With all due respect to the more northerly situated, November can be a fantastic time of year to cruise in Florida. We took a quick 5 day trek to lower Tampa Bay over Thanksgiving week. Here is the account of our short family cruise:

Our biggest setback came before we set out when the doggie condo (kennel) informed us that we were too late to get a space for Brandon, our 100lb Golden. We had taken him sailing once before on a nice summer day aboard the Santana 23 Rocket and he showed us where the term ?sick as a dog? came from. Now we were faced with canceling the trip or taking Brandon along. I checked the weather forecast and it looked good. So we took another chance on the mutt.

Brandon was absolutely thrilled to learn after all the packing that he was included. He slobbered all the way to the marina in the back seat with Seth, Janet's 12yo son. Brandon had never been to the marina but he knew the smells of salt water and happily trotted down the dock to the slip as we carted the usual tons of gear. We got there about noon. I was concerned about retrieving the retriever if he went in the drink so I promptly fitted him with a regular safety harness. The rings went in the back and his forepaws fit thru the shoulder straps with a bit of lashing line to customize it. Leading him down the spit dock seemed just a bit too narrow for his liking and he froze with fear. So now I'm dragging this 100 lb baby as he trembles and squats to the end of the dock where he is sure his life is ending. No time to let him ponder the situation. One big heave and he's aboard. He took up residence in the aft of the cockpit where he was out of the way and could watch all the goings on. He?s got the sure footedness of a camel on ice so with every lurch of the boat he fumbled and fidgeted. His eyes grew quite large when the engine fired up and he wasn't sure what to do about it because the only avenue of escape was the terrifying spit dock. Horrors! Then the whole boat slid out of the slip and he was holding on for dear life. We tried our best to comfort him. The wind was nil so we motored for about an hour until the sea breeze filled and we set sails. Brandon was almost able to breathe and then the heeling started. Ack!

The afternoon sun was beating down on the red dog and he had just barely been able to drink water so he was getting a bit overheated and doing a lot of panting. With the boat heeling, he could better see all the cool looking water going by. Looked like he was getting ideas as he got his two front paws on the rail so we tied his harness leash to the old center mainsheet cleat. This was a totally new experience and he spent the next hour or so fighting this ?unseen force? in a battle to get overboard.

But soon the heat of the day faded and we easily fetched our destination, the Manatee River, as the wind clocked more to the northwest. We motored on in and tossed the hook. I flipped the dink off the bow and brought it astern to mount the engine. Brandon surveyed the operation with curiosity. When the dink was all set, I fired up the engine and called him. He came but stopped at the rail so once again I "persuaded" him to get into the dink which he did without choice in a huge flop. He thought he was gonna be swimming for sure and thrashed a bit until I got him settled down. Ya'd think this was Marmaduke for pete?s sake. He really wanted to get in that water and it was so close it was tearin him up. I had to put two leashes on him and lash em to the dink chamber rings. Once ashore he took over and began his dogly duties of peeing on every bush and sniffing everything and looking for an appropriate pile of seaweed to take a squat on. Fortunately leashed dogs are allowed on shore here. Pickup bags are required and provided.

That evening we had a nice Monopoly game in the dinette lit by oil lamps and candles. Brandon decided the cabin sole was his. He wasn't sure about this whole boat thing but being with us was far better than the doggie condo. We had perfect sleeping weather. No rain, temps in the 60?s with a slight breeze. We left all the hatches and ports open and snoozed in sweet slumbering bliss.

Next day we all piled into the dink for a shore invasion. Brandon still had to be tied in the dink but ceased the fidgeting with some reassurance. DeSoto Nat?l Park is small but quaint. Boardwalk and crushed shell trails cut thru mangrove swamps which envelope to form a shady cool canopy overhead. There is a small museum with 22 minute free film and artifacts from the expedition in which DeSoto searched in vain for North American gold to match the Spanish plunderings of the Mayans. He self financed the entire trip which turned out to be a disaster for his men and all the native Americans they encountered. Most died and no gold was found. No new settlements were established and Desoto died of disease instead of becoming governor of a new land. They killed or enslaved the Indians they met as they themselves slowly dwindled thru battles, starvation and disease over several years. Standing there at the mouth of the Manatee River, it is hard to imagine Spanish conquistadors trying to make progress anywhere when you look at the thick tangle of mangrove growths and scrub brushes.

We concluded our visit by noon and hoisted anchor to set sail for Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Egmont Key is a wildlife preserve and the Tampa Bay Ship Pilots station. We anchored at the east side of the island near the pilot docks and set out to explore the island. It had been 25 years since I had been there so I was eager to retrace my steps. I recalled exploring fort ruins near the south tip but was dismayed to find the entire southern tip roped off for nesting terns, I presume. We headed north along the beach on foot after the quick tenth mile trail to the West shore. Soon we came along more ruins but these were also roped off. They did look a bit dangerous, crumbling down and unsteady. Onward we pressed in the afternoon heat. I knew we were getting close to the north tip of the island when I could see the ship channel markers ahead. We saw more fort embankments but could also recognize the familiar signs so we headed back. This time we took the inshore trail and found the going a bit rougher. The sand was softer and we trekked up and down dune hills among scrub trees and palms. Raccoon prints were everywhere and several box turtles were quite oblivious to our presence. Returning after a short rest to our beginning point, weary from the hike, it felt good to sit in the dink. We had been ashore almost 3 hours!

An hour later, we reanchored at DeSoto Pt again, this time closer to the beach. Brandon recognized the surroundings and got excited to tromp the beach again which he was soon allowed to do. Running short on daylight we had everything ready. Before the splash of the anchor had subsided, the charcoal was lit and the dink was prepared for shore. We were getting to be pros at performing life functions aboard. We enjoyed a superb meal as the last light left the sky and no-seeums chased us below. Another candlelight Monopoly game ensued. We tried to get the TV to work but I think the 12v connector corroded. Oh well!

Another night of perfect sleeping weather and it was Tday. A more extensive TV effort yielded partial results, but I could not get the thing to stay on so we gave up on watching the Macy?s Parade. Oh well. Great day outside so Seth got dinghy operation training and had a big time putt putting all over the harbor. This is the same Seth had who was unbeatable last year but had not won a Monopoly game yet so guess what came next? Three times a charm and somehow he managed to acquire Boardwalk and Park Place and then landed on Free Parking which was really stoked. Soon, Jan and I were facing rent of 2K for and incorrect roll coming down the home stretch. I was first to get wiped out and stayed on as the Banker while she and he battled it out. Finally he prevailed. Jan got busy whipping up another incredible feast on 2 burners. The secret here is she gets the Turkey cut into quarters which are foil wrapped and tossed on the barbie outside. They come out so juicy and moist the meat falls off the bone, completely eliminating the carving episode. But alas! The cranberry sauce was forgotten so we used grape jelly instead. It was still good and we stuffed ourselves silly finishing off with apple and pecan pies.

The next day we killed just hangin out. Before long we noticed a familiar looking (from the denizens pic) Morgan anchored across the harbor. A dink ride over revealed that Irie Blue had arrived. We introduced ourselves and wonderful Molly Welsh invited us aboard. Molly and her husband Ben were a pleasure to meet and once again confirmed that CWBB folks are some of the nicest to run across. Their boat is immaculate and we had a great time getting acquainted. Soon we had to go tend to Brandon, and Seth was anxious to putter about in the dink some more. Unfortunately the painter got away from him before he had the chance and he came below frantic for the boathook. Too late, the dink was out of reach. I ordered him to swim for it but he objected to the thought of jumping into 70* water. So I thought quick as the dink continued it?s downwind trip. I ran to the bow and let out every bit of rode I had. Then I started the engine and put it in reverse. Shady Lady responded by heading 90* away. So I had to go in forward and straighten her out. Then back into reverse and we were headed for the dink. Now I?m sure we are going to run out of rode before we reach the dink so I instruct Jan and Seth to be ready with the boathook fully extended. Unbelievably, we make it! I slid it into neutral and joined the boat hook efforts. We had no good hold in the dink but with three of us full of determination we managed to keep enough pressure on the dink to hang on while the rode recoiled us forward. Seth felt badly about it so I was easy on him. I ordered him to scrub the cockpit and then helped him with the task. Soon we had a sparkling clean cockpit. Molly and Ben came by for a visit and we had more refreshments as Seth learned how to better handle the wayward dink. Darkness approached so Seth took Brandon ashore. Ahhh, the training pays off. Amazing how a little bit of nothing can consume a day on the hook!

Next morning we weighed anchor and took a short trip up the Manatee River. With a head wind, we motored to replenish our electricity. A nice ¼ mile wide river, we could have short tacked it and soon we came to the limiting 41? bridge with nice marinas both sides. One of which, Twin Dolphins had been the scene of much destruction just weeks earlier as Hurricane Gabrielle rolled thru and sank several boats. But conditions were much nicer today as we set our sails and killed the noisemaker for a smooth run down the river. By noon we were passing the DeSoto anchorage and I was dismayed to see a Hunter 27 which had followed us begin to close astern. Soon he came rolling by with his sails slack and it was obvious he was motoring. Moments later we found out why as we sailed on. The channel narrowed and numerous huge powerboats zoomed by at full and half throttle rocking us violently. But soon they had passed and I always try to stick to the warm up cycle of the engine to preserve longevity. I usually need 15 minutes warm up before I can go in gear.

Once outside the river we turned for home and the wind clocked astern. It was perfect for the spinnaker so I enlisted everyone?s help to prepare. Here is a sight for a racer. This 31 year old cross cut spinnaker, in perfect condition (without even any sail numbers on it) flying nicely above our dinghy on the foredeck. Winds were less than 10 so seas were smooth except for the wakes. James the auto pilot did a fine job and the wind direction was so true that hardly a thing needed touching until we approached the Sunshine Skyway bridge. We decided to alter course to allow some freighters to pass and then made our own way under the majestic span. The wind did go a little north of west again so by St. Pete we were almost with pole on forestay but were able to hold the chute the whole way. 3 hours under the big colorful sail as other cruisers motored by. A few had those cruising chutes but they could not point as low as our symmetrical and fell astern. As happens so many times, the best sailing was just before we had to quit and we were doing better than 6 as we doused. Since things had been so smooth we had a chance to completely prepare the our gear for deboarding. All our bags were packed and gear bundled. Just before we doused, the cooler was emptied and drained and the sail covers were ready. The engine was warmed up and we sailed into St. Pete Harbor under main alone. Seth is learning all aspects of sailing so he was tasked to drop the main which he did just fine. Only problem was after the cover was snapped on it was noticed that the halyard was at the top of the mast. ?Ya mean ya have to clip that thing on to something?? Good thing we were done sailing. After motoring to the slip I went aloft to retrieve it. I make it easy on the deck crew by calling out ?Tail!? as I pull myself up each foot with another grasp of rigging, so no winch handle is necessary.

I was amazed that the ice had held out. 5 days on 75 lbs is like some kind of new record for us. I guess the cool days and nights make the difference. It would never last like that in the summer. Aside from the halyard fetching we were all set to go after a hose job when we pulled into the slip. It always seems to be such a chore to put the boat to bed after a cruise. Things went so well this time it was just a dream cruise right to the end including Brandon. Or maybe having perfect weather and an enthusiastic crew just made it seem that way. Either way I?ll take it?

~smile~
SMon