Dec 17 - Air Conditioner Day

We have decided that the air conditioning unit in the Salon definitely needs to be replaced. We were able to purchase a replacement unit form a supplier here in Florida and have it shipped to the marina. The new unit is certainly smaller, but not any lighter to lift. We knew this was going to be a big job, and 10 hours later is was installed and running. It did entail removing everything from behind the TV and Liquor cabinet to access it, then reinstalling it all again. However is certainly is nice to have AC in the main cabin again.

Dec 13 - Departure Day

It has been a great 4 weeks with Mark and Cynthia, but sadly today is departure day for them. Although I believe they are looking forward to getting home for Christmas and seeing the grandchildren again. They are flying out of Tampa International and departed here at 9:00 via Uber to the airport. Look forward to seeing them again in June when we should be back in Canada.

Dec 9 -12 - Riviera Dunes

The last couple of days have been consumed by afternoons at the pool or walking into town for supplies at Walmart of the hardware stores.

Mark helped with the needed oil change and the screen that needed replacing in one of the port holes.

The one big job that was required was the seal on the transmission shifter lever that started leaking a little bit of oil. It was certainly a two person job to get the shifter unit out and reinstalled.

Dec 8 - Beach Day at Anna Maria Island

Another day to relax. We decided to call an Uber and head to the Anna Maria Island Beach.

It was a fabulous day of beach walking, lunch at the beach bar and plenty of sunbathing and drinking. Then watching yet another glorious sunset.

Dec 7 - ICW to Riviera Dunes Marina

Time to move on and our destination is the resort Marina called Riviera Dunes in Palmetto, Florida, and are departure was as sunrise.

The journey was slow through the many no wake zones along the ICW and then out into Tampa Bay before turning up the Manatee River to the Marina. Plenty of dolphins along the way as different pods would join us from time to time.

This is the first Marina with a heated pool, so we simply had to try it out.

Dec 6 - Clearwater, Florida

This is our day to relax and enjoy Florida weather. The beach, bars and restaurants were all fun. We even had a chance to meet up with other Loopers that made the day crossing today, Sea Clef (Cam and Heather) Off Leash (Rob and Karen) for dinner that night. Clearwater is a busy fishing and tourist area.

Clearwater Beach is a wonderful beach to walk and explore.

Dec 5 - Gulf Crossing and into Clearwater Florida

As the night wore on the fleet of boats crossing seem to thin out as some headed to Tarpon Springs while others to Clearwater. We could however see the navigation lights far ahead and far to the right of us during the night. When first light broke and we were all awake after the night crossing. We were presented with an amazing sunrise. Since we were taking 4 hours shifts, nobody felt tired after the crossing. 

Now we were into another challenge as we approached Clearwater. The plan is to be about 20 miles out at about 10:00 am so the light is well above the horizon. The reason for this is the numerous crab pots that are set out in the Gulf this close to shore. Mark drove as the rest of us spotted and pointed out the numerous tiny little floats they have on these pots. The idea is to not run over any as they can instantly foul your running gear, and I am sure the crabbers would not be to happy about losing their pots either.

We arrived at the Clearwater Beach Municipal Marina where we plan to stay for a couple of days before continuing south.

Dec 4 - Dog Island - Gulf Crossing

Well this is the big day for us all. David and Susan departed from us at first light as they are doing the Bend Route to Steinhatchee which is a daylight crossing.

After breakfast we departed Dog Island East to stage at the west end of Dog Island. Again we had a nice walk on the Gulf side of the island. We happened to come across Allan and Tara from Follow Your Arrow for our beach walk.

Around 2:30 pm we pulled anchor for our 21 hour crossing of the Gulf to Clearwater Florida. There was a 12 boat convoy already pulling out of Carrabelle that we joined.

The crossing itself was fun and easy. The first couple of  hours we had a bit of rain, but the seas remained very calm and very little wind. We shared 4 hours shifts with Mark and Cynthia. The clouds broke during the night and we did get to see a nice full moon for part of the trip. Happy to say the trip was easy and uneventful and we were very happy to have Mark and Cynthia along for the voyage.

Dec 3 - Dog Island

After our stay in Carrabelle, we moved out to Dog Island the day before we will travel the Gulf Crossing. First we moved to Dog Island East, along with David and Susan on Serenity II. The anchorage was nice and Mark and Cynthia took the paddleboards to shore, while the rest of us went by dinghy. The shore provided us with a nice walk and collected sea shells. Mark even went for a swim. The day ended with an amazing sunset.