Out the door by 9:00 followed by a quick stop to Publix to grad a sub for lunch followed by a stop at the trailer hitch guy to see why our light weren't working and we were on our way. Joe did well putting the boat in water at Anclote Park and we were soon on our way to the sandbar. The water was so smooth, and there were beautiful tree topped islands along the way. Soon enough we saw the sandbar that was to be our destination. Thinking we might explore first, I suggested we first go to the left of the island to check it out. It was low tide so more sand was exposed and there were only a few other people there so we figured we set up for the day here. We quickly realized that we'd forgotten you need two anchors to stabilize your boat or it will end up on the beach. First lesson of the day! We proceeded to set up our chairs, cooler, and umbrella and I headed for a float on the water. Joe went to the other side of the newly made island to see what it was like. A short time later, we realized that not only did it smell bad there, but there were all these pesky little bugs biting us. Probably due to the large, green clumps of sea grass left behind when the tide went out. We took one look at each other and decide to pack up and head to our original destination! Don't you know that in that short amount of time, the boat became stuck in the sand! A good Sam helped us push it into the water and we were on our way! Less than one minute later, our boat died right there in the middle of the gulf! We looked at each other. Enough gas? Dead battery, bad gas? What could it be? We sat there as others around us jetted about and towed laughing guests on inner tubes. We looked at each other again. Could this really be happening our first solo day on our new boat? I started to wonder what is the phone number for Sea Tow and cursing myself for not writing it down before we left. Is there still such a thing as Directory Assistance? How long will we have to sit in this boat waiting. The waves were starting to make me nauseous. At least we had our Publix subs. Then I thought, let's call Captain Larry. Maybe he will have a quick fix. Something we wouldn't know about. Sure enough, in no time at all he had us going! The emergency stop must have been disconnected cutting the engine. I never saw Joe so happy as when that engine started! Off we go! Second lesson of the day! If your engine dies, check the emergency stop connection! As we approached our next stop this really cool fish, probably 7 inches in length, popped out of the water and skidded on his tail down a straight line for nearly 15 feet before going back under the water! It was so cool. Never saw anything like that! Anyway, it was hard to find just the right spot to park the boat for all the other boaters out there. Finding just the right place we zipped in and anchored and I was approached by a familiar looking woman who turns out to be a teacher who was a former coworker. We barely recognized each other with our sunglasses and bathing suits on! We met her family and we had a great chat. We told her husband that we only had one anchor and he said just put the bow on the sand and if it beaches later we will help push you out! Sure enough, a short time later we were beached for the second time in a day. Lesson 3: boaters are terrific people who help each other out when needed! So great! Everyone waves to you as though you were a personal friend. We are bonded like families! The sand bar was just beautiful. The tide went out all day. Tons of prime shells, tons of people all there to have a good time, everyone friendly and happy to chat. One particular chattering new friend was a young woman who told us all we need to know about camping on the island. (The next great adventure after this one for us.) Suddenly around 4:30 the majority of people left. It was so peaceful. Just us and another couple who visited us while we watched to see a boat much larger than ours that was beached, waiting to be towed back to sea. Apparently, this is a rather common occurrence. At this point, the sun that eluded us most of the day came out, and treated us to some rather spectacular cloud scenery. I took several photos. Reluctantly, it was time for us to head back. I really didn't want to leave, but we knew we had to stop to Walmart for new tail lights, and a second anchor for our next outing on Monday, Labor Day. Still a bit tricky getting the boat back on the trailer at the end of the day, but once again, some fellow boaters came to our assistance. Looking forward to the day we can pay it forward to some other newbies!
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