November 27 – November 30, 2023

We close out the month of November in Tarpon Springs, Florida. And what a month it has been!

Captain Pat provides the Admiral with the Nebo November summary of our trip. You can see we have travelled 1010.2 nautical miles! I’d say in spite of many obstacles we made very good time, thanks to Sunshine.

The City of Tarpon Springs

Located along the Anclote River where it intersects the Gulf of Mexico, Tarpon Springs is a rich mixture of Greek culture, customs and families. The city gets its name from the abundant supply of tarpon and other fish in its waters. Its waterfront is a working seaport and shopping district with the unmistakable feel of a Grecian fishing village.

Tarpon Springs’ charming downtown center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The downtown is a showcase of proud historic buildings and homes from the gracious Victorian era. It’s an unlikely blend of histories, and one you’ll find only in Tarpon Springs, Pinellas County’s oldest city.

Visitors to the Historic District can stroll along brick streets while browsing in art galleries, antiques stores, and specialty shops housed in buildings dating from the late 1800s.

Greek Culture Permeates the City

No other city in the United States has a higher percentage of residents of Greek heritage than Tarpon Springs. The street signs are in Greek and English.

Greek music rings out all day and night throughout the town. I keep wanting to shout “Opa!”

Best Greek Food Ever

Greek eateries line waterfront Dodecanese Boulevard and beyond. There are so many, how do you choose? John, the marina dockmaster, steers us in the right direction for the best Greek gyro – The Limani. You order at the window and dine right on the docks overlooking the sponge boats. They serve seafood, shrimp and feta fries too.

Our electronic mechanic Louie (who’s Greek) recommends Hella’s for dinner – another great choice. Best lamb shank and Greek salad we’ve ever tasted. The Greek salad is traditional, served atop Greek potato salad.

The bakery at Hella’s is stellar too. Patrick had to buy the “coconut pasta.” Pasta in Greek means “cake.”

There were so many Greek bakeries, all featuring the same Greek goodies in their display windows.

The Sponge Industry

The founding of the commercial sponge industry in 1886 changed Tarpon Springs forever. The sponge beds were discovered accidentally in 1873 by Key West fishermen whose nets were fouled by sponges off the mouth of the Anclote River. John Cheyney, a Tarpon Springs businessman, opened the Anclote River and Rock Island Sponge Company in 1886.

By 1890 Tarpon Springs was a market for Gulf sponges. It was, however, Greek immigrants who expanded and refined sponging in Tarpon Springs. John Cocoris, who arrived in 1896 as a sponge buyer for a New York firm, was responsible for the Greek involvement.

Around 1905 Cocoris and his two brothers introduced diving for the sponges rather than hooking them. They raised enough money to bring a sponge boat crew and diving equipment from Greece. By the end of that year, 500 Greeks arrived to work in the sponge industry. This was an enormous population increase in a town of only a few hundred year-round residents. Tarpon Springs is now known as the “sponge capital of the world.”

Tarpon Springs Municipal Marina

This marina wins the prize for the friendliest and most helpful staff. Dockmaster John greets the transient slip renters each morning. Mick, another Dockmaster, who we meet the last day, is amazing as well. They treat the marina as if it is their own. They take pride in Tarpon Springs and love promoting it.

the marina has only six transient slips, so you get to know your neighbors. To our starboard is Jenn and Dave aboard Sailing OMG – Ocean Motion Gal – from Rogue River, Oregon. As Dave says, “we like to keep things simple. Less to break and fix.” He’s got that right! He is a retired Air Force veteran, Jenn a former school teacher and principal.

To our port we had two different neighbors. First Pat and Teresa on Rock-N-Roll, a Gulfstar 36, from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. They are Loopers and we exchange information on anchorages, the weather, and places we’ve visited.

For one day Riverdance, a Cutwater 28, is to our port. Captain Bill Parsons, from Knoxville, Tennessee, is travelling with a buddy and completing the Loop. I like this saying on his boat card – “God directs the wind … we adjust our sails.” Amen.

And our Looper neighbor at the end of the dock – R & R, a Kady Krogen 44 – is the first to arrive Tarpon Springs as they started their crossing just before us from Carrabelle. Captain Rick is solo as his wife Ruth Ann is home this weekend with their dogs. Rick gave us that great weather information in Carrabelle prompting us to start our crossing one day earlier.

Here are more photos from our visit to Tarpon Springs: