Tarpon Springs

Dec. 7 & 8

Day 25-26

Weather conditions: foggy, cool

Other than intermittent fog, our roughly 21 hours worth of open water while crossing the gulf turned out to be uneventful.  Have to say that I like my bed at night. I am glad that from here on out we will not have to do any more all nighters.  We arrived at Turtle Cove Marina about 2:00 p.m.  Perfect timing because the tide was rising, enabling us to enter the marina with no problems. Our draft would not have allowed us to enter at low tide.  So many things to consider that we didn't have to worry about on the river system.  Obviously, after our long night, Jess was ready for a nap.  We saved our visit to the town of Tarpon Springs until Monday morning.  We have discovered a few electrical issues that require some attention (if we want to brew coffee or take a hot shower) so we are headed down to Marker 1 Marina in Dunedin for repairs, but first we must have some Greek food.

We were hoping for the light of the full moon on our crossing. Unfortunately the fog rolled in and put a stop to that idea.

After the sun came up the fog cleared and the rolling waves got rougher.  Bama Dream took the rough seas with no problem.  We did have to pick up a few things down below.  The dolphins didn't seem to mind as they came out to great us.

On our walk around Tarpon Springs we found a very nice park full of huge live oaks.  This was an area of beautiful old homes that had canal access to the Anclote River. We watched manatee coming up for air in the canal, but none of them came close enough for pictures.

We know we have gotten to a more tropical climate when we see poinsettias growing in flower beds along the sidewalk.

Walking along the pier Jess found his next project. This fixer upper was one of many old sponge boats that had seen better days.  Learning about the sponge industry was a highlight of our visit to Tarpon Springs.

A wonderful Greek lunch and then it is time to head back to the marina so that we will be able to head out with the rising tide.