Snorkeling & Sailing the Laser 2 to Passage Key, FL

This winter, I bought a 1986 Laser 2 sailboat and finally got it out on the water on our spring break trip to Anna Maria Island! I've been to AMI many times but never been able to make it out to Passage Key. We put in at the Kingfish Boat Ramp and with extremely light winds, it took us two hours to sail 5.6 nautical miles before we finally made it the first day, but it was definitely worth it. The water is clear, the sand is white, and it feels like a miniature tropical island! We sailed back to the Bayfront Park on Anna Maria Island that evening, which is about four miles closer to Passage Key than the boat ramp. With the Laser 2, it's very easy to pull it onshore and I was even able to load it onto the trailer from there. Winds were much stronger the second day and we made it back to Passage key from the park in 30 minutes over 1.8NM. This time we sailed downwind from the west onto the island, through 2-3 foot sandy shallows. Emily and I snorkeled and laid out and enjoyed the beach, and also learned that the west side of the island is mostly visited by nudists, so that was a new experience! I also sailed for about 45 minutes by myself after unloading our beach gear, and really wanted to see how fast the boat could go. Unfortunately after tacking out to make a run, the jib block broke off of the mast and dropped (at 2:58). I realized the previous owner had it tied up with a rope instead of a shackle, so I should have checked that closer. I was able to get up to 9.3 knots before the jib came down. It is a very fun boat to sail! I'm definitely looking forward to getting it back out in stronger wind where I can push it. This is the first dinghy sailboat I've owned, so I'm still figuring things out on it. I sailed sunfish and small boats as a kid in Boy Scouts and went to the BSA's Florida Sea Base twice. I fell in love with sailing from that experience and bought a Starwind 22 after college. I ended up selling that boat after many good years of sailing it, so this Laser 2 is my first step back into sailing more, and I'm hoping to go on many more adventures with it very soon. Subscribe to this channel and I'll plan on posting more sailing videos whenever I can!