This morning was the first morning where we could actually see that we are in Florida as most people know it. Folks were out running, walking, biking or getting ready to go on their fishing charter. The Clearwater Beach marina is a great marina near the beach. High rise condos are everywhere and just about any tourist would be happy here.
We decided to head to the beach before heading out. I put the coffee on so that we would have it ready when we got back. The beach was about 5 minutes from our slip. People were out and about by 7 AM. The Gulf was smooth with SE winds.
As we headed back to the boat we talked about the day. We decided to head out to The Gulf to make up time. Deciding to not do the ICW was a wise choice for us mainly due to our time constraints. We took a quick cruise through the ICW for about 10 minutes just to see the sites then headed to The Gulf. From there we thought maybe to make a short day and stay at Sarasota. The water was smooth with less than 1 foot waves. We were able to travel at 28 mph and made Sarasota in a couple hours. We thought we should push on and “make up a day” and stay in Venice. It was an easy channel to get into with Crow’s Nest being right at the mouth of the channel. It is also an easy diesel top up and slip with a large dock. We had 3 other larger boats than us on it by nightfall.
Crow’s Nest Marina is a nice marina for the simple items needed. The grocery store is about 2 miles away but you can take the courtesy bicycle there. Which we did. It took a little over an hour there and back and picked up groceries to put in the baskets on the bike. FYI the wifi is terrible. It is shared with a busy restaurant and even in the “boater’s lounge” directly below the restaurant it is flaky. There is not much available here if you need provisions but the sunset is a must see.
We planned our route to Ft Myers tomorrow, did laundry, checked engines, cleaned up the boat, biked to get those groceries, went for a long walk on Venice Beach and watched the pelicans and the osprey nest directly next to our boat. Mom and 2 babies learning to soar. Amazing. Tonight we turned on the underwater lights which attracted large 2+ foot fish. We have no idea what they are but they are big.
