Not a grand day out

Russ hangin' with the sea dogs

With Thanksgiving coming up we know we'll be away from the boat for a few days. Moreover, with the short week ahead, we knew we'd have various vendors and service people out Monday and Tuesday. With calm winds and flat water, we decided to take the boat out again. This would be for the 2nd time. Russ found a restaurant that we could dock at for lunch on Cortez. We were off.

It started out well. I took the boat out without incident and we headed down the Manatee River toward Tampa Bay. Once we reached the bay the waters got a bit rougher. Not horrible, but due to my green experience I felt uncomfortable. Swells around two feet, which most would say were excellent conditions. Sailboats abounded. Our cat rocked a bit, and with every speed boat that sped past us, we rocked a bit more.

With only thirty minutes from our destination I became aware of some banging. Big banging. We turned around to see the dingy swaying in the davit. When we took the trip here with Captain Randy he noticed that the davit flexed the fiberglass quite a bit, which is not a good thing. It's on the list of things we need to have Endeavor look at (the boat builders) when we take her there next week. In my mind's eye I saw the davit rip from the hull, making a huge hole in the boat. 

Needless to say, we turned around and beat back to the river, which was just as calm as we left it. 

I parked her, which was pretty easy given no wind and no particular current. So it wasn't all bad.

You can see our boat from here but you have to squint

Also, we ate at the Riverside Cafe. We split the coconut shrimp, greek salad, and blackened grouper. All excellent.