AquaFennatic Great Loop Blog: Still relaxing in Clearwater Beach Florida

Nov 15^th – It was a cool, cloudy and windy day with some sun in the afternoon which did not match last night’s forecast which said it would be 79 degrees F with sun in the afternoon. We dropped the dingy and visited a Canadian Looper boat that was anchored close by and discovered that they will be leaving today to go farther south since they’d like to be in the Bahama’s before Christmas. We then went over to the Clearwater Beach Municipal Marina and only found that one Looper was staying there and they planned to leave as soon as their unplanned engine repairs were completed. After we checked out the area by dingy we landed the dingy at a free day use dock and walked along the main drag along the beach. The beach is beautiful with white sand and many waterfront condos and resorts. I was amazed that there were a number of people playing in the water even though it was a cool and windy day. We’ve noticed a negative trend … the beer seems to be getting more expensive as we move farther south??? Hopefully this trend doesn’t continue ;)

Nov 16^th – It was a warm and sunny day with weather in the mid 70’s F. We had breakfast and then went by dingy to the town free day use dock and walked along the beach which was much busier than yesterday. The water is warm and the white sand is very soft on your feet, except the odd shell that you step on. We walked through town and visited a number of beach shops checking out their merchandise, however things seem to be expensive here thus we just browsed. Afterwards we went back to the boat and relaxed in the sun for a bit before we had to meet Charlie (from the LSYC). Charlie picked us up at the town dock and drove us back to his condo in St. Petes for happy hour and dinner with his mother Lucille and another couple from the condo complex. After dinner Charlie drove us back to the boat, however he had a navigational issue with a round about, however the 3^rd attempt got us back to the dingy. We then went back to the boat in the dark by dingy and ran the generator for a bit to ensure the batteries had a good charge before bed.

Nov 17^th – It was a perfect warm and sunny day – not too hot and not too cold. We went by dingy to the town dock and walked along the beach all the way to Caladesi Island State park. In total we walked about 14.7 km … I think we may be a bit sore tomorrow! We saw a crab pot on the beach with a number of crabs in it plus an unknown beach creature and a countless number of birds. After our walk we went to Frenchy’s for lunch and enjoyed their famous Grouper sandwich. Then some shopping during which Maria visited Hulk Hogan and finally back to the boat to relax. This boating life is hard work ;)