After about 3 weeks in the Twin Dolphin Marina we have officially set sail for our year long (or possibly longer) sailing adventure. Today we did not have big travel plans in mind but we did have two goals for the trip; 1) Leave the marina without hitting another boat and 2) drop the “hook” for the first time and make sure that we are really anchored and able to swing with no problems. Both were accomplished with ease, which I have to admit surprised me. For those of you who have never been in a marina on a big boat let me just say that the tight spaces make it pretty nerve wracking to pull out. The last thing someone wants to do is hit someone else’s boat not only because of damage to the other boat but to your own as well.
 |
| Our Sailboat in the Twin Dolphin in Bradenton FL |
As newbies to sailing neither Norwood nor I had experience moving the sailboat in and out of tight spaces, at first neither one of us could remember what direction was reverse on the gear handle. But we took off in the morning so the water was calm and there was not much traffic in and out of the marina. With the small current already pushing us out of the slip backwards all we really had to do at that point was untie all the lines except the one on the starboard side that would all me to keep the bough away from the neighboring boat and closer to the dock. Norwood steered us out of the slip and then out of the marina with more ease than you would steer a car.
With our first goal of the day successfully completed we then decided as we exited the marina that we would travel to a local island that we had read about online, Egmont Key.
 |
| Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay |
Egmont Key is an island at the mouth of Tampa Bay in Florida. It is technically a Florida State park that is accessible by private boat only and is supposed to have trails and beach access. If you read about it on the
Florida State Parks site it sounds like a fantastic place to visit for a weekend. On our 3 hour trip there we passed through some heavy rain as we exited the Manatee River and crossed the Tampa Bay but our spirits were up because we had envisioned this wonderful state park that we would be able to walk around and enjoy. When we arrived we saw no boats, which immediately made us think something was wrong. Then as we got closer I pulled out the camera with my long lens and discovered that there was in fact no way to get onto the island and that it was closed to pretty much everyone. We did see people on the island and a dock next to what looks like a housing development, which was in itself strange because no one is supposed to be living on the island. We dropped the anchor for the first time with success and Norwood took the dinghy in to ask around, thinking that perhaps we were in the wrong place. Nope right place but no beach access and no pets on the island. Now it is a bird sanctuary and there is not a single point that you can access the island (the whole island had no access signs posted). If you look at the
map of Egmont Key you will see that where we landed is the dark green park that is all bird sanctuary. The large part of the island that they say is accessible by is not really the place you want to be on a boat. Over by the lighthouse is the shipping channel so there is a lot of traffic of BIG boats going through there and the Gulf of Mexico side is rougher and you really do not want to anchor there, even for a night. So much for a state park. Disappointed we pulled up the anchor and headed back in the direction we came to drop anchor for the night at Desoto Memorial, which we knew to be a popular anchor spot. The only good thing about heading out to Egmont Key first was we saw a small group of dolphins playing in the water just a short distance from the sailboat.
 |
| Dolphin spotted in the Tampa Bay |
Having already passed Desoto Memorial Park we had a good idea of how many boats were already there and where we would be able to anchor. What was nice about going the way we already came was we could follow the line we already created on the GPS and the weather had already passed over. Since the weather was once again nice and we had a good amount of wind we decided to pull out the storm sail and give it a go. I would just like to say that I LOVE the storm sail. It is a small sail that is easy to control and we were traveling at about 4 knots almost 5 with it at one point.
 |
| Desoto Memorial Park, Florida |
Finding a spot and anchoring at Desoto was a breeze and besides the occasional power boat passing through and creating a wake it is a protected and peaceful location that is just a short dingy ride onto the beach (which you do have access to) and a short bike ride to grocery stores. We took the dinghy into shore and walked Maverick around the park. Maverick, like he does most places we go, made friends with a little girl who was out with her grandma and her dog. She really liked Maverick and wanted her grandma to trade her little dog for a dog just like Maverick. They walked with us for a bit then we all went our separate ways.
Tomorrow we are going to sail to Sarasota. Not sure of our final destination yet but when we get there we should have no problem laying down the hook, now that we are old pros at it. :)
Want to see more photos from today... check out our flickr album of
Egmont Key and Desoto Memorial Park.
