Another blow is coming through. We are getting pushed into marinas with all these winds at over 20 knts. Scott decided to buy a proper bridle for better anchorage and is looking at a larger anchor. Our anchor is a day trip, fair weather anchor, a bit undersized for a good wind. The bridle protects the winch, or winless, from the jolts of the boat and anchor chain being tossed around in the wind. This wind does not seem to be letting up.
We decided to cruise the GIWW (Gulf Intracoastal WaterWay) on this trek south. It will be a longer day but more to see. The waters are skinny sometimes seeing 5 ft depths. We draft just under 4.5 ft. Scott has pretty focused and stressed the entire way. There are many bridges with around 23 ft heights but we only needed 3 lifted as our bridge height is around 18 ft. Many beautifu homes are along the path. Lots of mangroves too. We are glad we did the GIWW but this section is not for the weary.
The Crow’s Nest is a marina and restaurant at the south jetty of the inlet at Venice. Power and water is available, diesel and gas as well. There are a lot of beach goers that enjoy the sunsets. The water is cold these days so not much swimming is happening. The Venice beach is known for its abundance of fossilized shark teeth. If you look hard enough you will find some. It takes some patience and luck but we did find a full tooth and some partials. The fossils are black amongst the shells and sand. It is a long beach with gorgeous sand but the wind today makes this a cold journey to walk to the pier about 3 miles south.
Crow’s Nest is a nice stop in a southerly or easterly wind. A northern or westerly will cause large waves so do not attempt to stay here at that time. In fact the dockmaster will tell you when you call that it is not the place to be if you happen to ask for a slip during those winds.
