01-10-10 Cape Haze, FL

[Rick] Marina Jack Marina in Sarasota is a very nice marina, and it is not their fault that the weather is so COLD. The high yesterday was 48 with rain. We spent most of the day on the boat reading and watching the NFL wild card games. This morning the marina had covered up all of the plants due to the freezing temperatures. We never actually got to visit the dolphin statues across fromt he marina, but here is a picture. Based on the fact that it is to be cold for 3 more days, we decide to move on. After all, if we have to sit on the boat, we might as well be moving.

As we move southward on the Intracoastal Waterway, we pass many of the interesting houses and condos. They seem to represent the “old” Florida and the new” Florida. Most of the condo complexes have marinas and boats abound on lifts. The town of Venice has some murals that line the waterway. The murals are circus-themed since Venice was the winter home of the Ringling Brothers Circus. We passed under about 9 bridges, some very new and some ancient.

We were distressed to find hundreds of fish cold stunned, and in many cases, dead from the cold weather. The fish were floating on the surface and lined the shores as the tide went down. The buzzards will be well fed for several days. Some fishermen were just cruising along scooping up the stunned fish with hand nets. It was too easy.

So around 3:00, we arrive at Cape haze and the Palm Island marina. We will be here only one night and will move tomorrow to Punta Gorda to visit with our friends, Ron and Marji from Meander. They completed the loop a few weeks ago and have some dock space, maybe.