This is an overnight sailing adventure aboard my Bristol 32, Sailing Vessel Beauty, beginning at Venice, Florida, and taking me across the Gulf of Mexico toward Tampa Bay.
With calm conditions in the Gulf, I tow my American Sail Dink behind Beauty as I leave Venice and head north. As daylight disappears, the character of the voyage changes. There is something different about sailing alone through the night—the horizon disappears, the boat's navigation lights become the only points of reference, and the sound of the sea becomes more noticeable in the darkness.
I sail through the night and, at about 4:00 in the morning, find myself approximately 20 miles due west of Tampa Bay. Rather than entering the bay in darkness, I heave to and wait for daylight. I also want to take advantage of the incoming flood tide to carry Beauty into Tampa Bay.
As morning arrives, I continue toward my destination: DeSoto Point anchorage near Bradenton, Florida.
The area has a fascinating connection to the earliest European exploration of Florida. In 1539, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived in the Tampa Bay region with an expedition of hundreds of soldiers and others. Historical sources place his landing somewhere around Tampa Bay, with the mouth of the Manatee River considered one plausible location, although the precise landing site remains uncertain.
Anchoring here gives me the opportunity to spend several quiet days on the hook and experience the area from the perspective of a sailor rather than simply passing through.
While Beauty is anchored, I also demonstrate the use of a riding sail. A riding sail is a small sail set from the stern of an anchored boat to help reduce yawing and keep the boat more consistently aligned with the wind. For a single-handed sailor, anything that makes life at anchor more comfortable and predictable is worth understanding. A riding sail can help reduce the constant swinging from side to side that can occur when wind and current are acting on a boat from different directions.
Eventually, it is time to leave DeSoto Point.
Beauty heads back through Tampa Bay and once again into the Gulf of Mexico. Before long, daylight fades and I find myself sailing into another night at sea.
With the Gulf stretching out around me, I turn south and motor-sail into the darkness, leaving Tampa Bay behind and continuing down the Florida coast.
One boat. One sailor. One long night at sea.
Sailing Vessel Beauty sails on.
