We headed up to Johns Pass for Mother's Day 2023 and were rewarded with great weather at the onset and pretty good boat traffic for the holiday. As the day proceeded the clouds moved in but overall it was another great day on the water!

Manatee/Skyway Take 2: We planned on taking images the day before and in fact we did, but it was a hazy day all morning/early afternoon so the images were much less than expected. As opposed to investing a lot of time to edit/post hundreds of images I wouldn't be proud of we decided to hit it again on Sunday and these are those that are posted below. It wasn't great, but it was 100% better than Sat.

If you happened to have happened by on Sat and would like to see those please send an email with a description of your boat: make, model, color, the approximate time and whether you were headed in or out and I'll get you what we have.

We were back on "The Grille" Saturday as we wanted to catch the Sportsman Boats gathering at Shell Key and were rewarded with another beautiful day in St. Pete Beach. Although it was a bit hazy for much of the morning, the pictures didn't suffer too much and we always appreciate the beautiful location and the boat traffic is always pretty good.

If you're pictured here and would like the high resolution, non-watermarked originals with your $100 contribution to Tampa Bay Watch, Eckerd College Search and Rescue or MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. (Please note Tampa Bay Boater promotion in your giving).

Lastly, if you're pictured here and aren't happy with it's publication please contact us and it will be removed directly.

We made the trip over to Johns Pass on Saturday morning to catch a few of our neighbors from the Madeira Beach, Treasure Island & Seminole areas. We were greeted with beautiful weather and though the boat traffic started slowly it picked up as the morning rolled on. Next time we'll be sure to start a little later to try to better take advantage.

As always if you're pictured here and would like the high resolution, non-watermarked originals with your $100 contribution to Tampa Bay Watch, Eckerd College Search and Rescue or MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. (Please note Tampa Bay Boater promotion in your giving). If you're not happy with your inclusion please send an email, along with an image number, and we will be happy to remove it from display both here and on social media.

Heading out of the harbor on Sat there were some ominous looking clouds that appeared to be exactly where I was heading, which is almost always a good sign as they're never there by the time you arrive. Saturday was no exception as the weather couldn't have been better for the short trip to the mouth of the Manatee River or a few pics with the Sunshine Skyway as a background.

As always if you're pictured here and would like the high resolution, non-watermarked originals with your $100 contribution to Tampa Bay Watch, Eckerd College Search and Rescue or MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. (Please note Tampa Bay Boater promotion in your giving). If you're not happy with your inclusion please send an email, along with an image number, and we will be happy to remove it from display both here and on social media.

It has been far too long since we've visited Clearwater Pass so I decided to motor on up Saturday.  It was a nice ride up from Manatee and the skies looked clear all of the way up. In the areas I was close enough to see the beach Idalia's impact was clear with widespread erosion up to the highest points of the dunes where they existed.

Though the day started out decently, with sporadic cloud cover, the clouds got heavier and skies darker as the day moved on. Facing a long ride home I bailed when there were dark clouds in every direction and heavy rains less than a mile away. Hopefully our next visit will be a little better as the images suffered from the decreasing light as the day progressed.

We decided to head south to Sarasota on Saturday. Not having shot the area other than a holiday we didn't know exactly what to expect. We started in Big Pass and though the weather couldn't have been better we found the boat traffic to be well less than we expected and pretty evenly split between both sides of the channel. After posting up from the sand bar in the middle of the channel for an hour and a half we decided to try New Pass and then motored south on the ICW to Phillippi Creek.

We made the quick trip across the bay on Saturday to Pass A Grille Pass. I always look forward to being in St. Pete Beach as the weather is almost always spectacular and the boat traffic is as solid as it is any where in the area. The boat traffic didn't disappoint, and though we didn't get any rain until the way home, the steady cloud cover was with us all day and is evident in the images.

At any rate, as always: here are a couple of images of each boat and if you're pictured here and would like the high resolution images they can be yours with your $100 contribution to one of our supported marine non-profits (Click Here for more information). If you are less than excited about your picture being posted just let us know and we'll be happy to take them down.

We made the quick ride out to the mouth of the Manatee River on Saturday where we could catch area boaters running out from Manatee/Sarasota with the iconic Sunshine Skyway backdrop. Boat traffic was very light, probably because of the wind forecast, but it ended up being a beautiful day with with Anna Maria Island providing a buffer from the west winds.

At any rate, as always: here are a couple of images of each boat and if you're pictured here and would like the high resolution images they can be yours with your $100 contribution to one of our supported marine non-profits (Click Here for more information). If you are less than excited about your picture being posted just let us know and we'll be happy to take them down.

Parker boats are created in the hand crafted tradition of Outer Banks of Beaufort, NC.

Tampa Bay Parker Boat Dealers:

• Central Marine St. Petersburg       

The wind was blowing 15-20 with a small craft advisory for offshore boaters but we just couldn't resist getting out there as we'd missed so many due to these conditions. True to form the boat traffic was severely limited as those with the most sense stayed home but thankfully there were a few others who shared our desperation and were greeted with just a stiff chop in Anna Maria Sound.

It was great to be back on "The Grille" Saturday! Though it was a little breezy the sun was out, the clouds stayed away and the boat traffic was typical for an early summer weekend... steady. If you're pictured here and would like the high resolution, non-watermarked original digital images or would prefer that your pictures not be posted please click here for more info.