Gulfport Florida with a little ‘Clam Bayou’

I didn’t think I could do it, but I somehow managed to persevere. Expending minor amounts of mental energy and proper planning, I was actually able to achieve the almost impossible.

Wasting an entire day is truly becoming an art form for me.  It’s not for everybody.  My standards of a normal day have changed over the years.  

So you ask, just what is normal?  Well… this day it was being totally worthless at being a productive human being.  I was previously a success at fixing the wind generator a couple of days ago, so today will be different.  The much delayed part from ‘eMarine Systems’ had finally arrived, the fix was easy.  I simply had to have the correct part.  I’d fixed a few other things as well, but that will be in a later blog entry.  This one is about being worthless on a sailboat…

The sun rises to an empty schedule.  Nothing on the calendar but the day and date.  Were it not for the miracle of the personal computer, I would not even know that much information most of the time.  But, since I’m part of the modern electronic world, allow me to share the day’s events.

Watch the sunrise. Drink coffee.

Yep, that about sums it up.  Next thing you know it’s around noon.  We are anchored off the beach in Gulfport Florida, one of my favorite places on the west coast.  The anchor is holding very well, the bay is reasonably calm, and the pace is slow.

We decide to go for a bit of a dinghy ride and exploring a little bit.  It’s always nice to go poking about in a little rubber boat with an outboard.  There is very little work involved and if you hit something, you bounce off without too much damage.  

We find the entrance to Clam Bayou a bit east of the Gulfport Pier.  This is a piece of natural Florida that has managed to survive the urban sprawl along the waterfront. Entering the Bayou we are greeted with a wide assortment of waterfowl relaxing about as much as we are.  Fish are schooling ahead of the boat as we push deeper into the mangroves.

The water is getting shallower as we progress which is limiting our explorations.  This is a perfect place for a canoe or kayak.  One of the water trails is marked for human powered boats only, no internal combustion engines allowed.  We explore the areas that we can get to with our dinghy and enjoy the serenity once I kill the engine.  If you own a kayak, this trail is just what you are looking for.

Entering Boca Ciega bay once again as we continue around the bay back into civilization.  The weather appears like it will be changing in the next day or so.  High clouds are forming some impressive overhead scenes which is usually a sign of another front on the way.  

So we head back to the boat in time to enjoy the evening activities.

Watch the sunset. Enjoy a cocktail.

Yeah, life on a boat…

Links you might enjoy:

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/bocaciega-pinellas/

http://www.stpete.org/parks/clambayou.asp

The Gulfport Pier is on the lower left, with Clam Bayou being the nice green area. Click on the picture for a little closer view.

Filed Under: Travels

Tags: Boca Ciega • Clam Bayou • Gulfport Florida • kayak trails • sailing • travel