Day 105 – 1/15/22

Starting location: Mooring ball at Marina Jacks Marina, Sarasota, FL.

Weather: 57 am, overcast. Some rain on and off. Low 70s pm.

Ending location: Anchored between Manasota Key and Peterson Island, FL. Off GICW MM 41

Statute miles: Approximately 32

General summary: Very comfortable night. In the morning we dinghied to land for dog relief and to get groceries, then returned and untied from mooring ball uneventfully. Motored to next stop with minimal chop. Some of this passage was between land with million dollar homes on each side, and some through rocky manmade channels that reminded us of the Ten-Tom. Many miles of slow, no wake areas (to protect manatee areas and expensive homes) which slowed us down substantially. Also many bridges. Most were high enough that we passed under without an issue. One required a bridge swing as it only had 9 feet of clearance. The other low one at 12 feet only required us to lower our antennas. Another benefit of having a small boat – we would have had to coordinate timing and wait for all those bridges to lift if we were taller. Saw dolphins jumping on and off along the way. Also saw our first pink flamingo. Made it to our well-protected anchorage between two spits of land. Light green color to the water here, which was beautiful! White ibis, pelicans, and cormorants abounded. Had an occasional center-console boat race by and wake us a bit, but not too bad. Too shallow for bigger boats, so no big waves. Grilled halibut and asparagus for dinner. Minimal breeze overnight so very comfortable evening.

Boater information: