Clearwater, FL

Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
I'm in Clearwater for a few days while my wife is attending some training here. My turn to relax while she works. There sure are a lot of pretty nice sailboats here. Also a LOT of empty docks and slips. There's a sunken sailboat with its mast sticking up out of the water in the cove next to the Residence Inn we're at. What gives around here?
Clearwater.jpg
 
Jul 19, 2015
154
Beneteau 343 BVI
To bad we are in Grenada or we could have took you out for a sail. We were about an hour north of Clearwater.
 
May 12, 2004
1,502
Hunter Cherubini 30 New Port Richey
To bad we are in Grenada or we could have took you out for a sail. We were about an hour north of Clearwater.
Hey, Joey and Lisa. How are you both doing. Would like to be anywhere but here the past couple of weeks. 90+ degrees, humidity out the roof, frequent T-storms and ABSOLUTELY NO WIND.:( Well there's always :beer:. Have fun and here's wishing all a calm hurricane season.
 
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May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
During the recession many boats were moved from Marinas and anchored in coves. Many were not watched and some of them did not survive storms. Marinas raised prices to make up for lost business which created more empty slips. Florida's off season runs from July through August as it is unbearably hot, there is no wind and Hurricane season is upon us. At best you may see a sailboat motoring out for an hour or two and they might even hoist the sails to pretend they are sailing. An A/C and a generator are required for overnighting.
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Thanks Benny. That pretty much sums up what I'm seeing. Air is pretty weak until the storms move in.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
I hail from Clearwater. Sunflower, the three masted schooner I lived on is still in Clearwater marina. It is painted blue and renamed Tradewinds. It runs as a charter boat, last I heard.
Clearwater is the home of the optimus pram.

- Will (Dragonfly)
 

SFS

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Aug 18, 2015
2,066
Currently Boatless Okinawa
It's a remarkably accurate description of summer in NC and SC over the past few days. I'm starting to wish for a trawler with AC and a generator.
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
There's a liveaboard couple moored in a sailboat just below our hotel balcony . I don't know how they deal with it. No shore power, solar or wind. Yesterday I watched him start a small portable generator in the cockpit. Probably recharing their batteries. No AC onboard.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
There is a modest Sunset celebration at Pier 60, with craft vendors. I don't remember what day, maybe everyday. Except for the seasonal crowds, Clearwater Beach has the nicest beach I've seen anywhere. As a kid I would walk all the way around the island of Clearwater Beach. It was always a very pleasant time for me. Hurricane Pass, on the North end, is less populated and very pretty. Caladesi Island use to be connected until a hurricane in the 50s cut the pass.
My father use to own the Double Eagle head boats. Clark Mills built the #II They are the large red white and blue catamarans at the municipal marina. They are fun, but expensive for a 1/2 day or full, of grouper fishing. The dolphin who starred in 'A Dolphin's Tale' with the prosthetic tail, lives at the marina, or use to.
The South end leads over to Indian Rocks Estates. The Causeway to the mainland also has Ross Marina connected to it. They use to have a decent chandlery. It has been a long time, a lot has changed there.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Sep 30, 2013
3,538
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
There's a liveaboard couple moored in a sailboat just below our hotel balcony . I don't know how they deal with it. No shore power, solar or wind. Yesterday I watched him start a small portable generator in the cockpit. Probably recharging their batteries. No AC onboard.

Sometimes it's good to remind ourselves that most of our parents were raised in a world without air conditioning. ;)

I am absolutely awed by early Florida settlers. No air conditioning or even fans, no bug repellent, no window screens ... the list goes on and on of course, but those three things alone would have had me running for the Appalachians. And I do mean running.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Sometimes it's good to remind ourselves that most of our parents were raised in a world without air conditioning. ;)

I am absolutely awed by early Florida settlers. No air conditioning or even fans, no bug repellent, no window screens ... the list goes on and on of course, but those three things alone would have had me running for the Appalachians. And I do mean running.
Keep in mind, there was a reason AC was invented in Florida.

- Will (Dragonfly)
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
I have a Hobie 16 that I trailer to Florida often. It is really the perfect boat for a coastal day sail in Florida. You get a perfect land breeze and can stay on a reach all day. You can rent them from a little place just off of Oriole Beach in the Pensacola Bay. A lot of the Hobie rental places will try to rent you a boat with only a main sail... but if you let them know you are a sailor and not a credit-card captain, they will put the jib on. GET ONE WITH A JIB! Anyway, if you need to kill a few hours, rent a Hobie 14 or 16 for a few hours. Mine is an old school model but the newer ones have these neat hiking rails that you can sit on. Very comfortable. Pack a subway sandwich and a few bottles of water and you are good to go.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
I actually had my Hobie out this past weekend on a lake in NC. I ran down and passed a kid on a jet ski..... hahaha... you should have seen the look of bewilderment on the kid's face.
 
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May 12, 2004
1,502
Hunter Cherubini 30 New Port Richey
There is a modest Sunset celebration at Pier 60, with craft vendors. I don't remember what day, maybe everyday. Except for the seasonal crowds, Clearwater Beach has the nicest beach I've seen anywhere. As a kid I would walk all the way around the island of Clearwater Beach. It was always a very pleasant time for me. Hurricane Pass, on the North end, is less populated and very pretty. Caladesi Island use to be connected until a hurricane in the 50s cut the pass.
My father use to own the Double Eagle head boats. Clark Mills built the #II They are the large red white and blue catamarans at the municipal marina. They are fun, but expensive for a 1/2 day or full, of grouper fishing. The dolphin who starred in 'A Dolphin's Tale' with the prosthetic tail, lives at the marina, or use to.
The South end leads over to Indian Rocks Estates. The Causeway to the mainland also has Ross Marina connected to it. They use to have a decent chandlery. It has been a long time, a lot has changed there.

-Will (Dragonfly)
Will, it must have been a long time since you lived here. I've been in the area since 1972 and lived in Clw. from '73 - '75. Yeah, things have changed. The Pier 60 sunset celebration has gotten to a point I would say rivals the sunset celebration at Mallory Square in Key West. The tourist season is now 365 days a year. At low tide, maybe even high tide, you can walk across to Caladesi. The pass is filling in. I remember the Double Eagles although I never did go out on them. Winter the dolphin now resides at the Clearwater Aquarium and is still a big draw. She also has a mate that was found in the same area as Winter and is being rehabbed there. And the draw bridge to Sand Key, where we used to party before the city sold the land to the Sheraton, has been replaced with a fixed 72 foot clearance one. Yes, things have changed a lot! Not the sleepy tourist town we knew way back when.:sosad:
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Wow.
I moved out in '78 when I was 15. Been back a few times, of course, because I still have family and friends there. I understand that Caladesi Island use to be called Hog Island and the North end was called Big Pass while the Southern pass (Clearwater Pass) was called Little Pass. Every hurricane has its impact on the shape of the shoreline.

- Will (Dragonfly)