Greece in Florida?

Tarpon Springs, Florida is the Sponge capital of the world. In 1905, John Cocoris introduced the technique of sponge diving to Tarpon Springs by recruiting divers and crew members from Greece. The first divers came from the Saronic Gulf islands of Aegina and Hydra, but they were soon outnumbered by those from the Dodecanese islands of Kalymnos, Symi and Halki. The sponge industry soon became one of the leading maritime industries in Florida and the most important business in Tarpon Springs, generating millions of dollars a year. The 1953 film Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, depicting the sponge industry, took place and was filmed in Tarpon Springs.

Sponge Dock Shopping Area

Sponge Dock in Tarpon Springs

 We brought Imagine from Port St. Joe to Tarpon springs.   We anchored at the end of the peninsula of the state park in Port St. Joe. At 5 AM we left followed the channel out into the Gulf of Mexico.  Winds were projected to be light and only in our favor for the first day.  It is a 33 hour or so crossing and we planned on averaging 5.5 knots.  With the winds we maintained better than 6 knots motor sailing.  Eventually the wind died off and what we had was dead on our nose.  So we motored the remainder of the way.  During the crossing we had another great encounter with dolphins again.  Fishing was a bit slow with only 1 bonita taking the bait.  I sure wish they were good for something.

We actually got to the Ancholte Key early and we decided to head on into the the Tarpon Springs City Marina.  Active Captain has it only as a 3.5 star marina.  However, it is the only marina right in the middle of Tarpon Springs.  The docks are old, wooden and not in great shape.  The bathroom is newly renovated and are very nice.  The staff go out of the way to help and make your stay fun. They are planning on replacing docks in the remodel. There are numerous Greek restaurants, and bakeries in walking distance from the marina.  Take the time to learn about the sponge industry that made this community.  If you visit please take the time to find the business  that sells only local sponges. We walked 1.6 miles to Wal-Mart, West Marine to get a few groceries and a new bilge pump switch.  We used UBER which cost $7.00 to get back. We are planning on visiting the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox  per Wikipedia St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, is a historic church building and center for Greek-American life in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The church hosts an annual epiphany celebration on January 6 in which Greek Orthodox boys aged 16 to 18 dive into Spring Bayou to retrieve a cross.^[1] A statue of an epiphany diver is located in front of the church.^[2] The church has been featured on postcards.^[3][4] The church is located at 36 North Pinellas Avenue.^[1]

The first St. Nicholas Church in Tarpon was built in 1907. The existent building was completed in 1943. The domed church is an example of Neo-Byzantine architecture and was modelled after Saint Sophia Cathedral (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople (now Istanbul).

The church includes marble from Greece. A weeping icon of Saint Nicholas is inside near the entrance. It has been seen to shed actual tears by some observers.^[5] Inside there are 23 stained glass windows and the three large chandeliers from Czechoslovakia. The sixty ton altar of Greek marble was a gift from Greece and was originally part of the Greek exhibit at the first New York World's Fair.^[6] It was obtained with help from George Frantzis.^[7]

Walk to the Historic District of Tarpon Springs

Out next step is to day hop down the cost a bit.  Maybe Clearwater or St. Petersburg next.  Who knows, where we will end up.  We are staying put for a few days because of some weather that is moving into this area with rain and winds sustained in the teens and 20's with some gust up to 36.  Since we are in no real hurry we will wait to get a better weather window to move on down the west coast of Florida.