Much about nothing

Sitting at the marina last week we decided it was time to stop sitting at the marina. Sure, plugged into shore power with the A/C running on high makes for a comfortable afternoon. The satellite dish is connected and faithfully gathering every show imaginable from the sky. Most of which I don’t care to watch anyhow.

Every now and then a garden variety Florida thunderstorm passes through the area cooling things off for a few hours. The temps are running in the low 90’s with the humidity around 88%. It’s muggy. Small amounts of work will generate large amounts of sweat.

What in the heck are we doing at the marina anyhow?

Unable to answer the above question, we left with the tide. Winds were light and variable. The water is 88 degrees, so perhaps some swimming or diving will have to occur during this trip to nowhere, which is exactly where we were headed. This was a trip without a plan.

We decided to get away from the dock, but were unsure as to where we were headed. We did decide to head basically south. There is a nice place near Lemon Bay (Manasota Beach) to drop the anchor and go sharks teeth diving. I pulled out the chart and found a couple of neat places up along the Manatee River that we have not been to before. Maybe we will go there.

Leaving our marina we were greeted in the Inter Costal Waterway by an old friend of mine. We chatted with John and his wife for a short time as we approached the draw bridge. We tried to plan on going to Egmont Key and spending the night tied up with John. He had to be back to work, so that plan was scrapped. We were screaming along at 5 knots. John was in idle.

He couldn’t take the slow speeds any longer and soon departed on a plane. We agreed to meet up sometime in the future and spend the evening enjoying sundowner cocktails at the Key. I’m looking forward to that.

Passing the first drawbridge we were faced with which way to go. Turning right (starboard for you sailors) would take us out into the Gulf of Mexico. From there we could head down to the sharks teeth hunting grounds. The only problem with this is that there is no wind. A bit unusual for this time of the year. Nothing to fill the sails with was forecast for the rest of the week according to my marine radio. If we are going anywhere, it will be with the auxiliary engine only. The only thing the sails will be doing this week would be to provide a lot of shade.

We decided to turn left. That would take us through another drawbridge, then under I-275, and into Tampa Bay. Without the wind to drive us along we would have to find someplace closer to go. I don’t like listening to the engine all day and it heats up the boat.

The final decision had been made. Apollo Beach.

We could visit friends, hoist a drink or three at the tiki bar, dinner at Circles Restaurant, and visit with some friends. So that is exactly what we did, not necessarily in that order.

It was all about nothing. No wind, no rain, no chores, no schedule… nothing in particular.

We did have our cocktails, did visit with friends, and had some great food. All as it just happened, nothing planned beyond the next ten minutes or so.

Since we were not in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything in particular, we were compelled to watch Spanish mackerel spawn in Tampa Bay. I don’t believe that they actually cared or not if we were watching. Sheree tossed in a couple of great looking lures into the schools, but nothing would bite. They were busy spawning and running from the occasional opportunistic shark passing by.

We saw lots of sting rays, birds, and a few other passing boats. Nobody appeared to be in much of a hurry as it was a work day for most of the world.

We on the other hand, had nothing in particular to do today, or the next day, or the next…

Filed Under: Travels

Tags: Apollo Beach • Fishing • sailing • Tampa Bay • travel