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December 31, 2012 Day 234

At anchor, Clearwater Beach, FL
Total miles to date: 4341.3
 
Happy New Year everyone!  We have had another good day. We walked over to Craig Park this morning. It is a beautiful setting that surrounds Spring Bayou and is home to several manatees.  We watched them for quite a while and tried to photograph them as they barely surfaced, only to submerge again. They are large mammals and are protected by state and federal laws.

We walked back to the boat and said hello to Loopers on Paddy Wagon, Done Dreamin and Fandango. Then it was time to prepare to leave. We departed at 1:15 and followed Sea Hunt IV back out into the Anclote River then into the Gulf ICW.  We arrived in Clearwater Beach and anchored near the marina.  We watched many tourist boats go back and forth from our anchorage– the pirate ship, fishing charters, dolphin watching boats, excursion boats, etc.

At anchor Clearwater Beach near Sea Hunt IV

Arrgh - Pirates coming toward us!

Our plans to celebrate the New Year with Sea Hunt IV were altered when we discovered more plumbing problems.  Bill spent the evening working on them. 

Fortunately, we were able to watch a panoramic view of fireworks between 11:00 and midnight and welcomed in the New Year.  We took time to reflect on this amazing past year and look forward to continuing our journey in 2013.