Sand castles? Hardly

Meet motorcycle safety guy, I followed him for about forty minutes. He never got any closer than fifty yard to the car in front of him, despite the fact that glaciers were passing us. Because the gap was so large, dozens of cars had pulled in front of him, making the pace even slower. His pipes weren't loud, so he was being extra cautious.

It was carefully planned, sort of. The sand sculpting annual event was occurring at the big public beach, and I had never seen one. By planning, I meant I had pushed off going out there thinking on a Sunday, late in the day, things would have died down a bit. Boy did I screw up. I left the house at 3:30, made a quick stop at Office Depot, and headed out. I live 4.2 miles from the beach. I thought it couldn't take more than twenty minutes. If it was any other day, 15 minutes would have meant I caught every single light.

Public chalking

I don't know what the world is coming to. Anamorphosis is being done right out in public on the city's streets. And since this years theme was the circus, it featured lurid images, the ever present creepy clowns, and even near public nudity. Move over Key West and your so called Fantasy Fest, Sarasota has the Chalk Festival.

The up skirt danger

The statue "Unconditional Surrender" on the Sarasota bay front has been mired in controversy since it's erection in Sarasota in 2005 as part of a public art program. Scuffles over copyright issues, and as always with public art here the question "Is it really art?", roils through the community. I personally don't think it is any more art, than an injection molded 6" Stature of Liberty" is art, but that's me. I think for many it provides a whiff of nostalgia of times, that in their minds were good, and anyone could grab a stranger on the street and give them a sloppy wet kiss. Do this today, and you will end up in the hoosegow, and get your picture in the paper.

Sarasota gets a new West Marine "Flag Ship" store.

It has taken some time to build, but I have been watching the new West Marine store rising like a Phoenix, from the ashes of a failed retail giant. The building had been hulking empty for about a year, when workers started its make over.

We begin with a cavernous empty shell, and it doesn't take long, before the transformation starts to take shape. Floors are repaired, ceilings drop in places, are painted, and lighting is installed.

Fixture crews appear, along with large trucks, and a store starts to take shape. Every fixture is accompanied by paper work, that describes its layout, for the stock yet to come.

A huge electronics section in the middle of the store is assembled, along with a curved hardtop, that is featuring "top of vessel" electronics, and the Garmin radar array will draw your attention, because it will actually be spinning. 

And the merchandise starts to arrive, and I mean a lot of merchandise arrives. A small army of West Marine staffers spend several weeks stocking the shelves, and putting the final touches on the store. New employees are being trained, and new systems are being put into place. Work is wrapped up on the exterior, and the parking lot gets resurfaced, and re-striped.

The big opening day arrives, and the store gorgeous. More than three times larger than the old stores. The sales floor is 21,000 square feet, and heavily stocked. I'm not sure of the exact amount of items, but I would guess that there are about 15,000 in the store. The breadth of merchandise is impressive, especially in the basic items I buy every day.

The store is also the new west coast of Florida's Port Supply depot. This means, if I need something that isn't in the store (a lot less likely now), it will be available in the store when it opens the next day. On opening day, I was wandering around with a colleague, and he needed two shims for a specific Harken cam cleat, and there they were on the shelf. Odds were, in the old store, they would be in the warehouse, and would have to be shipped in. Not the case with this store.

There is now a very large fishing department, and all of the watercraft, inflatables, and motors are on display.

A full service engine department, to help you keep your motors running, is in the back of the store, and there is a huge apparel department in the front of the store, with new brands, emphasizing West Marine's commitment to women boaters, and my favorite, real changing rooms. 

The end result is terrific, two smaller stores in the area were shuttered, and replaced with an impressive destination store, with a massive inventory, and most importantly, at least to me, is a staggering array of operational marine electronics on display.

Above is my friend Wayne Seel, the general manager of the new Sarasota Flagship store in a moment of exuberance, and he deserves it. Many West Marine employees worked very long hours, for many weeks to make this happen, and it was all worth it. Wayne said, "My vision of what West Marine should be in Sarasota has been fulfilled." Good job Wayne, and West Marine.