November 30th Bird Key Yacht Club

Nana had the perfect afternoon yesterday at the Botanicial Gardens so some pictures are a must. Marie Selby was a lover of nature so when she left this earth she bequeathed her home, that was right on Sarasota Bay and Hudson Bayou, to the community. The Gardens speciality is a display of epiphytes ( plants that grow on other plants ) hence lots of  orchids, a library ( open by appointment ), a children’s design rainforest ( which is lots of fun for adults ), and a wonderful Koi Pond. Nana also learned about a herbarium ( dried and pressed specimens) and spirit collection ( which is specimens preserved in fluid). Always something to learn. Before leaving SYC Nana had to take a picture of the nutcracker with the wonderful white Christmas trees.

Nov 30th Friday and Ireland’s Eye is leaving SYC for Bird Key Yacht Club. The weather has become much warmer so a great day to cross over Sarasota Bay. BKYC is on a small island called Bird Key. The clubhouse is located on the site of the New Edzel Castle , the first mansion built in Sarasota by the Worcester family in 1914. A very welcoming club with lots of amenities including Tennis,Pool,Bocce,Fitness Centre and of course Sailing and Cruising. The club also offers many social activities such as kayaking, biking, yoga, golf,fishing, and indoor events such as Bridge,Mah Jongg, Jave & Books - you get the drift - something for everybody.

Taken at sunset so not the best picture but the club is beautifully decorated for Christmas with lots of preparation for the Lighting of the Fleet tomorrow evening. Nandad is heading off over the bridge for groceries. Nana has promised she will scrub the deck. Ireland’s Eye will stay at BKYC until Tuesday 4th.

November 29th Sarasota Yacht Club

Nov 27th Tuesday evening reservation for dinner at the yacht club was excellent as expected. Attention to detail and personal service are a top priority here and the food is superb. Nana and Nandad enjoyed a wonderful dinner surrounded by a beautifully decorated dining room. The atmosphere was very festive. They take their Christmas decorating very seriously. 

Wednesday 28th Randy was to come today to do a full service on the engine however he had to reschedule at the last minute so true to boating style Nana and Nandad adjusted their schedule. Now the weather is a lot colder today so the electric blanket is back on the bed and the heating turned on!  Dressed appropriately we head off on the bikes to check out the local areas. We also talk with Stephanie regarding membership and were happy to hear that if we choose here for IE we can stay on the boat whenever we are here - this is different from the other two clubs who will not permit living onboard. Nana was successful in booking seats for The Music Man performing at the historic 18th century Asolo Repertory Theatre. This beautiful little theatre was brought over from Venice Italy and rebuilt at its current location. The performance was amazing. The center piece in the photo was as you walk into the theatre - the photo really does not do it justice however it gives an image. 

Nov 29th finds us waiting for Randy to show up!!! The joys of boating means you must be flexible. A beautiful sunny morning so considering Randy will be late, we bike to St Armand’s Circle and have a wonderful breakfast at Madison Avenue cafe. Any morning you wake up on a boat is a good one. Laundry once again can be done, blog written and paper read while watching the blue sky and sunshine spread over the water. The day begins to warm up nicely. Maybe today Nana will visit The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Nana could not resist the picture below - such simplicity but so true.

November 27th Sarasota Yacht Club

November 26th Monday : Nana found the entrance this morning to the Legacy Trail which was a much nicer walk. The Trail is a smooth paved 10.5 miles starting at the Historic Venice Train Depot and ending at the southern outshirts of Sarasota. It is the perfect bike / walk path right along the ICW. The tracks were once used by the Ringling Bros. and P T Barnum ( Conor’s new hero - one of our very cute grandsons ) & Bailey Circus from 1967 to 1991 where they transported all the animals and spent the  winters in Sarasota. Ireland’s Eye left Venice at 11am for the 20 mile cruise to the Sarasota Yacht Club.

Along the way we cruise the Blackburn Bay and Little Sarasota Bay passing wonderful homes and many little islands where the birds camouflage perfectly among the vegetation. A perfect day for driving IE from the top deck with the magnificent view of Casey Key, Siesta Key, Lido Key to our final destination Bird Key. 

The Sarasota Yacht Club is our second yacht club stopover using our reciprocal ( Newport Yacht Club RI ) through Yachting Club of America. We will stay until Thursday. We arrived the day the club is being decorated for Christmas so officially the club is closed but we were provided with our keys which gave us access to the pool area, the gym and shower facilities. It is a beautiful club right inside the Big Pass which takes you into the city of Sarasota one way and all along Longboat Key right up to Anna Marie Island. It has 110 slips, a magnificent dining room ( which we hope to make a reservation for tomorrow night). A wonderful stroll into St Armand Circle followed by Dinner onboard while listening to the heavy rainfall and watching the boats that are already decorated for the Christmas parade that will take place December 1st.

November 27th Tuesday morning and the weather is a little colder so we wrap up and take a stroll across the bridge and onto Bird Key. Now as mentioned previously Nana and Nandad are on a mission this time round to find a home base for IE so naturally we go check out Bird Key Yacht Club. We were introduced to the Vice Commodore,Curt , who very graciously introduced us to Alyssa - the club was closed as a whole group of very busy volunteers were putting up decorations. We made a reservation for IE to stay for the weekend so we can celebrate the Christmas Parade of lights right there at Bird Key Yacht Club which accepts our Yachting Club of America - so that will be our third club.

Afternoon bike ride to Lido Beach which is this very long stretch of beautiful white sand. Posted as you come onto the beach is the sign explaining the Florida Red tide which has sadly had a terrible effect on Florida’s fish, Manatee,Dolphin and tourist industry. Nandad is well wrapped up due to the wind but a wonderful stroll was well worth it. Lunch at Cafe L’ Europe was simply delicious which is another historical building related to the Ringling family. The picture beside it is taken from the causeway leading from Lido Key to Longboat Key looking over at Sarasota. This is really a very beautiful area. Nana is trying to keep up with Nandad who by the way rides an electric bike!!

November 24th Nana & Nandad return to Ireland’s Eye

After a very early start - 3am- Nana and Nandad arrive at Fisherman’s Wharf in Venice at 1.15pm. Lots of time to have lunch at the Dockside Grille , check on the boat, provision, and start the prep for the next few weeks of adventure. Ireland’s Eye looks great. It makes all the difference when you leave a boat nice and clean and properly maintained. Also this is a great Marina - thanks to Dylan and Kya both very busy dockhands. 

Having the rental car for the extra day also helps in the event we need extra supplies. Now the holiday parade is a big deal in Venice and we arrived just in time for the 6pm starting point. Fisherman’s Wharf is literally a ten minute walk over the bridge to downtown which despite all the construction is decorated for the holidays with lots of festive lighting. People are everywhere and the place is jam packed with chairs, picnic tables, rugs , children, dogs all dressed for the occasion. The parade lasted at least 90 minutes and included angels on horse back, lots of The Grinch, brass bands, dance academy drills, antique cas and fire trucks and of course The Harley Motorcycle club, the Corvette club - there was something for young, middle age and old.

Sunday November 25th. 

A slow start this morning but we finally got ourselves into gear. Nana missed her beach walk as Fisherman’s Wharf is further up from the Crows Nest so had to make do with walking the local neighborhood which was not the same but still quite pleasant. The homes are small but right on the ICW and each with its own slip. We attended mass at Epithany Cathedral once again. It really is a beautiful church with a fantastic choir. Afterwards Nandad dropped Nana off at the laundromat ( no laundry at the Marina which meant Nana did not get a chance to do it before she left) while he returned to IE.

 There are always tasks on a boat that nobody wants to do so together we tackled cleaning the dingy. The gas tank had leaked so the petrol was floating around the bottom and as you can imagine a not to pleasant odor. Donned rubber gloves, soaked up the gas with those filter pads, cleaned with bilge cleaner and two hours later we are ready for a dingy ride. Sunset is at 5.30pm and the moon is a Waning Gibbous at about 90% so still very bright. A fabulous dinner at Cassariano,an Italian Eatery downtown, with a wonderful Quintet playing great Jazz. 

Tomorrow we will leave Venice and maybe anchor heading towards Siesta Key, Longboat Key and Sarasota. The weather so far is perfect with warm days in the 70s cooling down a little at night. 

October 23rd to 25th IE is still in Venice

Tuesday 23rd and Ireland’s Eye will remain at Crows Nest. Tonite Miles, our local handyman, is coming to fix the outboard engine so we can start exploring in the dingy. Wednesday morning Jason , the mechanic, will come to finish the issues with the engines so IE can continue cruising and Thursday morning we will bring IE to Fisherman’s Wharf where she will stay for the month of Novermber. So this time round we will not make it to Sarasota but hopefully when we return we will be done with maintenances - all fingers crossed. Nana and Nandad did take Ireland’s Eye up the ICW and dropped the anchor to have lunch in a very peaceful spot. When it was time to return, while taking the anchor up with the windless , it twisted upon itself in a most peculiar way such that we were unable to get it to lock into place. Well we returned with a dangling anchor and yet another task to fix!! Nothing too complicated once the dingy was operational we were able to untangle - now how to prevent it is another issue? 

Wednesday 24th - Nana needed a little culture today so she took a Lyft to Sarasota to visit The Ringling museum and left Nandad to supervise the workers! What an incredible legacy the circus family have left to the people of Sarasota. The museum has the most incredible collection of art, an amazing miniature circus village with all the spectacle of the circus performer, beautiful gardens with spectacular roses and Millenium Tree Trail, the historic mansion of Mable and John - CA’D’Zan - and the restoration of the historic Asolo Theater ( all the way from Italy ). It was truely the perfect lay day. 

Nana did not have time to tour the mansion so she will have to return another day. The circus village is so incredibly detailed that truly the visitor needs to do a guided tour. The pictures below are of the entrance to the rose garden which really needs to be seen to appreciate the size, concrete statues and labeled roses. The second picture is of one of the actual carriages used by the circus of which there were many.

Tonite is the night of the full moon so after a wonderful dinner at Valenti ‘s Ristorante - we intended to go to Valenti’s Allegro Bistro to listen to Jazz - who would have known that they are owned by the same owner but one mile apart!  [ Downtown Venice is having construction all over the historic area so we decided to get a Lyft out of town for a different experience ] we sit uptop and watch the full moon spread its light over the water and boats with a gentle soft breeze. 

Last blog of this cruising adventure. IE didn’t cruise to far however the weather was wonderful and because the season has not really restatrted we had plenty of choice as to where we docked and what perfect spots we picked, Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club, Boca Grande, Aquamarine Palm Harbor Marina and of course the Crows Nest. Will return November 25th. Happy Halloween to all and a wonderful Thanksgiving. May we continue to be blessed with such opportunity. 

October 22nd Layday in Venice

Today Is the day that the fan belt gets repaired and of course Nandad has four onboard none of which are correct for this particular one! No worries we will simply enjoy the beautiful weather and take advantage of all that surrounds us. Nana started the day with a long walk along the beach and a little yoga to help stretch those muscles. Now I had the perfect companion during my 20 minute routine.Picture below. 

Two hours of scrubbing the decks - Nana is determined to bring them back to a light oak color - we will see!! Hard work was rewarded by a wonderful lunch served by the Skipper. We then took a two mile bike ride to check out Fisherman’s Warf where we will leave IE until after thanksgiving. On our way back we passed a property that was going to be auctioned so of course we had to check it out. Right on the ICW with access to the Gulf, jet ski lift, small watercraft lift and enough dockage for a 70 ft boat!!! Now Nandad had to be reminded that our goal this cruising season is to check out Yacht clubs not homes!! A relaxing afternoon while the mechanic works on the boat and of course laundry is always a good reason to catch up with reading, Again as you all know Nana never misses the oppportunity for a sunset sighting.

A combined effort for a wonderful dinner followed by the perfect evening to watch the ocean, ICW, and the lights of downtown Venice from the upper deck where there was the perfect breeze. Who knows what tomorrow will bring but hopefully the fan belt will work and we can return to cruising.

October 20th - 21st IE docks in Venice

What a magnificent trip up Lemon Bay, along the Tamiami Trail ( which passes through a corner of the Venice municipal airport), Roberts Bay and final destination the Crows Nest which is right alongside Casey Pass leading out into the Gulf of Mexico. On our journey up we had our first sighting of Dolphin having  fun frolicking along the stern and entertaining all the small watercraft that surrounded IE. We also saw a bald eagle perched high on a tree right along the ICW - unfortunately a cell phone can not do it justice. Now as we all know boating comes with much unpredictability and just as Nandad had decided to stear from the bridge Nana heard what sounded like a little whistle. A few minutes later the temperature alarm goes off and we discover the starboard fan belt has come off!!! This means IE has to continue with one engine to Venice. The good news is it’s only 6 miles, the bad news is the current and tide are very strong in that area with lots of traffic but not to fear Nandad is the Skipper of the day.

The Bald Eagle looks so minute in the picture but it was really amazing to see through binocular! You will have to trust me on that. You can see all the little sail boats and watercraft beached on the little island right beside the docking area at Crows Nest. The Marina is also right beside the most beautiful stretch of Venice beach with incredible sunsets 🌅. Now Nana and Nandad never loose an opportunity so once IE was snug in her slip we got a Lyft to Real Bikes and within 15 minutes Nanas bike was once again ready to go. So hopefully with two new tires and tubes nothing much more can go wrong- but who knows! 

October 21st Sunday Layday started with a 2 mile bike ride to the Epiphany Cathedral for Mass. Then another mile ride to Publix for groceries, Nandad with his backpack and Nana with hers - quite the project. Our reward was a wonderful brunch at the Crows Nest restaurant. Afterwards Nana went to say hallo to the resident parrot Pepe - picture to follow.

Now as I mentioned Nana and Nandad are on a mission this year to check out as many Yacht Clubs as we can. So we discovered that Venice Yacht Club is only reciprocal to FCYC - it is one of the 13 original members - therefore we were unable to stay there. However we rode our bikes over and were given a members package and checked out their wonderful facility. They have a pool, tiki bar, sunset room, dining room, Marina with 46 slips and all kinds of social activities. Did I forget to mention that it is a short walk to historic downtown Venice from the Yacht Club. 

We then continued our biking and found ourselves down at the other end of Venice beach where a group had gathered to celebrate the sunset in what appeared to be some kind of dance and music ritual. It was very entertaining and what better way to celebrate Mother Nature.