Well it's been a minute since I've put an update out

Well it’s been a minute since I’ve put an update out… Not much has been happening since I got to Long Boat, FL.

The anchorage I was in the last 12 days was a nice spot, quiet, well protected, easy shore access, some restaurants and bars near by but overall it was pretty sleepy.

The red tide was pretty bad when I first arrived, there were tons of dead fish in the bay and on the beach it made getting the dogs to shore a bit of an adventure. It also meant no swimming for me, which I was really looking forward too now that we are in warmer water.

I left the dogs with my good friend Capt. Linz Irwin for a few days and flew home for an early holiday visit to family and friends. It was really nice to spend some time back in Chicago, but after 4 days I had the itch to get back to the water… The cold didn’t help either :)

Got back to Florida Monday, and after a heavy storm yesterday was ready to move anchorages today, I had been in Longboat for 12 days and needed a change of scenery. So off to downtown Sarasota we went! Found a nice spot just outside the mooring field, took the dinghy into town and went to find a coffee shop to work at for the day.

It’s been interesting anchoring in Florida. It certainly isn’t how I always viewed cruising. In the islands, and even the great lakes cruising and living on a sailboat has a bit of a romantic aura around it. People are on an adventure, never staying in one place too long, they take pride in keeping their vessels “ship-shape”

But here in Florida, it seems like every anchorage I go to I’m the only boat that isn’t a step between homelessness and a halfway house. Every anchorage I pull into I’m surrounded by derelict, run down boats that haven’t moved in weeks, if not months.

No sail covers, tattered sails, growth and scum lines, some boats even sunk in the shallows. There certainly isn’t a “cruiser community” like you find in the islands. Not passing judgement, but it isn’t how I envisioned life on the hook. Frankly, it’s been a bit of a downer. Hopefully as I move further south and get into the islands I find more of a cruiser community, that’s a big part of what makes this lifestyle fun.

Anyways, Greetings from Sarasota! It’s 63 here today with some sun. Had to dig out a pair of pants and leave the shorts in the closet for the first time in a while.