We departed St Pete in the afternoon, due to a late arrival of one of our supplies. That gave us time to watch the Tar Heels in the ACC tournament game against Maryland. We crossed Tampa Bay into the Manatee River where we anchored outside the town of Bradenton. That night was rough, lots of current and some winds. We were slowly dragging anchor, and it was not a pleasant anchoring spot. So, we ducked into the Twin Dolphins marina for couple nights in order to finish watching the ACC Tournament with peace of mind. We learned a lot about manatees at the Manatee Museum (first pic). Then, we took in the ACC tournament at the Kool Kangaroo (next pic) which was about a block from the marina. It was good stay, except for one occasion. It sounded like rain most of the night from inside the cabin of the boat, but when we went topside, it was all dry ! No Rain ! So, what was the noise? It sounded like static electricity, especially in the bilge of the boat. We went into every hatch looking for loose wires, or the batteries bubbling over, and disconnected all the electric to and from the boat. But to no avail. The noise persisted. We scratched around for about 3 hours until one of the locals told us it was barnacles on the pilings opening and snapping shut their shells as they filter water! He went through the same exercise as we when he moved here 3 years ago! Whew, what learning experience!
No comments:
Post a Comment