SARASOTA, FL TO PLACIDA, FL

Friday, January 16th to Saturday, January 17th, 2015

Day 165-166
Miles Traveled on Saturday: 39
Total Miles Traveled: 2601


 Friday was a "get some jobs done" day - laundry, shopping, boat washing, etc.  We ventured to a Wholefoods Store for some light provisioning (getting food and supplies before cruising).  This is the first time either of us had been in one of these grocery stores.  Many of the items are "organic" (which means more expensive) so we were glad that we didn't need to get a lot.  It did have a great deli department and we bought some Waldorf chicken salad and egg salad for our upcoming lunches.  There were about six different chicken salad varieties to choose from and they all looked very tasty.  Mark & Becky on "Mara Beel", John & Kathy on "Serenity", and (new to us) Glenn & Brenda on "Young at Heart" came for a visit from Bradenton, FL where they are currently docked.  We had a nice visit over drinks at the marina's Portside Patio.  Afterwards, we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

sunset at Marina Jacks overlooking Island Park and Sarasota Bay behind it

  Saturday we left Sarasota, FL and began our journey across Sarasota Bay.  We had a beautiful day to travel with lots of sunshine, unlike our previous cruising day.  It was a little windy, but the sun kept us warm. 

Sarasota Bay 

  In contrast to the larger open water on the Sarasota Bay, we also had a couple of sections that were land cuts which were straight and narrow.  They reminded us of our river boating days. 

land cut through Venice, FL

  
  We encountered our first swing bridge - the Blackburn Swing Bridge.  It was interesting to watch it open and close.  For this swing bridge, the bridge operator has to walk to the center of the bridge to complete the task.  For other bridges, it can be accomplished from a building on land at the end of the bridge.

Blackburn Swing Bridge opening

"Seahorse" cruising through the channel - the bridge is on the right and road on the left with cars waiting as we passed through

  Another first for this cruising day was we had a passenger - or more correctly a "hitch hiker".  This blue heron decided to ride with us for awhile.  He started out on the bow rail, and decided he enjoyed the ride so much that he hopped down onto the deck.  I guess we got him to his desired destination because off he flew. 

"Our Hitch Hiker"

He decided to stay awhile

  We were planning on ending our day in the early afternoon at a beautiful anchorage near Englewood Beach.  However, the windless (what helps to drop and pull up the anchor) had other plans.  Unable to get it functional, we decided to move on further south.  We had reservations for Gasparilla Marina in Placida, FL for the following evening, so we called to arrive a day early and they were able to accommodate us.  Fortunately, we were only about 11 miles away, and at trawler speed that is about 2 hours, so we would arrive before dark.  Dan will have to try and fix the windless while we are at the marina for a couple days.  Like a house, on a boat there is always something to repair, improve, or clean.