The Island: Snead Island, Fl 27.5313° N, 82.6200° W
Where: in the Manatee River in Tampa Bay
How: We anchored for the night in the Manatee River to ride out a storm. We stared at the shore all afternoon and evening as we rocked back and forth in the waves and storm.
Why: We had a few minutes the next morning to take the dinghy and explore. We wanted to see the abandoned sailboat and the gorgeous flora on shore that was so close.
What: We hopped in the dinghy early that morning and cruised over to an abandoned sailboat that happened to be based in St. Thomas. We don’t know the story but an educated sailors guess would say their anchor drug, they ran aground and were never able to get enough tide to get back afloat. Interestingly, this boat was gone a few months later. After exploring the eerie derelict boat, we headed to a little sand area among the mangroves and trees.
We were greeted with conches, treasures, flora and a cool path that went deeper onto the island. Wishing we weren’t so strapped for time we waded around in the shells discovering a super cool old liquor bottle, several conches and other cool treasures.
