My lovely wife and I sailed most of Florida’s Gulf Coast. We used to know that region well. Seeing it on the news these days is disturbing. My nautical charts are probably grossly inaccurate right now. Nothing like a couple of hurricanes to mess up a coast line.
We sailed past Siesta Key numerous times over the years and it’s the very place where Hurricane Milton came ashore. Directly south of Siesta Key the damage is probably worse but I haven’t seen much footage out of there yet.
There used to be a sizable community of hobo sailors anchored at Bradenton Beach. I can’t help but wonder what happened to those people. Many of those boats weren’t in great shape and probably couldn’t get out of harm’s way in time. Hopefully the people evacuated.
The last time I sailed in Florida was in early 2020. We all know what happened that year. I cut our travels short. We we were in the Clearwater area when the disease news got disturbing. Rather than sail down the coast we loaded up the Oday 19 on the trailer and headed north. We haven’t been to Florida since.
We certainly aren’t going down there this coming winter. Our favorite places are currently ruined. It’s heartbreaking. Our friends in the Venice area evacuated and I’m glad they did. Right now I’m waiting to hear about the people we know across the state where it was still a Cat 1. Are you doing okay Spud? Some of our friends live a couple hundred feet from the coast at about a 3 foot elevation. We haven’t heard from them either.
So while we aren’t going back this winter I must admit to wanting to sail Florida waters again. However, I’d do it in a tough boat with a lift keel that can handle shallow water.
Of course, there’s always the possibility that it could be just as bad next year. We live in interesting times.
-Sixbears
