Day 104 - January 13, 2013: On to Venice

The ICW south towards Venice is narrow, shallow, and not well marked in places. If you are not careful, you can find yourself in shallow water very quickly.

Many sections limit you to "slow" or "no wake" to protect private docks and marinas or Manatee zones. This is Great Laker's wake at 8 mph, which is a typical cruising speed in these areas. The propeller cavitation shows in the center, flanked by the bow turbulence foam, flanked by the displacement hull wake, which splits into two peaks on either side and then dissipates in the distance. The most efficient speed for a displacement hull is approximately 1.3 times the square root of the hull length at the water line.  For Great Laker, this is 7.8 mph.

Great Laker's wake at 8 mph

There are many beautiful homes along both sides of the ICW, and these homeowners seem to prefer fast outboard boats, which makes sense since they have to travel some distances to get into bays or inlets to the Gulf.

Creative roof lines and located on a point

Beautiful decks incorporated into the structure

A pool with overflowing fountain

We docked at The Crow's Nest Marina, which is in the Venice inlet from the Gulf. They provide free bikes which we used to go 1 1/2  mi into the downtown area. Unlike our folding seven-speed bikes, these were older, one-speed fat tire cruisers, which brake by reversing the pedals. It took some getting used to again. Later, I washed the outside of the boat while Anne cleaned the inside. Yes, cruising has its less desirable tasks.

Great Laker at the Crow's Nest Marina in Venice, FL

We ran into Brooks and Sarah on "Our Time," whom we first met in Tarpon Springs, and went with them for dinner at the The Crow's Nest Restaurant. The seafood was delicious, and we enjoyed seeing them again. It is amazing how many times Loopers cross paths on this journey.