Moving on to Longboat Key

After David took care of business with the Clearwater Marina Dockmaster, he headed straight to the master stateroom and COLLAPSED! He hoped to take a snappy nap, but after 2 hours, he informed me he was not going anywhere else for the rest of the day. Considering we started our trip at 10 AM at Apalachicola, then traveled to Dog Island, we proceeded to start the journey across the Gulf- we logged 200 miles and our engines ran for 24 hours solid! No wonder he was exhausted! The next morning, as we were leaving the Clearwater docks, a friendly looper reminded us that there were alot of smaller bridges on our next path! David and I quickly learned that the suggested route on the ICW and the residential areas (no wakes) and traffic with lots of tiny bridges may not be the most time productive. We quickly learned how to estimate our clearance and the tides with the bridges, but really, the bridges are a nuisance!

We decided it would be more time efficient to go "outside" of the ICW and into the Gulf. We were about 25 miles off the coast and it felt so FREE! Open water and fewer crab pots! Around the Don Cesar, I noticed the shift in the water color. It was as if the redness of the famous hotel was bleeding into the Gulf. We started coughing... UGH! It was the RED TIDE! If you are curious.. it is an algae that tends to cause respiratory issues and cause alot of fish to die... We were so excited as we approached our final destination (for the next few months) of Longboat Key. The slip has a beautiful view of the water and mangroves and is very peaceful.

More pictures to follow, but the birds love it here!