Manatee River to Sara Bay Marina

Condos and a great marina

It was heavily overcast and quite cool this morning, the forecast was for the cloud cover to be burned off by noon and the wind increasing from the north to 10-15 knots. We walked around the harbor area in the morning.  There are several large condo buildings, houses around the rest of the harbor, a nice marina with floating piers and a newly opened restaurant.  Riviera Dunes is a neat place, and in 5-10 years the surrounding area may catch up to the stylish name.

In Palmetto across from Bradenton

We traveled down the Manatee River on a falling tide and cruised into Tampa Bay, the wind had increased and the waves were on the beam so we did quite a bit of rocking and rolling. As Carol stated it was a bit uncomfortable but not of any real concern. We have learned that the boat can handle the waves. Once through the bay we were back into the Intracoastal and the seas calmed. The Intracoastal is very narrow near Anna Marie Island with 7 feet of water being the common depth in the channel, some of the channels are only  a 100 feet wide with 1 foot water on either side.

We docked at Sara Bay Marina and plan to be here through the Christmas Holiday and will blog when something is worth sharing, maybe every few of days. Enjoy your Christmas preparations – no matter where you are. 

Back to the Intracoastal

Great homes

And low bridges