National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
After way too much fun sailing overnight to get to southern Florida, my dad and sister Lynn were able to come and visit for a week! With the help of our Crescent family, Emily headed to St. Petersburg to rest (in a real apartment!) and catch up on land life. We continued to travel the heart of the ICW on the western coast of Florida, all the way from Clearwater to near Boca Grande Bay.
Our first night was spent having Christmas dinner, catching up on the adventure and news from home. We traveled on past hundreds of shore side mansions on our way to a beach near Ft. Desoto, anchoring in perfect calm on the gulf side. We watched the sun sink into the glass horizon, and I was able to break out the keyboard and play Christmas music by the light of the moon, hanging on while the swell rolled us into the night.
Our next stop took us through the entrance to Tampa Bay, dodging ocean-going freighters. One freighter sailed past us, shoving a mountain of water in front of its bow. As we watched, two dolphins soared out of the bow wake at probably 20 knots, joy riding in the craziest way possible. Anchoring in the mouth of the Manatee River, we explored the Emerson Point Nature Preserve. Feeling like we teleported, we walked amongst Indian mounds and jungle-like behemoths of ancient trees, surprised that such tropical diversity could exist in the heart of suburbia Florida.
Our next day proved the craziness of vacationers. We were constantly being passed by powerboats at full speed, wakes rolling us and way too close for comfort. To add to the fun, shoaling was everywhere—20 feet in the wrong direction would leave us high and dry. Even running the edge of the channel was dangerous, and all three of us were on the constant lookout to pick out the right channel marker out of the confusion.
The ICW carried on, taking us past more million-dollar mansions of Sarasota and our old Thistle sailing stomping grounds. This entire section of the ICW is also full of drawbridges, and we had gotten used to constantly hailing bridge operators and figuring out opening times, trying to pace ourselves to avoid needing to wait. I found myself longing for open water, preferring dodging crab pots to the traffic jams.
After a quick exploration of Englewood Village and dinghying through a maze of mangroves, we made it to Don Pedro State Park. On an endless stretch of beach, we found tiny pastel-colored clams—once uncovered by the waves, they hoisted themselves vertical and buried themselves in the sand again in the constant cycle of the surf.
It was the last night of their visit, bittersweet knowing that Dad and Lynn would be heading home so soon but glad they could share in the adventure. It was also probably good for Dad to see that his boat is still floating and in one piece- we promise we’ll bring it back! Cheers to a Christmas well spent!
Dad is trying to catch a raccoon
I swear she wanted to sleep on deck, we didn't kick her out
I promise she likes doing this!
