Day 8 - By Aaron





We passed the Maderia Beach Area on our Way to
St Pete                                                                      

AM-   Woke up early, and first thing I did was ask Vicki if she was going to be a trooper and keep going.  She said, “If you think it’s safe.”  So I gassed up and hit the water.  I’m hopeful that we can get to our destination by the end of the day, finally.  Knock on wood, or teak, because that’s what is in my boat, so far the gauges look good.  I’m just going to go very slow cursing speed today.  Low speeds seem to make Vicki, the cat, and the boat happy. 

PM-  Drove slow the whole way enjoying the sights and scenery.  Had no issues except one little time when I listened to my wife and started getting into very low water.  I told myself to do what I know is right and made it the rest of the way.  Vicki told me don’t listen to her again on how to operate the boat, but I know she still helps.    Made it to our destination, got some dinner at the hotel, and then low and behold, we finish dinner and walk out of the hotel and it’ starts raining.

The St Pete Pier was my landmark.  When
I saw this, I knew we were almost there.

We get back to the boat as quickly as we possibly could.  Now when I got here, I only put the basic lines to the dock thinking that I could take a shower, eat dinner, and let the cabin cook off a little bit and then come back and put the appropriate line s attached to the boat like I should.  Well you know that old TV show, Gilligan’s Island?  The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed and tossed some more.  Finally it didn’t matter what the weather was, the boat was smacking the pilings too much for my liking so I went out in the rain and put some bumpers and some ropes in the proper places as fast as I could. 

It’s time to sit down, make a drink, watch a movie, and let it rain.  Stay tuned. 






I had a couple of guys help me tie
off my boat in a way that would keep
it steady during both high and low tide
as the boat moves up and down when we
were in Clearwater, so I tried to do the same
Thing when I got to St Pete.

This is how the boat was tied  up in the
front of the boat.  This picture was taken
on Clearwater Beach.