Tampa Bay

We are under way across Tampa Bay, bound for St. Pete after a few days in Tampa. Today's cruise is just three hours (cue the Gilligan's Island theme), which is not really long enough to finish a post, but we will be dropping a lunch hook for a few hours in order to arrive just after 5:30 pm, a circumstance which I will cover shortly. It's been a while since I last posted here, nearly two weeks, so there is a good bit to catch up on.

We had a very nice stay in St. Petersburg, even though the PD did come along and boot us out again on our fifth day. There's a very long story here that I don't want to bore you with, suffice it to say that the city is illegally enforcing an ordinance that it should never have even passed (per this state statute which you can read for yourself), but they've never written a single ticket so it never gets to court to be thrown out. They avoid writing tickets by suggesting they might arrest you instead, and while we're happy to take a ticket and be the test case, we're not willing to risk arrest. Instead we moved.

Vector all alone in an enormous anchorage. That's the control tower for the municipal airport.

Fortunately, by this time the winds had shifted around to the west, and we were able to find a nice spot just north of the whizzy new St. Pete Pier, behind an also new breakwater installed to keep erosion down at Spa Beach (map). That let us wrap up our stay in town in peace, and as a bonus we made the day for numerous children on the pier by whizzing underneath it in the dinghy on our way to and from the yacht club dock.

While we were in town we got to spend time with good friends Stephanie and Martin, and we hit quite a number of our old favorites for dinner, including Red Mesa, Bavaro's Pizza, Bella Brava, Doc Ford's, and Birch & Vine, which had wonderful patio heaters on the one evening we really needed them. For Doc Ford's, we tied up at the brand new metered city day docks right in front of the place, which were still under construction on our last visit ($2/hr up to a maximum of six hours).

New digs off Spa Beach, as seen from the Pier. That's the erosion barrier at right.

On Valentine's Day we ended up at a place we'd previously vowed never to return, Frescoe's. That was on account of meeting a Notary Public there to sign the closing paperwork on the condo we've been renting out in San Jose, California since moving out of it some 18 years ago. We would have met her at the yacht club, but they are closed Mondays, and she suggested this alternative. Once the paperwork was finished we decided to just stay for dinner, considering we'd taken the table for over an hour straight, having thus far purchased just a pair of beers. We've received the funds and our last fiscal tie to California is now severed; we will not miss having to file California tax returns.

The most convenient Amazon locker we've ever used is right at the city marina, and I knocked off a few projects with easy access to parts. That included replacing our ancient WiFi router with a more modern item from MikroTik, and replacing the reading lamp in the pilothouse which had corroded badly since I installed it eight years ago, also with something more modern. I also treated myself to a new pair of Steiner binoculars to replace my West Marine ones that have basically just worn out (the eye cups keep falling off).

Preparing for the Grand Prix. Barriers, fences, and tire attenuators all over the waterfront.

The other thing I did while we were in St. Pete was call pretty much every marina in a 20-mile radius to see if we could get a monthly slip closer than the single month I had booked at Clearwater, which is a good 45 minutes from St. Pete by scooter. I also set up a series of reservations for our side trip to Tampa to get to my initial cardiologist appointment there. We have two yacht clubs in Tampa, and with a free night available at each, I thought it would be nice to continue our yacht club tour on our way there just to see what they had to offer.

After numerous phone calls I did, in fact, find a closer marina with long-term availability. It's a small 18-slip marina attached to a whizzy new resort in Treasure Island. That's just an eight mile scoot from downtown St. Pete, a straight shot out Central Avenue. The St. Pete Beach trolley comes within two miles, and there are a few shops and restaurants in walking distance. We are scheduled to arrive there tomorrow and they were able to commit to have us through April, possibly with a change of slip in the middle. We have our fingers crossed that the dockmaster is correct about the depth alongside, as we are arriving sight unseen.

New lamp in the pilothouse. This one does red or white light and is dimmable.

With that settled, I made dock reservations at both the Tampa Yacht Club and the Davis Island Yacht Club on our inbound trip to Tampa, and made a reservation at the downtown Convention Center docks for the two nights bracketing my cardiology appointment, a short e-bike ride away.

First up was the Tampa Yacht and Country Club, at Ballast Point, and we weighed anchor Saturday morning for the short 2.5-hour cruise. To visit both clubs for a night we needed to leave Sunday morning, but winds became easterly on Saturday, which would make our anchorage outside the harbor untenable overnight, small breakwater notwithstanding. So instead we booked two nights at the Tampa Yacht Club, with the second night at the very reasonable visiting club rate. We did have to divert around the very large NOOD sailing race en route, and yes, that moniker makes for some very amusing questions (are you sailing in the NOOD?).

This fun little splash zone is at the Ballast Point Park, just north of the yacht club.

After making our way across the shallows we entered the very protected basin and were tied up in a large slip on nice concrete floating docks (map). I rode the e-bike around the Ballast Point neighborhood on my way to and from Walgreens to pickup a prescription, and even though there was a nice-looking Italian place just a half mile away, we ended up eating three meals at the club. We had dinner at the casual poolside grill and also in the wood-paneled but spacious lounge, and we enjoyed Sunday brunch at the casual dining venue.

We might well have lingered most of the day Monday, but the power went out first thing in the morning. Since the club is closed Mondays, they had scheduled electrical system maintenance all day, but had neglected to tell us about it when we checked in. Fortunately we were fully charged and had finished all our power-intensive tasks, and so we dropped lines fairly early for the very short cruise to Davis Island, where we dropped the hook in the Seaplane Basin (map).

Vector at the dock at Davis Island. Seaplane Basin and Tampa in the background.

This protected basin at the southern tip of Davis Island is immediately adjacent to the municipal airport, and in days gone by was home to the large commercial seaplanes of the day. Now it is home to the docks of the Davis Island Yacht Club and also this anchorage, filled mostly with live-aboards and various boats being stored on the hook. There is easy access to shore at an old public boat ramp, where many live-aboards keep a vehicle. Other than the yacht club, it's a very long way to anything in the way of services. With both clubs closed Mondays we opted to just spend a night on the hook, having dinner aboard.

Tuesday morning we weighed anchor and drove just a thousand feet or so to the dock (map). I took the e-bike all around the island, checking out the Marjorie Park city marina on the east side and going as far as Tampa General Hospital, the facility whose cardiac care reputation has us in the area to begin with. There is a small downtown with a handful of restaurants and a couple of shops, including two quick-marts, mid-island, which would be walking distance from Marjorie Park but not anyplace else we can get to by water.

Sunset over the Interbay Peninsula and MacDill AFB across Hillsborough Bay, from the deck at Davis Island Yacht Club.

Davis Island is the most casual of all the Florida clubs we've visited thus far, and we enjoyed a couple of burgers and draft beers on their expansive deck for dinner. The clubhouse had the feel of an Elks lodge or other fraternal order, dominated by a large bar and with a popcorn machine in the corner. Everyone was very friendly and we enjoyed our stay; the casual feel was a nice departure from the very upscale club we had just left.

Wednesday morning we dropped lines for the trip around the end of the island and up the Seddon Channel to downtown Tampa. On the way we stopped at the Marjorie Park fuel dock to pump out, as there is no pumpout facility downtown. The city normally charges $11, but they waived it since we were staying at the other city docks.

We were supposed to have the dock to ourselves, but we arrived to find this sailboat taking up more than half, apparently after some kind of engine problem. This is how close I had to back to their pulpit.

We were tied alongside at the Convention Center (map) by lunch time. The waterfront was very busy, with lots of people enjoying the very warm weather at the open-air bar in the plaza, the tourist water taxi, and the several waterfront restaurants. In a marked contrast from the subdued waterfront on our visit here five years ago, there are now many attractions including a "pirate ship" tour, several tiki-barges, a pair of pedal-paddlewheel tour boats, and a new high-zoot marina across the channel on Harbour Island, on what had been dilapidated quay on our last visit. The tourist trolley to Ybor City that we rode last time still operates and is now free.

Across our two nights at the dock we ate at both outdoor waterfront places on Harbour Island, Jackson's and American Social, overlooking the turning basin. And after using the e-bike to get to my appointment, I also went for a spin around downtown and the waterfront district. I visited the dinghy dock on Harbour Island that we used last visit to learn it is still free for two hours and provides access to two restaurants, a breakfast place, and a small upscale mini-mart. A new dinghy dock on the mainland side at the east end of Garrison Channel provides access to another couple of restaurants.

Vector in downtown Tampa, next to an enormous sportfish, as seen from the upper level of the convention center.

That's all good to know in the event we need to return here in Vector for any follow-up visits. We booked the dock on this visit, but now we know we can still get ashore if we anchor instead, and Tampa has two brands of dockless electric scooters as well as rental bikes available to get me out to the office. There are also two grocery stores in walking distance of the docks.

Which brings us up to today, and our current machinations. As I type this we are now anchored on a lunch hook east of Snell Island (map), about a half hour from the St. Pete docks. We've stopped here rather than any closer because today is the start of the Grand Prix, and even from two and a half miles out, we can hear the race. We understand from friends in town that the noise is unbearable anywhere downtown itself; many downtown residents leave for the weekend.

Courtesy dock on Harbour Island, midway along Garrison Channel.

The Grand Prix also means there are no docks to be had anywhere in St. Pete right now, but we need to stop here to offload our scooters. The docks we are going to over in Treasure Island tomorrow have a set of four fixed steps from each finger pier to the main dock, and while getting the scooters up and down stairs can be done, that's a good recipe for landing one in the drink, or worse, on someone else's expensive yacht. We want to offload them here at a ground-level dock and ride them over instead.

The yacht club agreed to allow us to do a touch-and-go tonight on their fuel dock after closing time to get the scooters on the ground, and once they're offloaded and secure we'll have dinner with friends before heading out to the anchorage. In the morning we'll weigh anchor before the race noise makes us crazy and head to Treasure Island in the boat.

Sparkman Wharf, a fun little event/eatery space on the Tampa waterfront.

I know many family and friends want to know how things went at the cardiologist, but, of course, there's not much to report after just an initial visit. She's ordered a battery of tests, and, as expected, testing facilities are booked several weeks out. I'll get blood work done just a short drive from where we will be docked, but I will have to make my way back to Tampa for an echocardiogram and an MRI. We'll beg, borrow, or rent a car for those visits, as it's too far to go by scooter, and it makes no sense to do a round trip in the boat just for an hour or so of testing.

What I can say at this point is that she spent a great deal of time with me, catching up on my history and symptoms, and she has adjusted the meds moving forward. I liked her very much and I think we made the right choice by coming here. I have a follow-up with her via tele-health in two weeks, after she sees the blood work.

The view from our dining venues on Harbour Island. The waterfront is very active. Vector is just left of center frame.

I'll try to update the blog occasionally while we're hunkered down in Treasure Island. Since I will not have the opportunity afforded by several hours under way, the updates will be sporadic until we're back under way again. At this writing we have no plans for where we might go if and when our time runs out at this marina, but I will update that here as it becomes more clear.