How we Wound Up in Sarasota
We, Jerry and his wife, Gail, live on Cape Cod in Massachusetts where we have boated for years in the Nantucket Sound, usually to Martha’s Vineyard. So, how did we land in Sarasota?
Alto I
We started visiting Florida regularly in 01/2011 after we bought and installed a Ranger Tugs R25 (a small diesel trawler, shown below) in Sanford, FL (yes, that “Sanford” where Trayvon Martin was shot and killed not long after we arrived) on the St. John River. We named it Alto, for my wife – who sang as an alto in the Back Bay Chorale in Cambridge, Mass for years.
Alto I
We started visiting Florida regularly in 01/2011 after we bought and installed a Ranger Tugs R25 (a small diesel trawler, shown below) in Sanford, FL (yes, that “Sanford” where Trayvon Martin was shot and killed not long after we arrived) on the St. John River. We named it Alto, for my wife – who sang as an alto in the Back Bay Chorale in Cambridge, Mass for years.
Friends recommended Sarasota. Googling, I discovered Marina Jack was actually downtown. It was only a three hour flight from Boston. After Breeze started nonstop service for ~$350 roundtrip from Providence to Sarasota, we shifted to that, and that flight is 2.5 hours one way. The beauty of Sarasota? One there it was just a 12-minute Uber ride from the airport (SRQ) to the marina! I visited, met the marina manager and we clicked and late in 2019 Alto moved to Marina Jack to live year-round on a floating dock.
Eventually, we moved up to a diesel Ranger Tugs R31 with room for guests. We stayed on Alto II during winter visits and occasionally in the summer when it gets very, very hot. We noted the Keys, although further south, had cooler breezes than Sarasota. Luckily Alto was air conditioned. Two local captains watched over her in our absences, often for months in the summer.
Gail never enjoyed boating much, so we bought #107 with the idea of moving ashore, and later on #208 as an investment property. However, aging got in the way so now we stay on Cape Cod where we downsized to a Ranger Tugs R25 which can be trailered. Thus, the Sarasota condos are now for sale or rent.
