February 21st IE has a permanent slip at SYC

Nana and Nandad return to Sarasota and are officially members of the yacht club with an assigned slip - a nice feeling and looking forward to making new friendships. On the night we arrive back we attend a wonderful performance at the club by Pianist Matthew Graybill and Svetlana Smolina for the first time ever Nana listened to Piano Four Hands which was amazing. The performance was presented by The Chopin Project.

Feb 22nd Jason once again does a diagnosis on the boat and IE needs a new harness for the computer! We move the boat to her slip C5 which will now be her home. Nana and Nandad are settling into the Sarasota lifestyle enjoying the sunshine. 

Feb 24th Nandad rents a pickup truck and we head to Lakewood Ranch to see the most amazing exotic cars - unfortunately Nana is unable to load up pictures on the blog which is very frustrating. We also go to the Circus Sarasota which brought back memories of childhood circus events. The performers from all over the world were simply amazing under The Big Tent .

Feb 25th Nana decided that she would like to repair the extra fold up bike so we take a ride to Pedego Electric Bikes. Now Nandad was in his element and started to ride the electric bikes so we are now the proud owners of a Magnum fold up electric bike with suspension!! Nana  has converted to an ebike rider - much easier to ride over the bridge especially against the wind. We celebrated our purchase with a wonderful dinner at Euphemia Haye which is on Longboat Key and is a very unique converted historic wooden cottage surrounded by tropical greenery and twinkling lights. We ate at the bar upstairs called the Loft where a piano player sang and a couple celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary got up to dance. 

Feb 26th and 27th Rain, Rain and more Rain which also means lots of leaks!! Hopefully all the rain will come and the sunshine for Richard & Ellie who will visit us for a night or two. 

January 12 to 26th 2019

Jan 12 th after a wonderful Christmas Nana and Nandad returned to IE to prepare for our good friends Jack and Marie who will stay onboard for a week. 

Jan 14th Jack and Marie arrive and of course we have to take them down to St Armand’s Circle for a fantastic dinner at The Columbia.The next day we visit The Ringling Museum which is just an amazing place especially if you have not been before - Nana never gets tired of this wonderful place - Art, Gardens, Mansion, Music and restaurants all make for a great day. We got to celebrate SYC’s going Platinum event that evening which was very special.

Jan 16th, 17th, 18th. IE left for Venice to give Jack and Marie a taste of the ICW. The dolphins on our way down were so entertaining. We secured a slip at the Crows Nest where we had a wonderful dinner. The next day we cruised to South Seas where we joined the SYC cruising event. The weather was finally warm enough to actually sit at the beach and enjoy the amenities SS provides. A very expensive dinner at the Harbourside Bar & Grill ( we are being spoiled at the yacht club) and a lovely evening at the Docksaide with lots of cruisers from SYC. Great dingy ride over to North Captiva where Marie and I find some great shells.

Jan 19th With the weather changing and Jack & Marie’s flight on Sunday we make the decision to return to Sarasota on Saturday. As it turns out due to weather in MA the flight got delayed and they had to stay until Wednesday - more time to explore.

Jan 20th The playoffs between The Patriots and The Chiefs. Now normally Nana and Nandad are not that interested in football - dare I admit that!! However Jack and Marie are avid fans so we got front row seats right at the bar and Jack coached Nandad and Marie coached Nana so we are now expert football fans. A great game for the Patriots.

Jan 21st we took the opportunity of visiting the Mote Aquarium which is a fantastic place and can’t wait for the grandkids to visit some day. The next day we had a wonderful lunch at Cafe’L Europe with a stroll around the circle and the perfect walk on Lido Beach. For our last night we had dinner at the new piano restaurant 15 South which was wonderful- we will go again. We will miss Jack and Marie when they return to Boston. Very much enjoyed sharing our experiences with them. 

Jan 23rd Nana and Nandad had their luncheon orientation at the yacht club and the next night we attended a fantastic Wine Pairing dinner. Southern Australian wines from Leeuwenhoek Estates & d’Arenberg.

Jan 26th time to return to Franklin to celebrate all the February birthdays and catch up with the grandkids. 

December 13th & 14th

Today is the day Nana and Nandad have their interview for provisional membership to SYC. After a wonderful lunch at the Blue Dolphin in St Armand’s Circle we cleaned up and were ready to go. 

A wonderful evening to celebrate our provisional confirmation at the Ca’Da’Zan house all decorated for Christmas at the Ringling. A great dinner at the Muse restaurant at the museum.

December 14th our good friends from the BWSC Sue & Dave joined us for the day and despite a very rainy and windy day we had a lovely day. IE is ready for the month’s stay at SYC club - tucked between two over 70 foot yachts - while Nana and Nandad return home for Christmas. Will be back on January 14th 2019. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

December 12 th IE returns to Sarasota Yacht Club

After a beautiful cruise, where we had to pay attention to the channel markers, IE arrrived back to SYC where she will stay until after Christmas. The picture is of the Anna Marie Princess paddle cruise which leaves from Bradenton Beach Marina.

This morning before leaving Nana took a walk along the beach while waiting for the tide to change. When passing  a beautiful home, with a magnificent upper balcony railing, Nana had to take a picture of course for her blog! A wonderful young couple were sitting on the balcony and invited Nana to view the house. They had just had their dream wedding right here on Bradenton Beach and their family had stayed at the Anna Maria Grand Beach house. It might be the perfect vacation spot some day for all Nanas’s children and grandchildren. It sleeps 28!!!

December 11th IE docks at Bradenton Beach Marina

The journey back south had moments of concerns due to low tide, currents and shallow waters. Not for the faint hearted and intimidation might come to mind. The picture on the left gives you an idea how close IE is to the sand bank and the picture on the right shows a small ferry heading out the Clearwater Pass.

It is really something else to watch the egrets and herons standing along the shallow edges so close to the boat! Keeping a watchful eye is important along this section. IE arrives at the Bradenton Beach Marina after cruising for almost five hours. A busy marina, when in season, tucked beside the Cortez bridge with the beach right across the street. The perfect sunset at the Beach House after a walk along the Bradenton Pier. 

Tomorrow we will head back to SYC.

December 10th IE arrives at Clearwater

A very cold morning so Nana and Nandad had to wrap up with hat, scarfs, gloves etc. A thirty three mile journey which took us under nine bridges from Tampa Bay into Boca Ciego Bay up the Narrows. The bridges connect four islands which include Long Key, Treasure Island,Sand Key, and Clearwater Beach Key. This will be the fifth yacht club however the club closes on a Monday which we were aware and due to inclement weather we decide to leave early on Tuesday morning. We did manage to walk the beautiful beach despite the cold. It is very much a beach resort area with lots of options as far as accommodations goes. The heater was turned on, the electric blanket switched to high and a quite evening with dinner onboard.

December 6th Irelands Eye arrives at St Petersburg Yacht Club

Captain Aedan was in his element today crossing Tampa Bay at 15+ knots with lots of spray. Very exciting that the engine is going well - fingers crossed. Finally Nana got a great snap of the Dolphin along the way. Families everywhere frolicking along side IE. Arrived at the beautiful SPYC where we can stay for three nights which means we will be here for Lighting of the Yachts and the boat parade. We are very thankful to John the Dockmaster. A beautiful walk along the Pier with dinner reservations for 7pm. 

A very stern looking Nandad! The inside of the club is beautifully decorated. 

December 7th Friday Nana and Nandad decided to take the Providencetown ferry to Tampa - it did seem a little odd but obviously the ferry comes to St Pete’s for the winter months. It was a great day for a trip across the Tampa Bay. The busiest pier I have every seen with so many barges and tugs. Lots of construction going on in the city so they have made the trolley ride downtown free. It also seemed strange as the ferry dropped you at the Aquarium and many security persons made sure you did not linger at the museum. We spent the day visiting the Henry Plant Museum which is at the Tampa University and used to be called The Tampa Bay Hotel - a very luxurious hotel for the wealthy which took three years to build at a cost of 3 million in 1891. It operated as a hotel for forty years. We had a great lunch at the University Campus which was delicious. A quite evening on the boat with a nice dinner onboard. Lots of sounds from the city where celebrations were taking place for first Friday.

Saturday Dec 8th. Well the early bird catches the worm here at St Pete’s. Before 8am the City Trail is busy with bikers, walkers,& runners. The town swimming pool is jam packed with some regatta taking place. People are working out at the outdoor gym in the park, the tennis courts are full and players are getting ready to play volleyball. After breakfast onboard Nana and Nandad set out for the Chihuly Museum on Central St has a spectacular selection of his glass work and a wonderful video of his ongoing accomplishments around the world. We attend a glass blowing exhibition at the Morean Arts Center which was fascinating- a very complicated and skilled art.

After a wonderful lunch at 400 Beach Club we hopped on the looper which took us on a very fast loop around the city. Once again IE took part in the Lighting of the fleet - thanks to a donation from John - joined in the cocktail hour at the dock and admired the boats that went to a lot of effort to decorate their boats. Nana and Nandad will need to be better prepared for next year. Great dinner at the bar at SPYC where the jazz group were getting ready to entertain. 

Sunday December 9th a very cold, stormy, rainy day so IE will stay at SPYC one more day and head to Clearwater tomorrow. A decision was made to head to indoor activities so a visit to the MFA where we heard a wonderful chorus group and admired their fabulous art displays. After a trip to the Sundial AMC to watch A Star is Born - a box of tissues would definitely help for the end of this movie. Lots of popcorn, soda, and M&M’s left little room for dinner. Oh the advantage of being right downtown.