April 2 2022. We cast off our lines!

Day 1. April 2

We cast off our lines at 9:00am on out Great Loop adventure. Our friends, Phil and Aggie helped record our departure.

The weather was overcast as we traveled out our canal and into Tampa Bay. As we approached the Skyway bridge a dolphin twice leaped completely out of the water, playing in our bow wake. An omen of good fortune for our adventure!

As we ended our Tampa Bay crossing, the sun began to peek out and as we traversed past Longboat Key/Bradenton and entered Sarasota we had ourselves a sunny day.

We traveled 34.4 nautical miles in four hours and anchored behind Otter Key, a mangrove Island near Lido Key in Sarasota. There we joined another boat from St Petersburg, FL. The owners were for many years sailors from the Caribbean down to Panama. What adventures they shared!

The anchorage sports lots of manatees, dolphin and of course, the osprey who lords over Otter Key.

Once settled properly, we took a nap, Will spend the rest of our day with a glass of wine and planning our next days.

Bill and Margie

……until we blog again!

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Crustacean Travels

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