Palm Island, Sarasota & Venice Cruise

March 8-15, 2012
by Ginny Rapp
On a beautiful Thursday morning, March 8th, six boats took off from Marco to find fun and adventure on our eight day cruise to Palm Island (Cape Haze), Marina Jacks (Sarasota) and the Crows Nest (Venice).  Sadly, our seventh boat, TenneSea Waltz, scheduled to depart on that Thursday morning with us had a heat exchanger malfunction and ended up back in his slip on Marco.  The good news was that a mechanic and Bob worked for hours in the pouring rain to replace the part and Bob was able to take off the next morning and join our group in Palm Island on Friday.
Palm Island is a favorite spot because the pool and marina is only steps away from our boats and the first night we had a feast of goodies from the ladies’ galley’s for Docktails.  The next day all the guys all played a rousing game of Mexican Train dominos and the girls played MahJongg around the pool after which we took the water taxi to Rum Bay for dinner.
On Saturday we all took off along the ICW to Marina Jacks – And you could sure tell that there was a full moon by the way Mr. Blue Boat tried to play “bumper boat” and “who was that man on the shore jumping up and down shouting - shaking his fist”?  We all made it safely to Marina Jacks where the staff came down to the dock and greeted us with hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.
Sunday afternoon everyone walked over to the Golden Apple Dinner Theater where we had a nice early dinner and saw the musical “Disenchanted”.  Being a hilarious comedy, we laughed ourselves silly, and when you meet our new member, Vern, ask him about Ariel, the little mermaid with legs!!
After spending an easy Monday with everyone doing their own thing, Tuesday morning Bob lead us safely through the shifting shoals of Big Sarasota Pass. We had a nice easy cruise on the outside to the sparkling blue waters of Venice Pass and the Crows Nest Marina.  There we met up with our new MBYC members, Phyllis and Doug Johnson.  Everyone walked to the Venice Yacht Club where the guys again had a competitive round of Mexican Train with Bob Herndon coming out as the Winner and Reigning Champion.  The girls also played a round of Mexican Train, giggling and laughing as much as they played.  Our buffet dinner at the Venice Yacht Club was amazing – Thank You to the Mounts and Johnsons for hosting us as their guests!!  We did look a little like the “Rif Raff” as we went through the buffet line in our shorts and swim cover-ups next to the classy outfits of the members, but as we dined around their pool everyone agreed that the apple cobbler and seafood chowder was outstanding.
Wednesday was a “Shop Till You Drop” day for the girls and we all gathered for our final dinner that night at the Crows Nest.  The highlight of this trip was that we were able to get to know some new friends, the Grahams and Johnsons, and we will always remember these good times together on the water.
         

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