Skywatch Friday, Season 5, Week 44

The calm, lazy waters of the Marjorie Yacht Basin on Davis islands...a favorite place to capture Tampa's boating lifestyle and the skyline over Harbour Island. Our weather today? It's 81°F, a bit of blue sky and puffy white clouds. A 12 mph wind and 54% humidity. Gorgeous!  

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies. It's always an amazing show and all brought to you by Skywatchers from all over the planet.

Watery Wednesday #176

Click HERE to see other wet and Watery Wednesday images from around the world.

Tampa's Fireboat Back Into The Water

I first posted about this fireboat in the fleet of Tampa Fire Rescue back in May 2009. Click HERE. Tampa had just purchased a new boat and was awaiting its delivery in September of that year. Click HERE to read about the city's newest boat, the Patriot. She's quite the vessel. I caught the crew putting this boat back into the water at the Seaplane Basin ramp on Davis Islands.

Skywatch Friday, Season 4, Episode 13 - Paradise Found: Autumn in Tampa

Fall weather has really arrived in Tampa and along the Gulf Coast. When I took this picture it was 78 degrees, 47% humidity, a light, almost cloudless sky and no wind. It is so nice our air conditioning, which runs about 300 days a year, is off. It was a delightful evening to walk along the channel on Davis Islands and watch the sunset and lights come up on the boats and buildings of Harbour Island and downtown office towers. If you look close in the left center you'll see the blue roof of the Sail Pavilion on the Riverwalk of the Tampa Convention Center. THE place to sit, cool off with a drink, enjoy the pet friendly atmosphere right on the water, have something to eat and watch the sunset in the western sky.

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies. It's always an amazing show and all brought to you by Skywatchers from all over the planet.

SKYWATCH Friday, Season, 4 Episode 10

Tampa's late summer sky in all its glory.

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies. It's always an amazing show and all brought to you by Skywatchers from all over the planet.

Ambulance by chopper: Air Methods to the rescue

If you spend any time at all on Harbour Island, Davis Islands or along Bayshore Boulevard near downtown, you will see a helicopter either taking straight off from the landing pad on the waterfront at Tampa General Hospital, or one coming in over the water to a careful landing. A patient in need of critical emergency care is always at stake. Tampa General is the area’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and one of just four burn centers in Florida. The Air Methods Corporation that operates this helo is the largest provider of air medical emergency transport services and systems in the US. They claim to transport almost 100,000 each year who all require intensive medical treatment from from either an accident scene or or general care hospitals to one such as Tampa general which provides highly skilled trauma care. Air Methods operates 300 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft at 249 bases in 42 states. Wow. They are quite a company and one which provide life-saving services. Literally.

MONOCHROME Weekend Vol. 2 Issue 24

If you sometimes think the world looks better in black and white, and every shade of gray, go see some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

WATERY Wednesday #71

Click HERE to go see other wet and Watery Wednesday images from around the world.

Monochrome Weekend - Vol. 2, Issue 21: You dropped a Krugerrand?

If you sometimes think the world looks better in black and white, and every shade of gray, go see some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

Tampa Police patrol our waters

The Tampa Police Department has a Marine Unit which is responsible for law enforcement and rescue activities on the waterways in and around the City of Tampa. According to the city's website for Tampa Police, HERE, the unit also assists the United States Coast Guard with Homeland Security and the United States Customs Service with illegal narcotics interdiction. Our city is almost surrounded by fresh and salt water and presents a number of challenges to law enforcement. Great changes in the depth of the water, tides and currents and, of course our weather. (It was 44-degrees this morning with a blinding blue sky and a high of only 62.) Tampa Bay is approximately 398 square miles of water and the Hillsborough River bisects the city and empties into the bay. Adding to our size and geography, we can boast of having the eighth largest seaport in the United States.

The Marine Unit is made up of five boats and two personal watercraft, the largest and fastest being a 32 foot Donzi ZF with twin outboard engines providing 500 horsepower. The Donzi is a serious boat for patrolling the water. The Marine Unit also has this 26-foot Boston Whaler, which was docked today at the Marjorie Yacht Basin near the Tampa Fire Rescue boat, a 28-foot Goldline, a 19-foot rigid hull inflatable and a 21-foot Carolina Skiff.

NOTE: My son gave me a new Nikon D80 camera body for Christmas. (He's a generous young fellow!!) I took a couple of days to try, try to gain some familiarity with its digital operation and features. I am excited that the Nikkor lenses that I have had for 30-40 years DO work with this new body. (I have not shot film through my F2 or other misc. Nikons in close to ten years.) It's great they fit and they feel like old friends as I mounted them to the D80 to go out shooting today. BUT, they are not auto in any way so this first effort is not to my crisp standards. I'm learning and will get better.

Lockheed Electra L-12 Junior: Hilary Swank's ride in the film "Amelia"

Over the next three days Tampa plays host to the first-ever Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Aviation Summit. They estimate that as many as 10,000 aviators will be here in the city and headquartered at the Tampa Convention Center. The exhibit halls will feature aviation products, seminars, updates and general information related to the industry, and the popular and growing flying community. The AOPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to general aviation. It was begun in 1939 and has grown to almost 350,000 members.

One of my favorite places to shoot in Tampa is what is known as the Seaplane Basin. The basin area, which includes the Davis Islands Yacht Club at the very end of Davis Islands, was designed initially for seaplanes. It sits at the very tip of the islands. Part of the dream and 1920's development by David Paul Davis of Davis Islands - that began as nothing more than sand spits off of Bayshore Boulevard and Tampa's downtown business district which he dredged up into today's islands neighborhood. Peter O. Knight Airport, Tampa first airport, was built in the 1930s by workers of the Works Progress Administration. It was named for Knight, an attorney and prominent Tampa businessman. After World War II, Tampa's main commercial airport was relocated from Davis Island to the area of Drew Field, a U.S. Army Air Corps base during the war. Peter O. Knight Airport's runways were too short for larger passenger planes following the war and could not be lengthened to accommodate the newer and larger aircraft. The airport is now used by many private aircraft owners, and an assortment of news helicopters. Peter O. Knight is the host airport for the Aviation Summit and has a display of roughly 100 airplanes and even some helicopters. I saw everything today from balloons to jets, sport and vintage aircraft, and a U. S. Coast helicopter. They even have radio-controlled planes. The day’s weather was perfect. Perfect, and it was fun to watch the take-off and landings of everything from vintage biplanes to small personal jets. (Tampa newest fireboat, which I posted on September 29, HERE, was even docked in the basin for tours.)

This plane is the star of the show. The Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior is an eight-seat, six passenger all-metal transport originally designed in the 1930s for smaller airlines and private owners. It’s a scaled-down version of the Lockheed 10 Electra, the plane actually flown by Amelia Earhart on her last flight before disappearing somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. The L-12 Junior, made its initial flight on June 27, 1936. (You should know this plane: an identical L-12 starred with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 film Casablanca.) A total of only 130 Electra Juniors were built. It features two Pratt & Whitney R-985-48 radial engines, each with 450 horsepower. Its maximum speed is 225 mph, and has a range of 800 miles (1,287 km). It flew at just under 23,000 foot.

Hilary Swank is known to movie-goers for her Oscar winning performances in “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Million Dollar Baby.” In her new film biography, “Amelia,” Swank plays Amelia Earhart, the accomplished pilot, aviatrix (I love that word…sexy!), who vanished in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world. Swank spent quite a bit of time with this very plane and even signed the cabin door (see insert left). If you want to read more and about Swank and this very plane, click HERE. In a word, the plane is spectacular! (And I bet the movie is pretty good.)

Florida’s Autumn Colors Ablaze

OK, so this scene does not feature any of nature's traditional autumn colors...or any sign that fall has arrived on Florida's delightful Gulf Coast. But, the evening IS cooler by ten degrees and there's a light breeze. Delightful. Yes, that's the word to describe our small corner of the world. Is it any wonder why I thoroughly enjoy your posts from New England like John's from Newtown, Pennsylvania, Lori and her Skoog Farm Journal from Western New York State (and your kitchen fireplace), Sunny at Barnyards and Barnacles in Massachusetts, Brattcat living in Brattleboro, Vermont and Don and Krise calling Olympia, Washington home. Even the high desert of Santa Fe is seeing the change in temperature and colors in the sky and trees. Lois in Tallahassee, Florida, our state's capital, is far enough north to feel a completely different autumn or at least is having more fall-like weather. (Hey, Jacob, in Ocala, are you getting out the wool sweaters and stacking the firewood yet?) Thanks one and all for living in such places of beauty....and seasons.

Skywatch Friday - Season 4 Episode 16

Columbia Drive, on Davis Islands, has a front row seat to all the comings and goings along the channels. From commercial shipping, naval vessels and tugs, to pleasure craft, sailboats and powered, of every size and description, it's always busy and entertaining. This is the water route that the pirate ship Jose Gaspar follows on its invasion of the city...and the hundred of smaller craft that follow.

Even the sky provides a glorious and never ending show from this spot.

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies.

It's always an amazing show brought to you by Skywatchers from all over the planet.

Skywatch Friday: Season 4, Episode 7

I actually had to wait several hours this afternoon for an actual sky to appear. Although dark and threatening storm clouds would have been great, it was a gray blank canvas. It was dark, totally overcast, and raining off and on for hours. After the storm and gray clouds moved away, giant white clouds began to fill the sky and the blue reappeared. It's a glorious evening in Tampa. This scene is of Marjorie Yacht Basin on Davis Islands.


Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies. It's always an amazing show.

Chocolate and Blueberries: Perfect breakfast combination.

This was the scene in the morning at Indigo Coffee in Hyde Park Village. I'd had a coffee earlier so the cup is hot chocolate with thick whipped cream. It is scrumptious and as chocolate as I can take. The muffin is filled with fresh blueberries and drizzled with a sugary coating. (I'm sure it's very healthy.) If you wonder if there was a choco/sugar high after this relaxing time in the Village, that would be a resounding, yes! Although it's humid, it's a pretty day without a storm cloud in sight. The perfect, lazy Saturday to sit for a while by the fountain (which is still without water because of our shortage and use restrictions) and watch a great variety of people strolling, biking and simply enjoying the setting. My favorite thing though, is watching the young 90-lb. moms navigate their huge, 6,000-lb. SUVs into tight parking spaces, and load and unload little ones without once stopping their cell phone conversations. They practically need a step ladder to just unbuckle junior from his car seat. It's a hoot.

I posted a photo of the new mansion being built by New York Yankees ballplayer Derek Jeter a couple of day ago HERE. If any of you want to see a shot I got from across the bay of the home under construction on Davis islands, I've included it here. Click and enlarge it to get a better sense of its size. I'm guessing that the homes on either side are in the range of 5-7,000 square feet. His 31,000 square feet makes theirs look like guest cottages.

A Bachelors Pad Fit for a King: Derek Jeter’s New Mansion on Davis Islands

Derek Jeter, the star of the New York Yankees baseball team, will soon have space for a very nice collection of cars in the six garages he is having built. The garages and the driveway wrapping around out front should be plenty of space for friends and family who are certain to drop by his new, rather large, almost 31,000 square foot home on Davis Islands. I shot three separate photos and "stitched" them together with Windows Live in order the get the whole house in one frame. The house, still under construction today, is huge. Homes on the street are very, very nice, in amenities and size, but this one stands out from the rest. Some of his neighbors aren’t terribly excited about the humongous home he is having built but most seem to be taking it in their stride. The all-star Yankee ballplayer is building a literal mansion with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms on a spectacular lot on Hillsborough Bay. Jeter already owns a very nice bachelor’s pad in Tampa’s Avila which has five-bedrooms and five-bathrooms. This place certainly dwarfs that house and will be Tampa’s largest private residence. He paid $7.7 million for the property alone and when it’s completed the English manor-style waterfront residence should be worth an additional $6-7 million. As he is currently earning $21.6 million a year, I guess he can afford to spend a small portion on a new, bigger address. As you can see, there is a center section, the main part of the house, and then wings with the garages on either side. There will be a pool on the water. He just got permission to wall the property with a 6-foot fence combination of stone and iron. If he didn’t, I’m certain his portico would be filled day and night with paparazzi, autograph seekers and celebrity hounds trying to catch a glimpse of him and his latest girlfriend, whoever that might be on that particular day. As I was looking for a bit of background on the house itself, I read a piece that commented on how wise it was for Jeter to build such an over-the-top mansion without benefit of a wife or girlfriend…to offer her advice, opinion and desires. That said, I wonder how long he will really live here. Good question.

Skywatch Friday #56

Wispy clouds reflect the last burst of sunlight as the sailboats at anchor cast long evening shadows across the water's glassy surface.

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies. It's always an amazing show.

The Long, Quiet Shadows of the Sun's Evening Light

Evening light moves quietly over the Marjorie Yacht Basin casting its long, cooling shadows out from the dock and slides over the boats rocking gently at their mooring lines. True Hope II is in for the night and tied securely. It's after 7PM and the tide is out. I came to walk along the seawall - it is so peaceful and quiet - and watch the disappearing sun bring the towers in Tampa's downtown to life. It's always an awesome sight as the buildings each take on a different color and hue and the sunlight drops slowly over the angles and shapes and moves lower and lower into the Gulf. After today's heavy rains it's nice to see a clear sky and wispy white clouds. Streetlights will begin to glow soon and night will fall over the city. Another day is done.

SkyWatch FRIDAY

After the heavy rains and flooding we have had in the Tampa Bay area over the past couple of days, I am actually surprised to see it dry. Except for the darkening and threatening clouds overhead, and black in some places, we have not seen a drop today...yet. This scene is of the small prams and rowboats tied to the dock at the boat ramp. They are left here and only used by the sailors to get to and from their boats that are tied up in the basin. At the moment the water is calm and the boats are playing the lonely game of bobbing along at the dock until an owner decides to going out and sail. Before this 4th of July weekend is over I'm sure the sails on several of these boats will fill with wind. Do visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies.

Ascend the staircase to Florida blue skys: The Palace of Florence rules proudly on Tampa's Davis Islands

I admit that I have been drawn to this building for many years, long before its complete restoration in 2003. The old world look and intriguing towers reminded me of castles I liked to play with as a kid. What boy can resist castles and knights in shining armor (or young damsels?) The Palazzo Firenze (Palace of Florence) was part of David P. Davis' original plan for his ambitious, and mostly realized 1920s dream for the development of the two small islands in Tampa's Hillsborough Bay. Located at 45 Davis Boulevard, it was designed by Athos Menebun. It is understood that its design was taken from the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. Looking now at photographs of the palazzo in Florence, it does share many of the elements of the tower and fortress-like design. Built in 1293, the Palazzo Vecchio became the seat of town's government and the home of the Medici family. It has been the seat of the municipal authority in Florence since 1872. It is a gorgeous part of the town's skyline today and a mighty big target when you're designing an apartment building on a near empty, sandy spit of land in the Hillsborough Bay. At the height of the Florida real estate boom of the 1920s, architects were trying to design distinctive and luxurious structures for Davis Islands and they dreamed of a grand design to fit the developer's equally as grand dreams and ambitions. The 600+ year-old design of the Palazza Vecchio fit that dream. This photograph of the tower and exterior staircase show the terra cotta, wrought iron and stucco materials used throughout the building. Rather than Florentine officials and Medicis, Tampa's Palace of Florence features eight apartments in the 3-story building . Completed in 1926, at a cost of $350,000, it was restored in 2003 and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is also received Local Landmark Status. Looking up from this vantage point, one can't help but want to climb the outside stairs to see what is up there and check out the view of the islands, Tampa and the bay. Great spot for watching the sun set.