Yesterday my wife floored me when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday. She wanted to sail on Sarasota Bay. WOW!! Anyway, we went to Centennial Park in downtown Sarasota, Florida, stepped the mast and launched. What a great park. Fantastic launch ramps, plenty of room to park trailer and truck, clean bathrooms, and no trees overhanging. We motored out on a perfect day. Sunny, 75 degrees, with 10 mph winds. We sailed for about 4 hours. 5-7 feet of water with few exceptions (watching the chart plotter.) Carol took some pics of the Ringling museum, the bridge, the center of Sarasota. This is an exceptional sailing venue. Part way through the day I heard JCSails calling a marina. Bradford is the author or How Not To Sail and runs the web site with podcasts. We had traded books a while back and I gave him a call. We chatted a bit. It was nice to talk to him. If you are not following him, you might like the whole premise of How Not To Sail - What could possibly go wrong. He takes a humorous look at his own sailing. His book is good too.
We enjoyed the sailing on Sarasota Bay and would recommend it to anyone who happens to be in the area. I know we will repeat the day next winter. This season is about over since we head home with Off The Wind on April 4. Sail on... Al
Well I'm envious. Temps still not far above freezing here and still probably 2 months away from launch. Sounds wonderful there.
Fred