About half of our crews arrived in the early afternoon, welcomed to Florida with temperatures in the 80s and humidity to match. But it was sunny - hot, but sunny. All skippers completed their boat checkouts in the afternoon with a very friendly and helpful charter company. Mike and Jack bent over backwards to make sure we had everything we needed.

Then it was off to Publix and Trader Joe's to stock up for the long voyage. As usual, we bought as if we were never to be in sight of land again. Somehow we found room to store everything. Then it was off for some fine dining at restaurants that were within walking distance of the Marina. Julio's, Steve's and Mia's crews enjoyed seafood at 400 Beach. Bob and his crew walked a little further and dined at Moon Under Water and also found some excellent gelato on the walk back to the boats.

On Sunday, after some last minute store runs (yes, more food and grog), and attending to some minor boat issues, we all managed to be off the docks by 10 a.m. Into Tampa Bay we went with some favorable easterlies, as we headed south toward the magnificent Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Just like the Chesapeake Bay, the water outside of the channel gets thin fast, and the navigators had to read the charts carefully for sailable depths. However, by early afternoon the winds had eased considerably, and the skies darkened (no more Florida sunshine...).

Out came the iron jennies, and all four boats motor sailed into John's Pass, leaving the Gulf and entering Boca Ciega Bay, our anchorage for the evening. A raft-up and appetizers offered the first chance for everyone to get acquainted, since several people couldn't make the pre-trip meeting. Florida-based members Laurie and Izak Kielmovitch, on Mia's boat, had already made themselves essential members of the crew just for having a car in St. Petersburg. By the raft up they were both bona fide Club members with a good day of sailing under their belts.

Monday morning found the raft had turned 90 degrees relative to the other boats in the anchorage. After some discussion with the other skippers, Steve guessed that his anchor line had crossed under his keel, and it was now preventing the raft from spinning normally. Letting the line go slack allowed it to eventually drop under his keel, and the raft began pivoting into the wind. While some cross-currents created a few challenges to un-rafting, we were all underway shortly thereafter.

We were not so fortunate with the weather. On the VHF, the Coast Guard broadcast a severe storm warning for the waters to our southwest, and radar apps on our various electronic devices showed us the masses of red out there hidden in the darkening clouds. We retraced our path back through John's Pass and into the Gulf, for our journey north to Clearwater. On Mia's boat, lifejackets and foulies appeared and the main stayed rolled up as the headsail provided some drive and was easy to roll up when the need arose. While we did get a fair amount of rain along the way, and could hear a few rumbles of thunder once in a while, the wind was light to non-existent, requiring us to motor the whole way with an uncomfortable following sea.

Rainbow over Clearwater

Nonetheless, we arrived safe and sound at the Clearwater Harbor Marina. This is where the second adventure of the day unfolded. The marina is on the ICW right under the bridge from the mainland to Clearwater Beach. It's a spot with about a five knot current running parallel to the fuel dock, where Steve and Mia's boats decided to stop for pump-out. At least we didn't have to contend with a drawbridge. After watching Steve's several attempts to dock into the surprising current, Mia used his winning technique to bring her boat alongside and wait for a turn to pump out. The pump out stop gave Steve and Mia a chance to watch Julio and Bob maneuver into their assigned slips with the strong following current. Although the fairway between the docks was wide, turning against the current meant a surprising amount of side slippage. In order to back into the slips, which was necessary to hook up to power, the skippers opted to back down the fairway and swing the boats' sterns into the slips. Bow thrusters (when they worked) and sharp hands to grab lines on the docks helped make the maneuver a success.

Winter the tail-less dolphin

Ashore, Mia and her crew summoned Uber to take them to the aquarium to see , the tailless dolphin of the Dolphin Tales movies. They met up with Karen and Henry at the aquarium, and caught a free trolley back, stopping in at Winter's Dolphin Tale Adventure, an attraction based entirely on the movies, and included with the aquarium ticket. Others napped or read or etc., waiting for the rain to stop, which it finally did around dinner time, which for Bob's, Steve's, and Mia's boats, meant firing up the galley for dinner aboard. Julio's boat went ashore and found a very nice Thai/Sushi restaurant a short distance from the boat. After dinner, the crew walked around to help the digestion and admire all the Church of Scientology buildings.

On Tuesday we prepared for our longest mileage of the trip (~40) to Longboat Key with an early start. A relatively quick run back through Clearwater Inlet brought us back out to the Gulf, where we found 15-20 knot winds. All started with just jibs, but the winds weren't as strong or gusty as first thought, so out came the mainsails. Unfortunately, the wind gods did not cooperate. It wasn't long before the winds had eased to about five knots, and with a following sea (yes, it turned 180 degrees since the day before), it was not a pleasant ride. Mia's Bob's and Steve's boats hung in there until about 11:00, then furled the jib and powered up with engine and mainsail. Julio motored from the start. Julio's main was jammed, so they proceeded with bare poles, making the ride most uncomfortable. Bob's crew was getting used to the routine of seeing dolphins swim by every day with an occasional group of pelicans to add interest to the view. Late in the morning Bob's crew observed Mia's boat make a ninety degree turn to port. There was some activity at the helm and then the boat came back on course. A little while later she turned sharply once again, giving Bob cause for concern since his boat was close enough that a wild turn toward it could bring them into range of a collision. Bob and his crew on Mojo were puzzled as to why Mia and her crew were playing such an intense game of "Squirrel!" in the Gulf with no obvious wildlife in view. Later that afternoon Mia explained that no, her crew was not so inattentive at the helm. Since the first day, their auto helm had been taking over and turning the boat towards various mysterious waypoints. She'd gone through the menus on the navigation system trying to find a setting to change, but could not find anything to explain the behavior.

Upon arriving at Longboat Pass, it was easy to see where the shoaling was, as waves were breaking along a quarter-mile stretch where the channel used to be. Julio's boat, being ahead of the rest owing to motoring the whole way, and clearly the bravest, went through the channel first. From where the other boats were positioned though, it looked like Julio was going right through the breakers. Talk about optical illusions! Going in second, Mia nearly fatally misread the channel, but trusted the depth gauge when it showed a rapidly rising bottom and swung around to retreat and correct her approach.

Some serious gaming

Once inside, we proceeded to our planned anchorage for the night, at the north end of Longboat Key. We'd last been here ten years ago and found it shallow, but peaceful and well-protected. Unfortunately, the anchorage was not as accessible as we had planned. Julio scraped bottom right where we'd planned to anchor, and Mia found the mud further out near the channel. Her boat was dragged so far by the current she had to ask Bob for a tow, which was immediately provided. It's a good thing we had started so early! That anchorage was abandoned, and we proceeded another hour further south through the ICW into Sarasota Bay. We found a nice corner to huddle together in, and rafted there for the evening. On Steve's boat, some very competitive Scrabble players -- Corry, who brought the game, Cathy, Steve, Linda and Cherie -- hunkered down for some cutthroat games. Weeding out the weaker players, Corry, Cathy, and Steve played on for a couple of hours, not realizing how late it had become.

Except for wind and wave issues, the previous day had been relatively nice, with partly cloudy skies, and the temperature in the 70s with relatively low humidity. That changed overnight, as the humidity went way up, though the temps were on the cool side. The morning was grey and overcast, with some early morning fog thrown in for good measure, for our short run across Sarasota Bay to Sarasota itself, where slips awaited us at Marina Jack's. Since we had only a short distance to go, we all had leisurely breakfasts. By around 10 a.m. the sun started to poke through the haze, and it started feeling quite warm. Alas, there was no wind to speak of.

Fearing a hot, windless ride to Sarasota just might be unpopular with the crews, Steve prodded the others to break up the raft, and get dockside as soon as possible, where the various shore side activities could provide some alternatives, as well as showers and air conditioning. But to get there we had to pass under the John Ringling Causeway Bbride with a fixed height of 67 feet. Julio had our tallest mast at 65 feet. He was interested in timing his passage for something other than high tide, which it was when we broke up the raft. The flotilla set out with the smallest boat - Bob's - in the lead and Julio trailing. Those in the back watched through binoculars as the leaders passed successfully under the bridge. The lowering tide gave them an extra foot of clearance. Bob spoke to the owner of Mojo when we returned to the charter base. The owner was surprised that Mojo made it under this bridge as the mast had hit the bridge two years before. Yikes! When the time came, Julio's mast was a close fit, but cleared the bridge.

Mia's boat only made one sharp turn that morning, but her depth gauge started exhibiting an alarming habit of running rapidly up to two feet (on a five foot keel) while the boat was clearly still afloat. This happened more than once and each time she shifted to neutral in fear of digging into an unforeseen shoal. But instead they'd drift along for a few seconds in two feet of water and gradually the depth would go back to the expected seven or eight feet.

And so, by 1 p.m., all were secured in the marina, and promptly broke out lunch. Steve's and Mia's crews headed over to nearby Selby Botanical Gardens. Julio and his gang descended on the showers and did some re-provisioning. Bob's crew just lazed about below, comforted by the cool breeze of the air conditioning blower. A little later in the afternoon, we were visited by long-time past club members Linda Bennett, Ray Gray and Julie Zuk. A large crowd gathered in Julio's cockpit to catch up, reminisce, and so forth.

For dinner, Steve's and Mia's crews headed to Cafe Epicure, which was recommended by some local friends of Steve's. It turned out to be an excellent choice, topped off by a stop at a gelato store on the walk back to the marina -- how convenient.

Most of Julio's and Bob's gang tried to get into Owens - good for fish, - but the wait was too long, so they cruised the streets, finding a barbecue place that fit the bill just fine. Karen and Linda joined Ray, Julie, Linda Bennett, and her husband Rod, who headed to points unknown.

Hungry Carp at Selby Gardens

A layover day on Thursday provided opportunities for some to visit the Ringling Museum and grounds as well as the Selby Botanical Gardens and other local attractions. Linda, Mary Ann, Joel and Bob had an interesting visit to the gardens, finding out that orchids are epiphytes. Joel got them a free tour from a docent that made for an enjoyable morning.

At Oleary's in Sarasota

In the afternoon, a group from all boats proceeded Oleary's Tiki Bar and Grill to meet up with Don Gilmore and Anne McCormick who drove up to join us. That evening, Julio's and Bob's boats finally made it to Owen's Fish Camp for dinner, the food and atmosphere was worth the second attempt to dine there. Mia's boat summoned Uber once again this time to take them to Columbia in St. Armand's Circle.

Departing the dock at 9 a.m. on Friday, we had a pleasant sail up Sarasota Bay to the ICW and headed back to Tampa Bay on the inside rather than brave the reverse of the tricky entrance at Longboat. Unfortunately, Julio's boat's jammed mainsail had become a torn mainsail, precluding its use. So while the weather was pleasant, their day was less so. Once through the ICW and into Tampa Bay proper, the rest had a couple of hours of excellent sailing in 15 knot breezes. We rafted up in the Manatee River (none seen) behind Snead Island, breaking out the must-goes and some planned dinners. Crews from most boats jumped in the water here, too. Though the anchorage turned a little rocky, we survived the night, with Scrabble on Steve's boat, and cards on Julio's.

Anchored on the Manatee River

Saturday provided probably the best sailing day of the week, with winds in the 15 - 20 knot range. Our goal was to make it back to St. Pete by 4:00, as several people were flying out that evening. So some motoring was inevitable, as the wind and currents under the Tampa Bay Causeway were against us. Mia was determined to do it under sail, and did, except for that last, essential tack to take the boat safely out of the path of an existing freighter. We all made it in plenty of time, including the fuel stop at the marina next door.

Ashore in the park next to our marina barbeque festival was in full swing, with crowds of people walking past the marina gate and a series of extremely loud bands serenading the entire neighborhood. Once the early departures had hurried away, the crews cleaned up the boats, gifting those with cars as much of the left over liquor and unused food as they would take. We had arranged to keep two of the four boats for the night, so there was some crew shuffling and alarm setting, and a final dinner - must-goes for some, and a seafood restaurant for others - before the last of us bid farewell to our sunny Florida adventure.

A clear day on Sarasota Bay