- Ireland’s Eye has spent our summer from April to October at Safe Cove Storage in Port Charlotte FL. Nana and Nandad arrived October 15th to get ready for cruising once again up the west coast of FL. Due to a problem with the electrical outlet at the dock and the fact that the temperature in FL is over 90% we decided to stay on Gasparilla Island for two nights while working on the boat during the day - lots of sweating, scrubbing and cleaning and we are ready for our first overnight onboard. Our busy days were rewarded by excellent dinners at the Pink Elephant and Temptations. IE has had a lot of attention over the summer , the hull was buffed, wood work cleaned and new canopy made for the bridge. Not to mention the continued work on the engines!!
October 17th Wednesday here she is at the Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club which is our first overnight on this fourth cruising adventure. This year Nana and Nandad have decided to take advantage of our membership at Newport Yacht Club which is part of the Yachting Club of America. Some of these clubs are also part of the Florida Council Yacht Club which is a group of 36 prestigious clubs all along the Florida coast. Our goal will be to attempt to find a spot where we and the boat will feel comfortable and perhaps become members. So we will see where it takes us. At CHYC we were welcomed by Joe the Dockmaster who not only brought us a bucket of ice but also delivered the local paper in the morning. The club has the most amazing view of Charlotte Harbor and we had an excellent sea food buffet - even the skipper who generally does not eat fish! We were welcomed by Bob Trumm a past commodore who has cruised on his motor boat for several years. We felt very welcomed.
To get to the CHYC from where IE was , meant we had to cruise about six miles along the Myakka River where we had to operate a self operational lock which was quite the experience - as it was on our way up in April. The photo shows a wonderful Ospreys nest perched on the perfect tree right beside a home. Sometimes the Osprey pick the rooftop for their nest which can cause quite a bit of disruption.
October 18th Nana and Nandad checked out the bicycles and made our way to a local bike shop where they fixed a slow puncture right there and then and also pumped up Nandad’s electric bike - no excuse now for not riding. IE is heading across Charlotte Harbor for another overnight on Gasparilla Island except this time she will be docked at Boca Grande Marina where we will once again drive a golf cart around and visit the lighthouse beach. The first picture is IE on the dock and the second picture is the small catholic church on the island. Nana and Nandad took the beach chairs down to the beach to watch the sunset 🌅 but neither had their cell phone to capture the magical sunset - now that’s when you know you are relaxed!
While having a drink at the Sunset Grill on the southern part of the island the bartender was telling us all about the red tide. Apparently tourism is down by 80%, over 60 🐬 found floating in the water and over three hundred Manatee, not to mention the fish. A terrible tragedy. A lot of responsibility for us all to make a change.
On a lighter note the above picture captures the atmosphere on this delightful part of Gasparilla Island. Boca Beacon is their local paper, the beach 200 yards from most spots down town, and Rome a long way away. We feel very lucky to have found this special spot.
No comments:
Post a Comment