Day 210 & 211 - Gulfport, FL

Osprey and Watercolor, the sailboat we're buddying with, wound their merry way south along the Intracoastal Waterway in the sunshine.  Riley rested his head on the bottom of the door frame catching the breeze.

We passed under one highway bridge, but the 5 or 6 other bridges were bascule (lift) bridges, so we had to have them raised.

Usually this was no problem, but one bridge tender took a bit longer to raise the bridge and Watercolor had to do a last-minute pirouette to avoid colliding with it, so we did a pirouette to avoid colliding with Watercolor.  It must have looked like a carefully choreographed duet to the osprey on the daymark nearby.   You can see by his expression when he saw the boat name that he was thinking,  "That's not an Osprey;  I'm an osprey!"

We anchored in Boca Ciega near Gulfport and tied the dinghy to the town docks to explore the main street, which was filled with shops and restaurants in the old Florida style - meaning the buildings were single-storied with simple architecture.  We met a colorful local resident who raved about the pizza at Roman Gardens. We realized we hadn't had lunch and decided to try the "mini" pizza (which was 12"!) as well as the calzone (also a large portion).   

After Bob delivered Nash back to Watercolor and me back to Osprey, he set out in the dinghy.  The fellow from Yacht Power Products who had the extra part for the generator lives on a canal across the bay, so Bob bounced over the waves to pick it up.  He came back about an hour and a half later, slightly wet, with the part in hand.

While he was gone, the generator quit and obstinately refused to put out another kilowatt.  We spent a chilly night under lots of blankets.

This morning, we released Osprey's anchor from the bottom and moved the boat to the dock at the same house where Bob had picked up the part yesterday.  Within moments of our arrival, two mechanics arrived and began their work.  They replaced a filter and left.  Our test run lasted an hour and a half, but then the machine's stubborn streak returned, and it would no longer function.  The men returned and replaced another filter.  This time our 2 1/2 hour test was successful.  We were offered the use of the dock, with electricity and water, for the night.  Riley seems to like the fenced-in back yard.