Cruising Back In Time

Destination: Useppa Island

The distance from the Marlow Marine Sales docks on Snead Island near where Tampa Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico to Useppa Island can be measured in nautical miles (70) or in the number of yarns David Marlow can spin along the way as he pilots his 72-foot Rebel Yell (not nearly long enough).

David and Barbara Marlow invited me to join them on the run down to Useppa where they would be hosting their 12th Spring Rendezvous. Despite the fact I had lived in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area for eight years, I had never considered Snead Island and Terra Ceia Bay worthy of a detour when sailing out Southwest Channel to Egmont Key or more exotic destinations beyond the Sunshine Skyway. As for Useppa, it might as well have been on the moon. Now, the backwater nature of these islands, lack of four-lane access, and in the case of Useppa, lack of any road at all, make these–to my mind at least–some of the most desirable Florida real estate.

With dolphin and osprey escorts, we headed west toward the setting sun. Terra Ceia Bay teems with wildlife, partly because it has never been dredged and its grassy bottom is intact, and partly because David Marlow fought and won a years-long battle with Sarasota to stop dumping sewage into the estuary. Turning the corner at Anna Maria Island, we headed a bit east of south in the direction of Boca Grande Pass. Except at big passes, the water along Florida’s Gulf Coast is relatively shallow–in some places miles from shore. On a good day, this delivers magic conditions, on a bad day, the short seas quickly become uncomfortable. ...

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