Tarpon Springs

We slept well after our big adventure crossing the Gulf. The next day started off with fog; we've since read that it's very rare for the Gulf to have 3 consecutive days of all day fog, but apparently that's what happened. In our Anclote Key anchorage the fog burned off by noon, so we launched the dinghy to go exploring. We went to the State Park at Anclote Key in search of the lighthouse we had seen coming in.

We followed the boardwalk to the lighthouse and saw plenty of birds and sand crabs. It was warm and the skies were blue. We next boated over to a sandbar, exposed only at low tide, where a tour boat from Tarpon Springs was loading up its passengers who had come to walk the beach and look for shells. Right after the tour boat left, the fog descended upon us. Can you see the dinghy on the middle of this picture?

No radar, no GPS, what's a dinghy boater to do in this situation? We poked our way back to the dock at the State Park, and then kept the sun and the shoreline (when we could see it) to our port side as we putted along. The fog lifted, then returned, and still no sighting of the Shingebiss. At last Steve said "Look behind you" (I ride facing backwards in the dinghy), and what a relief, there was our little ship, right where we left her.

We had already decided to spend another night at anchor. Two dolphins jumped and swam around the boat later that afternoon. We had another great meal and relaxed on the boat. Unfortunately, the wind kicked up after dark so we had a bouncy and noisy sleep. The next morning, again warm and clear, we had a short cruise up the Anclote River to the charming town of Tarpon Springs. This town is all about the Greeks, who settled the area in the early 1900's and all about the sponge diving business, which they perfected and still practice. The marina is right by the sponge boat docks and a plethera of Greek restaurants and gift shops. Harbor Master Ted, orginally from Poland, is very helpful and friendly. We had our worst docking experience to date, my fault...apparently when you come in and toss the stern lines around these darn pilings, you are supposed to tie the other end to the boat. Ours ended up dangling from the pilings, but Ted somehow got us tied up in spite of ourselves and had someone in a dinghy retrieve our lost dock lines for us while we were out strolling on Dodecanese Boulevard. The sponge boat docks are right across the street from the restaurants and shops.
This bronze statue honors the sponge divers.

We had a delicious Greek lunch at Hellas and browsed through some of the shops. We had social hour with "gold burgee" loopers Hank and Ann (Queen Anne's Revenge). The gold burgee they fly indicates they've already completed the Great Loop, and are now cruising the coastal waters. We also met up with Bill and Diane (Homebrew). Bill spent 10 years building their 36' steel sailboat in Missouri and they headed for St. Petersburgh to have their mast and rigging installed.

This morning, we hopped on the bikes to go to the grocery and hardware stores. We got sidetracked through the historic district and the beautiful homes along the bays and bayous that flow through and around the town. After a brief stop at Sunset Beach, we returned via a different route and completed our errands.

Found all our fruits and veggies at bargain prices at a produce stand. The bike baskets were filled to the max by the time we returned. We had planned to venture back out to an anchorage tomorrow, but rain and strong winds are predicted, so we added another night to our stay here. Now that we are "here" and without a scheduled destination for the next 10 weeks, we plan to slow it down and enjoy our time on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

It had to happen sooner or later, Lucy finally fell into the water today. She was out on the dock and we didn't see her fall, but heard a splash just as a flock of birds took off. She was hanging on for dear life to a piling with her front paws and mawoo'ing loudly. The water level was at least 5 feet below the dock level and we weren't immediately sure how the heck to get her back out. Steve finally dangled half his body over the dock while I held onto his legs and he managed to grab her. He set her on the dock and she took off like a bullet for the boat. We hosed the saltwater off her and she spent the next few hours grooming herself so she is now back to her beautiful fluffy self. It's good to know that she can survive a little swim, but we're thinking about picking up a fishing net in case it happens again.