Next stop SW Florida

We started working on Laura's new (101 year old) office last month and we needed a boat trip now that the building is level, the floor and rotten beams have been replaced, and the new subflooring and walls have been structurally strengthened.

So, here we are!  Back in St Pete, readying the Bayou Gypsy for our next leg of the Great Loop journey. This week we'll head to Cabbage Key, Sanibel, (Muckey Duck), then finish in Key West the middle of next week.

We need to complete the electrical issues with the washer & dryer, fix the power cord to the Garmin, and reinstall the hardtop support I had re-welded in Slidell.
We will restock the pantry before we leave too

See you on the water

Back in St Pete for a few days

Sometimes the best laid plans just don't materialize.
We have enjoyed St Pete as a hurricane hole. It actually was a better place for the bayou gypsy than our own dock during hurricane Isaac.
Last time we were here, Jake & Michele joined us and we got tickets as delegates to the RNC at Tropicana Field. We met Bill Maloney from WVa. Hope he becomes governor!

Anyway, Our plans were to leave St Pete during late October and meander towards Key West. Laura signed up for the 2012-13 Leadership class and it meets the week between my 2 council meetings, so that drastically reduces our travel times.
Then, She closed on her new (100 year old) law office that hasn't been touched since it was partially gutted following Katrina. That is going to really cut down on boat time!

I am hopeful that we make it to Key West by December 1st, so we can enjoy Katie's 21st in Vegas, and Mom & Dads 50th on the 29th!

See y'all on the water

We went to see Winter at Clearwater Marine Aquarium

We went to Clearwater yesterday to visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium with the dolphin missing part of her tail. She's the star of the recent movie "dolphin' Tale". Most of the movie was filmed at this location.
It was alot of fun, and a really good cause!

Diving western FLA coast

We took a couple days and  brought the bayou gypsy offshore to try some of the artificial reef systems along the western gulf coast around Tampa Bay. We were told by several dive shops that the best dive site was Sheridan, a sunken tug 25 miles offshore in 80 feet of water. The second best site was the St Pete Beach reef,, 5 miles off in 45 feet of water.
The first day we traveled to Egmont key to check out the visability, but the current was way to strong to make an enjoyable dive. So we headed out to St Pete Beach Reef and the sunken army tanks. The current was fine, but the visability was only 8-10 feet with all the "Gulf Snot" in the water.
The winds picked up a little & Laura began to feel woosie so we headed back to the marina getting in around midnight.
The next morning, Thursday, Mark, George, & Bill headed out to the Sheridan. It was a long 5 hour travel and with the later morning start we didn't arrive until around 3:00 and get in the water till 4:00pm. The dive was great! Plenty to see, lots of bait fish, grouper, some as large  as 300lbs, and the wreck itself. We spent the night anchored over the wreck and made 2 more dives on Friday before returning to the marina around 5:00 for fuel.
We went to dinner, and Mark & George headed back to Slidell.I'll try to add video later of the dives

Ready for some Gulf Diving

This week we plan to make a few gulf dives. We are looking at St Pete Beach Reef, & the Sheridan. We have a few of Slidell's finest dive team joining us for some training. 
We'll let you know how it goes. We're going to try our new Ocean Reef full face masks & dive computers.

The HEAD Mechanic!

I really don't like this Monday! It started out with Bill taking the day head apart, piece by piece, and then reassembling it, only to find out, it still doesn't work. He made a few calls to Casadaban & Raritan, but neither had the answers. Looks like we'll be heading to UPS tomorrow to see what BROWN can do for our Brown disposer.

Well, got the day head back from Ft Lauderdale. It worked twice. Bill might need to check the power drop at the head motor next.

Diving with the sharks ....continued

WOW! What a great and exciting time. Laura, Bill, Katie & Adam all had the opportunity to scuba dive in the Tampa aquarium with the SHARKS. We had to arrive at the aquarium at 8:15am, watch a video, listen to the simple diving rules, then put on our wetsuits and diving gear & get into the shark cage. After we entered the shark cage, and the coast was clear (no immediate danger) we swam out of the cage to the bottom of the aquarium and enjoyed the beauty & serenity of the sea life. Sea turtle, sharks, barracuda, grouper and lots of smaller fish. We highly recommend it. While we were at Bill Jackson's we went ahead and bought the ocean reef full face masks, in blue. We are excited about being able to use them next month when the Slidell PD comes down for some training. See y'all on the water. Or maybe even underwater next time.

Diving with the sharks at the Florida Aquarium

Last time we were in St Pete we stopped by Bill Jackson's. They were offering trials on the ocean reef full face mask. We're probably going to get a pair! Anyway, Rich began to tell us about the dive at the aquarium with the sharks. Before he could finish Laura had us signed up. After we told the girls about it, Katie & Adam decided to join us. Saturday morning we'll be diving with the sharks.

Tentative Schedule for our Great Loop Adventure

Here's our tentative schedule:
April 2012 Left Slidell, Louisiana!
Spring/ Summer 2012: SW Florida coast based St Pete, Florida through hurricane season!
Fall 2012: Florida Keys
Looks like we extended FLA too much. It might take 10 years at this rate!
uly 2013 Bahamas
Fall 2013: Eastern sea coast Jacksonville, Charleston, Wilmington
Summer 2014: Eastern Sea Coast, Norfolk,
Fall 2014: Eastern Sea Coast, Chesapeake Bay Area
Winter 2014: Haul Out / Heated Storage Chesapeake Bay Area
May 2015: Back in the Water! Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut
Summer 2015: New England area
Fall 2015: Hudson River area
Winter 2015: Haul Out / Heated Storage Chesapeake Bay Area

May 2016: Back in the Water! Hudson River heading to Montreal
Spring 2016: Montreal, Oh Canada!
Summer 2016: Great Lakes area
Fall 2016: Michigan
Winter 2016: Haul Out / Storage Great Lakes Area (Michigan)

May 2017: Back in the Water! Michigan Great Lakes
Spring 2017: Chicago Area
Summer 2017: "The Huck Finn, Bayou Gypsy Adventure" The mighty Mississippi River ride home
Summer 2017: Gold Looper Burgee flown on Bayou Gypsy
When we make it: Back home in Slidell, Louisiana 6 years, 6,000 miles, and thousands of smiles later!

Egmont Key & Manatee River

June 5, 2012 Laura & I decided to explore around the SW coast of Florida the last couple of days. We asked around the dock for the best anchorages around St Pete. We were given lots of answers, so we checked them out! We really like the SE corner of Egmont Key. The water is clear & clean. It has depths of 10-12 feet just 100 feet from shore. The lighthouse on the NE side also adds ambiance. We traveled up the Manatee River to Regatta Point for lunch the next day. The food & service was good, but the lady on the dock had a real poor attitude. If I had not visited the restaurant the last time I was in with David, I probably would not have stayed! We made it back to our home port du jour of St Pete. We really like the marina and the wonderful people on dock 4! Everybody here has some type of travel dream. Some, I know, will live their dream; others won't. We are anxious for September so we can move down to the keys and on to living our dream of America's Great Loop!

Bayou Gypsy in St Pete

It's been a while since we've posted anything to the blog. Partly because we have to use the computer and partly because I forgot the password to log in.

We brought the Bayou Gypsy from Slidell to Orange Beach, Al, then to Panama City, FL where we spent 2 nights. We traveled outside from Panama City to Clearwater, FL. It took 23 hours to travel around Cape San Blas and through the Gulf to Clearwater Pass. We left way to early, (04:30) and arrived way too early (04:30eastern)

We spent a couple days at Clearwater with Guy Armond & Michelle Blanchard as Captain and guest. Laura & Michelle shopped, while Guy & I checked out the fishing vessels around the docks.

We made it to St. Pete and have spent the last several weeks at the Municipal Marina. Last week, we took BG to Pass-a-Grille's Sea Critters cafe for early dinner and had a grea time with the folks there from Toronto.

Looking forward to getting back to St Pete, but Laura has a half marathon on the Great China Wall to run first in May. So, it may be a few weeks before we start again.

See you on the water.

Mardi GRAS season begins

Laura & I had planned to enjoy the Krewe of Bilge parade today, but once again the weather and rain have not cooperated.
See you on the water

Still in Slidell

We have not been able to leave the area because of the foul weather since November.

Got some great boating news a few weeks ago. A federal grant I worked on for a municipal marina in Slidell, got full funding at 75% match. The US Fish & Wildlife grant totals $1.5 million, the city match is $375K for a floating lay along dock and 9 slip floating marina on Bayou Bonfouca.

See you on the water.