Guide whets boaters' appetite for local knowledge

The Hungry Boaters' Restaurant Guide, by Louis and Patricia Iserhardt.

 

     Which came first, the waterfront restaurants or the hungry boaters? Did the restuaranteurs realize how many boaters there are and think to themselves, "If we build a restaurant here with a DOCK, they will come?" Or was it the other way around? Did people, seeing how many waterfront restaurants there are, decide to buy a boat so that they could look cool pulling up to the dock of a restaurant on a gorgeous Florida day?

     Seems like an eternal question, but the folks at Cardinal Points, Inc. aren't too concerned about the order of things. They saw that there are a ton of boaters in Florida and a ton of waterfront restaurants. And they saw that the joy of boaters is to step off of their boat onto a dock to eat a great meal, and that the joy of waterfront restaurants is to have a dock full of boats patronizing their establishment.

The Hungry Boaters' Restaurant Guide

by Louis and Patricia Iserhardt. Cardinal Points, Inc. St. Petersburg, Fl. 2001. 136 pp. Illustrated.

ISBN: 0-9652356-1-0

To purchase a copy visit www.seaworthy.com 

 

     

     Thus, The Hungry Boaters Restaurant Guide was born. Written by Louis and Patricia Iserhardt, the guide currently covers the west coast of Florida, from Cedar Key to the Ten Thousand Islands. This is no small effort, considering that there are hundreds of waterfront restaurants, marinas, fuel docks, boat ramps and anchorages along this stretch of the Florida Gulf coast. Exhaustively reserached, The Hungry Boaters Restaurant Guide includes them all.

     This book is great for the local boater and cruiser alike. First of all, the format is based upon visual charts with the locations of the restaurants and marinas right on them. The charts themselves, although not intended for navigational purposes, include channel markers, depths, and local knowledge, such as where the anchorages are. Secondly, they include information about the restuarants, marinas, anchorages and other items of interest on the pages facing the charts. It's a simple but effective format that makes it easy to plan out your voyage. In addition to the listings, directions, information and charts, the guide also includes on its pages fishing, navigation, and boating tips, as well as recipes, basic knots and rules of the road. 

     I found this guide to be very helpful while we traveled south from Clearwater to Ft. Myers Beach, Fl. The only recommendation I have for future editions of this guide is to include the phone numbers and addresses in all of the restaurant listings, for those who don't have boats and like to dine by the water. If you boat on the Florida Gulf coast, or plan on visiting there in your boat, whether you like eat out or not, I recommend this book as a handy local guide to the facilities and features the area has to offer.