The first item of business for the morning was to confirm that the weather for the next two days was going to be good for our Gulf crossing. The Captain said we were “Good to Go” so at 8 am we hauled up the anchor and set our course for Tarpon Springs. S/V Zephyr was ready to go as well, but m/v Dual Dreams held tight. Sailboats can handle the wind and waves much better than most trawlers. Dual Dreams planned to wait it out for a forecast of calmer seas and less wind.We began our trip with a temperature of 47 degrees, sunny skies and no wind. As the day progressed, the temperature rose towards 70 degrees and the wind steadily increased out of the northeast. We had both sails up and the motor running much of the time to be able to maintain a speed of 6 or 7 knots. The forecast was for the wind to keep up and increase even more overnight.
We trolled for fish as we sailed along. Captain Gale had three lines going at once. Our first fish hit at 1:30 pm and he was a ferocious fighter! It took several minutes to boat him and it turned out to be a Little Tunny, aka Blue Bonito, False Albacore or Little Tuna. The food value is not high, but the sport was worth the battle. After a photo, he was released and the line was baited up for the next one. It wasn’t long before we caught a small mahi mahi. We took a picture of that one and let him go, too, in hopes of catching a bigger one. The third strike was a Spanish Mackerel and he put up a good fight. In fact, he kept fighting all the way to the fillet table. Before the first cut, he slipped away and jumped back in the water!! Dang it!! At sunset we brought in all the lines and did not put them back in again for the rest of the trip.
About 3 pm, the wind and waves came up enough to make the ride a bit bumpy. We didn’t mind, though, since the wind was in our favor and we were moving along quite nicely. During the night, winds blew from 15 to 25 knots and for awhile, we even turned the motor off since we didn’t need it and we didn’t want to arrive at our destination before light. We were glad that we could sail and lift the lower unit out of the water as we were getting closer to shallow water and the possibility of crab pots being present. Sure enough, as the sun began to rise, we could see there were crab pots all around us.
At 11:30 am Saturday morning, after 27-1/2 hours and 181 statute miles, we pulled into a slip at the Tarpon Springs City Marina and went to shore for the afternoon. The Captain and the Admiral both agreed that we had just completed our most comfortable “big water” crossing to date. The wind was to our advantage and the waves were “ok” even though they were on our beam. Neither the Captain nor the Admiral got seasick at any point.The Tarpon Springs Marina allows vessels to tie up during the day for a small ($10) fee as long as the boat is not there overnight. You can even use the water, electricity, showers, etc. Blue Heron and Zephyr both took a slip and we went for a walk. We found a charming waterfront community filled with little shops selling sponges, antiques, excursion boat operators handing out flyers, and Greek restaurants and bakeries galore. We were enchanted with the place and couldn’t believe we had passed by this way twice before without coming in to discover the town.
Tarpon Springs is hailed as the “Sponge Capital of the World” and is the oldest town in Pinellas County. It is located five miles up the Anclote River where it intersects with the Gulf of Mexico. In 1905 six Greek men started a prosperous sponge diving business there. Word of their success spread to Greece quickly and the migration of Greek people to Tarpon Springs continues to this day.
On our walk, it didn’t take Roger long to find a cigar store and select his favorite indulgence for the day. We checked out a few sponge shops, tasted some Greek wine and then chose The Parthenonas Restaurant for lunch. Gale and Maureen shared an appetizer of Spanakopita, a blend of spinach, onions and feta cheese baked in a flaky phyllo dough, that was, to put it mildly, Fabulouso! Our entrée was also “to die for” – homemade Greek spaghetti topped with lamb shank and served with Greek style potatoes and fresh bread. There were no regrets at the table whatsoever.
The four of us strolled back to the boats and made our way to an anchorage a local sailor had told us about. The anchorage was not mentioned in any of our guidebooks and we were happy to learn that we didn’t have to travel all the way out to the power plant (4 or 5 miles back down the river) and could anchor closer to the action. We settled in and watched the evening activity on the water.
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