Tampa Bay and Madeira Beach

[MATT] So we limped in to this little boat yard called Snug Harbor Inn... just a few hundred yards from beautiful Madeira Beach west of Tampa Bay, Florida. 'Limped' because we had a broken propeller strut - that's the thing that holds the propeller shaft straight. It had been broken, in fact, since Louisiana. But there are few places indeed that can lift a 5 ton boat clear out of the water. So we could not use our "iron sail", as they say. We did it the old fashioned way - sail power only. Sail power all the way from Houma, Louisiana, five days across the gulf to Port St. Joe, Florida, and then on down, under sail power- 3 days, to Snug Harbor in Madeira Beach, Florida.

We got a little room at this B&B right next to the boat yard - the proprietors were retired actors and decorated all their rooms each after a play that they had been in. Our room was "The Princess and the Pea" Needless to say, our bed was exceptionally high. I looked, expecting to find a pea, but to no avail. Pic is the back deck of the inn... replete with hungry egret awaiting her morning snack. The inn owner had several very large wild ocean birds that were her "pets."

When the boat finally came out of the water, come to find that the propeller was broken as well. Without going in to too much detail, we got it all fixed and even made a bunch of new friends at Snug Harbor. Those boys sure know how to toss em back.

Madeira beach is absolutely beautiful... just like you expect Florida beaches to look with white sand and blue water and oiled up beach bodies catching rays of bright sunshine... yes- even in November it is warm there. And right before we left, a Manatee, also known as "Sea Cows," lumbered up right next to our boat slip to drink some fresh water that was leaking from the hose that I was using to wash to boat. He just rolled over and drank for about 20 minutes. According to the Florida authorities on endangered species, there are less than 4,000 Manatees left in Florida.