One of the benefits of being shackled to my computer day after day is that every so often I get to make friends via the internet. Thanks to a few referrals through SailMonster.com, WhaleWhisperer, a sailor from Monterey California, contacted me [click to read more…]
This Saturday the 17th found my wife and I on Mariola in Boca Ciega Bay around 3:00 p.m. with our Sailmonster friends Ross_In_Tampa and MamaKay. The wind was flukey – all over the compass for about an hour, but the temp was a pleasant 65 or so, and of course there was beer and rum in reasonable amounts. We wandered around the bay long enough to catch an amazing sunset and feel the cold, biting air the sun left behind. We headed back with just enough light to find our way in.
Just as we stopped Mariola in her slip, our friends from Bliss walked up and we instantly decided to all head to Pia’s in Gulfport. Pia’s is a Gulfport jewel that serves the best Italian food this rum-soaked sailor has ever had. The smoked salmon lasagne is only available every so often and I’ll get it anytime I can. Outstanding! Tampa Bay sailing doesn’t get any better.
Click the pic to see gallery from the trip.
Just got the YouTube account up and running. Here’s a vid from Saturday:
About a month ago, there was a new arrival to the small fleet of sailboats anchored in Boca Ciega Bay. From a distance she looked like a beauty – as we sailed closer, it was obvious this boat was destined to become the next premier derelict in the bay. I assume, and with a nod to the “make an ass [...]
Does Boca Ciega need a mooring field? While talking to one of the guys at the Gulfport Marina a few weeks ago, he commented that they need a mooring field in the bay, but that it didn’t look like it would happen. Today, in a post on Sailmonster, someone commented about a possible mooring field [...]
This Sunday’s sail was a short adventure that gave the crew a taste of almost every kind of sailing Tampa Bay has to offer. It also happened to be our first excursion on the new Morgan 32, so it was kind of a shakedown, or shakeup trip. Along for the ride was The Admiral, CannonBall, Dave, my good [...]
A few years ago while fanning through an old copy of Chapman Piloting that was left aboard my boat by a previous owner, I discovered a lost treasure. There, stuck between the pages of nautical knowledge was a single sheet of wide-ruled notebook paper. Written neatly in pen at the very top it read: “Nola” [...]
IT happened again. It, being an incredible day of sailing tarnished by a mechanical breakdown. These breakdowns don’t bother me too much, but each one decreases my chances of coaxing the crew back out on the water. The day was Thursday April 3rd, one day before my 39th birthday and impending mid-life crisis. As a [...]