Posts tagged as:

St. Petersburg

SunSpree Bingo

by PyratCapn on March 30, 2009

Wow – I’ve been working a lot lately on my “day job” projects and have fallen behind. PyratSail was forced to take a backseet to a little bill-paying, but I’m catching up. Brace yourself for a few rapid-fire posts. Beginning with – The Holiday Inn SunSpree.

Towing

The SunSpree is an amazing tropical oasis at North end of The Sunshine Skyway. It has two beautiful pools and a small beach right on Tampa Bay. Sailmonster had a bingo party/get together there the weekend of the 21st and everyone had a lot of fun along with a bit of rum punch. Me and Cannonball brought Mariola around from Gulfport and stayed at the SunSpree docks – cost was $1.50/foot for the night. Not too bad for the use of the pool, towels, ice, facilities, etc. Best part of bringing the boat over (only about a two hour ride) was that we were flagged down by a broke-down powerboater while leaving the marina. We gave him a glorious tow back to the Gulfport Marina boat ramp. That’s one for the sailors!

Once we got to the SunSpree and started enjoying the pool and Bingo, it didn’t take long for the rum to really start flowing. We all had a bunch of fun. Most of the crew retired around midnight or one, but a few of us stayed up until 6:00 a.m. This included me, CannonBall and WildTurkey.

It’s A HOT Tub

You see some strange things around the pool after midnight. From local security guards ”chasing” ganja scented teen-agers across the hotel grounds to a horny couple trying to get it on in the hot-tub. Unwilling to take-on (or possibly join) the ganja kids, we elected ourselves spa-police and put a smack down on the spa lovin’. I just felt mischeivous – could have been my approaching landmark birthday, the rum, or flashbacks of aggravating my younger brother, but I was determined to mess with the hot tub lovers. Hey, I was in that spa earlier in the day - so were a lot of people. It’s gross enough already without adding more genetic material to it. Yuk.

After going over to strike up conversation, taking a picture with Sailmonster in the background (we said he’d never seen a hot-tub before and wanted his pic with one), all three of us decide a full-out assault was needed. We stripped down to our underwear/swimwear and got in – the lovers immediately got the hell outta there.  Victory was ours, and that’s pretty much where we stayed for the rest of the night, talking politics.

spa-Raider1

Click image to see SunSpree Gallery.

Thanks to everyone that put on a great party. The SunSpree is a new favorite getaway and it’s very close to home. Hope to be back again. See some videos of the ‘ol blue jug, a Sailmonster party intro and a skillful grapeshot by Cannonball.

{ 0 comments }

Strictly Sail and The Lats and Atts Cruiser’s Party

by PyratCapn on December 8, 2008

This Saturday, December 7th, brought Strictly Sail to our own back yard here in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Strictly Sail boat show had partnered with the powerboat show this year and though this disturbed my inner sailor, I knew it made financial sense. The show turned out to be very enjoyable, well organized and there were a lot of great vendors showing their boating gear. The new Mahaffey Theather location was, I think, better than last year’s – more room and a nice dock layout.

Have beer will travel

Some Sailmonsters Having Fun

This was my third year at the show, so taking off my shoes to climb down into half million dollar boats has lost some allure. It’s nice to dream, but after awhile, it makes me feel like I should go home and grind some gears so I can afford one of these beauts. Our main objective of the show was to be in the gates for the much anticipated Latitudes and Attitudes (now Seafaring) Cruiser’s Party. Every year Bob Bitchin hosts the cruiser’s party on Saturday night – what a blowout. Get to the show before it closes at 7:00 p.m. and you’re instore for all the beer, pizza and fun you can injest.

Sailmonster had a strong turnout of members this year  – some of who sailed up from Sarasota and camped out in the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina. The overnighters reported the marina staff couldn’t have been more friendly or accomodating. My wife and I live about 5 miles away so we arrived via dry-land cart.

Let’s talk party entertainment – Eric Stone’s music expresses sailing and the caribbean lifestlye better than anyone. He always seems to strike a chord that puts me in the mood for drinkin’ and dancin’. If you ever have the opportunity to see them, or attend a Lats and Att’s party – just do it! A little rain squall threatened to shut everything down this night, but the band covered their equipment, the party-goers ducked inside and after about 10 minutes of rain, the party kicked off and never looked back.

Mr. Bob Bitchin, thank you again for a very memorable, outstanding get together with fellow sailors. I know you’ve been putting on these events for quite awhile, they must be a ton of work – I hope you never tire of it. They have created great memories and friends that will never be forgotten.

Below is a quick video of our group at the party.

 

{ 0 comments }

From Sun to Storms, Dave Gets It All – Egmont Key

June 10, 2008

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 [...]

Read the full article →

Sea Trial Saturday On The New PyratSail Boat

May 29, 2008

Things are coming together on our possible new boat, a 1980 Morgan 32′ or model 323. We’ve passed the underwater/scuba survey, initiated the title search, secured financing and made arrangements for the full survey and sea trial for this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. This is all a first for me, as every one of our other boats [...]

Read the full article →

I Want A Pudgy Dinghy

May 8, 2008

Couldn’t resist, but hey, they named it not me. The Portland Pudgy. I saw this pudgy little dinghy awhile ago in a sailing mag and it got my attention. I have yet to need a dinghy (stop it) but always thought it would be good to have one that doubles as a life raft. I remember [...]

Read the full article →

“Nola Notes” Strike a Chord

April 25, 2008

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” [...]

Read the full article →

Attack of The Maintenance Monster

April 17, 2008

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 [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries