Sabbatical
| Vessel Name: | Sabbatical |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Catalina 36 |
| Hailing Port: | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Crew: | Walter |
| About: | I am a single, 57 year old sailor that grew up on Great South Bay on Long Island. I learned sailing from my Dad in his wooden, 18 ft. daysailor. It's a good thing that we don't have to caulk the seams every year and swell the boat anymore. I live aboard my boat in the St. Pete, Florida harbor. |
| Extra: | Since this picture was taken Sabbatical has been transformed into more of a cruising vessel. I have added solar panels, a motor lift, led lights on everything, and of course a dinghy. |
26 June 2009 | Ft. Myers Beach
What a week !
Well, It has been quite a week. We left St. Pete on Monday morning and had a great sail across Tampa Bay. As the weather was bad outside in the Gulf, we took the ICW to Venice. We stopped and had a great dinner at The Crow's Nest and then deceided to continue at night on the ICW south. All was well until about midnight when we were about 2 miles from our destination, Palm Island. The wind was blowing about 25 and the channel got very narrow. It was a new moon and the tides were very low. We couldn't get through this one passage near Stump Pass and after freeing ourselves from a shoal, we headed in to Stump Pass marina. It is really a little marina for small fishing boats but we tied up there for the windy and hot night. The bugs were biting and the humidity was about 1000 %. They didn't have electric so no a/c. After not sleeping all night we got up and tried to get away from the dock. It was still blowing about 25 kts. and the channel was not made for sailboats. Tow Boat US did a great job of getting us off of a sandbar and we continued to Palm Island Marina. We went for a swim at their wonderful pool and slept most of the day in air conditioned comfort. Had a nice dinner at Leverocks and slept for 12 hours. The alternator had been giving us problems so I called Balmar in the State of Washington and they overnighted us a replacement regulator. I put it in and we were fixed. Thursday morning we took off for Ft. Myers Beach and got in a great day of sailing. We are now stuck here waiting for the weather in Florida Bay to clear a bit. Stay tuned !
14 June 2009 | St. Petersburg
Getting ready to leave !
Well, It's time to take off again for a little cruise. My friend Mike and I will be heading, weather permitting, on a cruise to the Bahamas via Key West and points beyond. This is the first cruise that I have taken since last fall. I have made lots of improvements to the boat since then as it was a great learning experience. Thanks to all my friends at West Marine and to John and Libby at www.svhotwire.com for all their help. I will keep you updated with pictures and text. The ocean beckons and soon I will answer. Later...................
Getting ready to leave !
