Departing my slip at the Davis Island Yacht Club (DIYC) for the last time, loaded up with about 2,000 lbs of provisions, fuel, water, tools and parts!Departing the Seaplane Basin off DIYC
Finally, after three years of work on Serendipity, I have launched to go cruising full-time! Although not exactly where I would have preferred her to be, she is good enough to start cruising, and I very much want to be out of the hurricane zone this year, especially after seeing the forecast! My plan is to get far enough north to escape the hurricanes and the heat, then find a place to chill and rest for awhile before actually starting to explore.
My route today was rather short and simple: As can be seen from the photo and video, there was absolutely no wind, so I planned to motor out of Tampa Bay and up the Manatee River to anchor in front of Twin Dolphins Marina in downtown Bradenton, where I kept Serendipity for a year and lived on her for six months. The trip down was uneventful except for having to give way at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for a freighter. The engine was running fine and cool. The other thing that was working fine was my new ice maker. What a godsend! This ingenious little device, which could make up to 26 lbs of ice per day, would prove to be critical in keeping me cool in the scourching temperatures the first few days of the trip when there was no breeze and no cloud cover. Just being able to get cold liquid into my body made all the difference.
Only a 5 1/2-hour/33 mile trip. A good break-in!
Serendipity at anchor outside the Twin Dolphins marina.
My plan was to visit a friend, Robin Groelle, who lives aboard there, as well as some DIYC friends who were visiting the marina for the weekend.
I have three ways to get ashore from Serendipity: swimming, paddleboarding, or using my 8′ inflatable dinghy (with a 9.8 hp outboard motor). The latter takes a long time to deploy, and I only plan to use it if I’m going to be at a place for a number of days. The first option is only for recreational purposes (like to visit a beach). The paddleboard takes about 10 minutes to deploy and is for the Goldilocks zone of going ashore, and for this situation, it was just right!
A couple of days before leaving, I had inflated it and stowed it on deck, but imagine my disappointment after arriving in Bradenton to discover that it had lost a lot of air over the previous couple of days and evidently had a slow leak. I topped it off, plopped it in the water, then paddled over to the far end of Twin Dolphins, making quick time riding the incoming tidal current. Mike Reiring from DIYC was nice enough to meet me at the dock and let me stow the board on his boat, Island Time II, while I visited with Robin for a couple of hours before planning to meet back up with the DIYC friends at the marina pool for a dinner BBQ.
I had a nice visit with Robin at the rooftop bar of Oak & Stone restaurant. It was a nostalgic visit because I would often go up to the bar and have a beer and pizza after a hard day’s work on the boat, look out at the Gulf of Mexico, stare down at my boat, and wonder if I would ever get her (and myself) ready enough to leave. So, it was great to be there once again, and this time I was seeing my boat at anchor and all decked out with a dinghy, life raft, jerry cans of water, gasoline, and diesel fuel, and a bunch of solar panels–all the hallmarks of a cruising sailboat! I had made it at last! It was nice celebrating it with Robin, who had cruised full time for many years herself and was obviously very excited for me!
After saying goodbye to Robin and heading back to the marina, I thought I should check my paddleboard to see how much air it had lost (since I hadn’t brought an air pump with me). Sadly enough, it was pretty soft, so I thought it prudent to beat feet back to Serendipity while I still could! By this time I was quite tired and so decided to not try to make it back to the marina for the BBQ, but to get an early night’s sleep instead before tomorrow’s journey down to Boca Grande. I was sad to have missed being able to say goodbye to Sean and Amanda Motta and Mike and Tiffany Reiring and other friends from DIYC. I arrived back at Serendipity to find the cabin temperature was still 89 degrees! It was a balmy, restless night, although a fan helped a lot.
