While making our way into the Gulf, we find our departure wake creates some playful swimming opportunities!
We make our way to Egmont Key State Park.
Egmont Key State Park is a secluded island at the mouth of Tampa Bay. During the 19th century, the island served as a camp for captured Seminoles at the end of the Third Seminole War and was later occupied by the Union Navy during the Civil War. In 1898, as the Spanish-American War threatened, Fort Dade was built on the island and remained active until 1923. The island is only accessible by boat. Unfortunately, Hurricane Milton and/or Hurricane Helene has temporarily closed the park to all visitors.
While the park is closed, the nearby waters are a popular anchoring spot.
Around 4:30 PM, we raise the anchor and continue our trip to Longboat Key Moorings.
We arrive to Longboat Key Moorings. It is one of our all time favorite marinas. They are nearly fully recovered from the hurricanes, but still have a few docks and pedestals needing repair. We are placed on C dock, which is a bit of a hike for laundry and the pool, but it is the only slip available.
We will spend about 2 weeks at Longboat. We spend most days catching up with laundry, changing the oil, and cleaning and organizing the boat. We did have many fun days too!
As we had a rental car for a portion of our visit to Longboat, we experienced driving in Florida during snowbird season. Longboat Key has a year around population of 7,500 people. Peak season it balloons to 24,000. Patience, along with a lot of extra time, is needed for a trip anywhere by car on the island with an infrastructure not intended for this level of population.
We spend a day driving to the northern end of Longboat Key and onto Anna Maria Island. These areas were devastated by the three punch hurricane events of Debby, Helene and Milton.
In February of 2024, Tom and I took our three children, their significant others, and our grandchild Liam to Longboat Key for a week long family vacation. These are some pictures of the house we rented on the northern end of Longboat Key.
The northern end of the key was not the only area of major damage. St Armand’s Circle with the shopping and restaurants were also devastated. Hurricane Helene flooded many of the businesses.
The damage is still widespread and quite immense. But, just as impressive as the amount of damage, is the amount of recovery and clean up that has already taken place considering the level of destruction. There are many restaurants and retail stores that have rebounded and are now open after the brutal onslaught of mother nature.
We always have a wonderful time at the Moorings. Hopefully this summer will be a little nicer to this little slice of paradise. Until next time…
Wow just devastating
Gulf of America???