The "Official - Unofficial" Start of our Great Loop Adventure

 


 DAY 1 - Crystal River to Anclote Key

August 4, 2022

8.7 Hours/66.6 Miles

Today is the day! Well, sort of... We are still 6 months away from the "Official" start of the Great Loop , and we want to "Cross Our Wake" in Crystal River sometime in November 2023.

We are moving Pau Hana to it's new home in Riviera Dunes Marina in Bradenton Florida. This will be the staging and starting spot in February 2023 for our Great Loop Adventure and takes off about 127 miles of our over 5200 mile journey and several years of planning.

We sold our waterfront home in Crystal River in July 2022 after living there for 21+ years. It was a tough decision but seemed like the right thing to do and fit in well with our future plans. One of the downsides was that we no longer had a place to moor our boat. In anticipation of this we purchased a slip in Bradenton, Florida. Bradenton (the marina is actually in Palmetto, Florida) is on the Manatee River south of Tampa Bay.

Flying the Burgee

With our White AGLCA burgee clipped to the bow we pulled out of a borrowed slip at Pete's Pier Marina at about 6:23 am and headed out of the Crystal River and towards the Gulf of Mexico. Looking behind us in the beautiful sunrise to the east we viewed a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral. An awesome send off!

Cool Atlas Rocket launch from Cape Canaveral

As we motored out we chatted on the radio with another boat Ramblin' Rosie that was also docked at Pete's and making their way in the opposite direction for Carrabelle and eventually Baton Rouge.

The weather was perfect, enough wind to cool us down in the heat of August but not enough to make for a rough journey. As we cleared the last marker of Crystal River, we headed slightly SW for about 9 NM in order to turn almost due south and avoid the last of the Nature Coast prop wrecking rocks. We have done this route many times in the past, but this will be the last time we enter here for well over a year and a half.

The trip was uneventful and we saw very few boats until we started our turn east towards the start of the Intercoastal and Anclote Key.

At 4 pm we reached the North tip of Anclote Key and decided to anchor at the sandbar and dinghy in to splash around a bit, using these opportunities to "test out" and hone our cruising skills. See what works and what can be improved.

Beautiful sandy beach - Anclote Key

After a fun break we motored South the remaining 30 minutes to our anchorage East of Anclote. 

This is a good anchoring spot with good holding and adequate protection. Since it was a Thursday the vessel traffic and wakes from nearby boats was minimal. We got to try out our new windlass, anchor and bridle system. About an hour or so after setting up, we decided to wait on dinner as one of Florida's intense summer storms rolled through from the East. As the winds picked up, our anchor alarm sounded indicated we were dragging some so I set out another 20 feet of chain.

When you see this, you know you're in for something...

The winds, waves and lightning became pretty fierce and we were glad for the "oversized" Mantus anchor and bridle we had installed. We stayed put and watched natures show. The storm blew through in about an hour and it was time for some dinner "on the hook".

God never disappoints and sent us a sign that the storm had passed

A lot of static electricity in the air

Aahhh...the sunsets

We ran the generator and Air Conditioning for a while and then decided to shut it down...ahh quiet. We opened all the hatches and windows to allow the breeze to keep us cool while we slept. It was bearable but Summer anchoring with no AC in Florida is a challenge.

Crystal River to Anclote Key


 

DAY 2 - Anclote Key to Madeira Beach

August 5, 2022

4.3 Hours/29.4 Miles

Anchored at Anclote Key

We woke to a clear morning with a stiff breeze. Ate a great breakfast and prepped the boat for the next leg. 

We meandered South on the Intercoastal to our destination of Madeira Beach and Madeira Beach Marina. Again we have done this portion a few times before. It is a very scenic trip close to shore and protected on both sides, much like most of our Great Loop trip will be.

We stopped at Clearwater Harbor Marina to pump out. The pump out station is self-serve and located on the outermost dock right on the Intercoastal making it easy and quick and it is free, then it was off Southward.

We called ahead to Madeira Beach Municipal Marina and secured a slip for the night. This is an easy in and easy out marina located on the west side of the Intercoastal. Once we got our slip, hooked up to electric...ahhh air conditioning, we took the short 10 minute walk downtown toward the beach and had a drink.

Every day this week ferocious storms rolled through. It was good to be in a marina this time.

Constant Lightning


Anclote Key to Madeira Beach (Madeira Beach Municipal Marina)


DAY 3 - Madeira Beach to Palmetto/Bradenton

August 6, 2022

4.3 Hours/32 Miles

We pulled out of our slip in Madeira at 9:30 am. Cruising by John's Pass and our final leg of this trip past Treasure Island, St. Pete Beach and into Boca Ciega Bay then past Tierra Verde and towards the Skyway Bridge and the inner mouth of Tampa Bay. 

Causeway to Treasure Key

Another beautiful day, still hot at mid day but a fantastic day for a cruise no less. The boat traffic along this section was quite a bit more but it was after all a Saturday. I think that going forward, weekends will be reserved for more anchoring and sightseeing and less boat cruising.

Beth tried out the new mini-crockpot plugged into the 1100 watt inverter. The inverter also allows us to minimize using the generator. The 4+ hour cruise was perfect for a crock-pot meal of Chicken Tacos for later that evening at our final stop...mmmm.

We crossed Tampa Bay just before noon. The Skyway Bridge is an engineering marvel with huge ships passing under it's 180' vertical clearance.

Skyway Bridge

When near these ships and tows the AIS system is a great thing to have. I installed a new Standard Horizon radio last year that had an AIS receiver in it. What I didn't realize is that the radio cannot send AIS info, only receive. At this point I'm not willing to spend the bucks to send out my AIS info, but having the receiving capability means I can locate and contact the "big boats" especially when it will become more crucial heading down the inland rivers later on our Great Loop.

We headed in a straight course from one side of the bay to the mouth of the Manatee River and arrived at marker #2 before 1pm. The Manatee River is easy to navigate and pretty broad.

To get to our slip in Palmetto, almost directly across from downtown Bradenton we went through 3 bridges, one of which is a railway bridge that is still operational.

Bradenton Railway Bridge

We made the entrance to Riviera Dunes Marina at almost 2pm. 

Entrance to Riviera Dunes Marina

This marina is a designated "Hurricane Hole" and very sheltered, it is open to transient boaters and has a fuel dock, floating docks, pump out, 2 pools, a restaurant and a bar. We pulled into our 34' slip and Pau Hana's new home.

"Tucked In" her slip


Madeira Beach to Palmetto (Riviera Dunes Marina)


Palmetto/Bradenton

August 7 & 8, 2022

We spent the next couple of days exploring the marina, meeting our neighbors and taking an afternoon  short dinghy ride in "Lil Scuz" across the Manatee River to Caddy's for some lunch and downtown Bradenton for some exploring.

Fun dinghy ride across the Manatee River

Our ride came Monday afternoon to take us back to Crystal River. We are anxious to get back and spend some more time in the area as we prepare for our "Official" Great Loop start February 2023.

View from our front porch

The view from our back porch

The Riviera Dunes Marina is excellent! The staff is fantastic and the entire facility is very well maintained. I would encourage boaters to make this a stop. 

Click here for the Next Great Loop Segment

Location: Crystal River, FL, USA

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