Sycamore goes to town

Thursday, March 12th, St Pete

Some of your time sailing is pure boredom other times are pure fear for your life. Most of the time it is like yesterday, a three-knot wind on the stern and the drone of the diesel at 2000 rpm as we head up the bay at 5.7 knots. Since a lot of this is new territory for us entering these harbors even in daytime is a challenge. The yacht basin is huge with several marinas in the same basin. Our first mission is to find the pump out station by talking to the dockmaster at the city docks on VHF. After searching all over the basin we find it is behind us so we do the “Uee” and head back. The area is about 75’ long and we have to parallel park the boat. Capt Carole swings this big sucker right into the hole, kicks it into reverse and we slide up to the dock. Who says girls can’t drive.

We have a huge box of mail at the yacht club and I head across the street to collect it. For a little country boy from Sycamore who thinks the “Ark” in Pell City is fine dining, the St Pete Yacht Club is a pretty intimidating place. The staff is finely dressed and had trouble looking down to my level even though I towered above them. Ok, I did have on an old tee shirt, shorts and flip flops and a bath would have helped a lot. I told them I had come to pick up mail and we had just crossed the Gulf in our boat. Well making ocean passages will raise your statue in any yachting community, I was instantly accepted, but I will clean up before I go back.

Tony and “K” arrived after a 9 hour trip from the Keys and we had a nice dinner at “Moon Under The Water”.

This will probably be the last log for a few days. We will be hanging out in town and attending the meeting of the Florida Yacht Council.