cajun chicken and summer squash.

Mar 25, 2015- We're off

We cast off at 9:45 Wednesday morning, under cloudy skies. At 73 degrees, it couldn't have been more comfortable. Wind NE at 5. We sailed from the Treasure Island Causeway to John's Pass, but once in the Gulf the wind died so we motorsailed offshore to the north. The wind swung around through the south and came back as a seabreeze, still only 6-7 kts. A little sailing, a lot of motoring. Reached Clearwater Pass at 3 o'clock. Our desination was Dunedin City Marina. I was confused where it was and a chance look at the chart kept us from sailing right by. Our slip is right beside the bar/restaurant, so our docking job had a large audience. We docked without a hitch or a snicker, against all odds. After a cocktail hour aboard, finishing off our Ted Peters smoked fish spread, we walked up Dunedin's main street to an excellent Mexican restaurant we remembered from our last visit. Back to the boat for coffee and cookies and reading. Bar closes at 10. Could have used more wind today, but nevertheless a nice first day with no mishaps. GPS has taken all the work out of piloting, and "Jack", our new autopilot, has taken the work out of holding us on course. Technology is great.

Preparing for next cruise

We'll cruise north along the Gulf coast this year, starting sometime the week of March 23. We'll be underway only two weeks or so, with commitments starting mid April.

Carina has never been prettier, after a thorough cleaning inside and out. The brightwork has been cleaned and oiled. I found a good strong cleaner and stain remover called On and Off which instantly removes rust stains on fiberglass and stainless steel. Best used on a windy day, as a couple of whiffs of the fumes about knocked me down. I wouldn't dare use it below. The improvement/investment this year is a new Raymarine autopilot, and I went for the version designed for boats about twice Carina's size. A huge improvement over the last tiller pilot I bought 20 years ago. It was noisy and had a mind of its own. This one is nearly silent and goes where you tell it to. What more can I ask? It will add to the pleasure of cruising, and may even extend our range.

Stay tuned- We'll try to keep up with our log and post it whenever we have a wifi or cell signal.