Tarpon Springs Cruising- A guide to this Greek island town in Florida.
One hundred-plus years ago, a Pennsylvania banker named John Cheyney came to Florida and started a sponge business on a little Gulf river town. One thing led to another and, today, this distinct little river town belongs on every Gulf cruiser’s must-visit list. To facilitate checking this off your list, we’ve created this Tarpon Springs Cruising guide just for you.
Long story short: Entrepreneur Cheyney hired John Cocoris from Greece who, in turn, recruited 500 sponge divers from the Greek Islands. They brought their families with them. Business boomed. Tarpon Springs became the center of sponge diving in North America. Today, Tarpon Springs is the Sponge Capital of the World. And, importantly, the descendants of those original sponge divers have made this town of 26,000 almost like an island town in Greece.
In the words of one local enthusiast, this is “a very unique place and there is nothing else like it in Florida.” Actually, there probably isn’t any place like it in the U.S. That local enthusiast is Mick Poppa, dockmaster for the small Municipal Marina. He is the go-to person to reserve a slip. When his marina slips are booked, he helps boaters find slips somewhere else. This is a busy port, especially during the fall through spring. Tarpon Springs always scores high as a port of call for great loopers. The Municipal Marina has six transient slips with electric and water service and can accommodate vessels up to 50 feet long.
Dodecanese Boulevard
Dock at the city marina; it’s the perfect starting point for a stroll along the downtown waterfront shopping district known as Dodecanese Boulevard. It takes you past sponge boats, art galleries, antique stores, bodegas, spice shops, restaurants, bakeries, and more. The Dodecanese shopping district is less than half a mile in each direction. Just about every shop or stop has a Greek specialty. But, hey, a word of warning from marina-man Mick: Do NOT spend too much time staring at pastries at Hellas Bakery or you might slobber on the glass. 
You’ll feel the vibe all along Dodecanese Boulevard. Descendants of those sponge diver families own and work in many of those shops. You will probably hear them speaking Greek. Downtown Tarpon Springs is on the National Register of Historic Places. Oh, lots of sponges are for sale. These are real, natural, Gulf of Mexico sponges. Incidentally, to drill down on the sponge diving history, get on the St. Nicholas Boat Line’s tour which offers a popular show-and-tell. Hungry? You can’t get a bad meal on Dodecanese Boulevard: gyros, souvlaki, tzatziki sauce, Greek olive-feta-spinach pizza, and all the downtown restaurants are popular. The Limani, Hellas, Dimitri’s, and Mykonos restaurants have authentic Greek lunches and dinners on their menus. 
Cruising Tarpon Springs Up the Anclote River
To get to Tarpon Springs from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, steer southeast at marker number 6 and motor up the beautiful Anclote River. The river is opposite Anclote Key, the northernmost barrier island in Southwest Florida. Anclote Key is accessible only by boat. It’s also home to the historic Anclote Key Lighthouse built in 1887. Anclote Key Preserve State Park comprises four islands: Anclote Key, North Anclote Bar, South Anclote Bar, and Three Rooker Island.
The center of town is about four miles up the Anclote River to marker 53. The river is 29 miles long, flowing from springs and creeks, but marker 53 is pretty much the end of the river for larger vessels. The Anclote River was recently dredged and deepened so running aground is unlikely if you’re in the channel. However, it’s a twisting, turning river, and if you stray out of the channel, you could quickly run up on a sandbar or skinny-water seagrass flats. Tidal currents don’t usually cause steering issues but during a full or new moon, with higher high and lower low tides, captains must allow for faster currents and eddies. That’s especially true when maneuvering into a slip.
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Need a Slip?
There are nine marinas on the Anclote River. You’ll pass most of them heading up the Anclote from the Gulf. Seven are on the north side of the river and some rent transient slips. But if you’re staying on the river’s north side, you will need to bike or take a taxi to downtown Tarpon Springs. It’s too far to walk.
There are only two marinas near downtown and only one marina with transient slips—Tarpon Springs Municipal Marina. To reserve a slip, go online to ctsfl.us/marina-transient-reservation-request. You’ll get a call back from dockmaster Poppa at (727) 946-5658. “If you call me and I’m busy, I’ll always call you back,” he said. “If you’re not in talking range, you can text me at the same number.”
The Municipal Marina only has six transient slips, but when they’re full, the dockmaster sees it as his job to do everything he can to secure slips for visiting boaters at one of the private marinas. He has even arranged for transient slips at the City of Clearwater Marina. You can take the Pinellas County tourist trolley north back to Tarpon Springs.
Spring Bayou
Every year on January 6th, some 25,000 people gather at Craig Park in Spring Bayou, Tarpon Springs, for the Greek Orthodox Epiphany Celebration. This is the largest Epiphany celebration in the Western Hemisphere. The service begins at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Pinellas Avenue. Then there’s a procession down to Spring Bayou. The archbishop tosses a white wooden cross into the water. Then about 60 young men ages 16 to 18 plunge into the chilly waters and search the bottom for the cross, each hoping to be the first to surface with the cross held high. Wintering manatees move away from this event.
Spring Bayou is also a location important to Tarpon Springs’ history. The land overlooking Spring Bayou is where many of the town’s first northern “snowbirds” built their winter homes. That old train station where they arrived is just a block or so from Spring Bayou. Today, it’s the Tarpon Springs Historic Train Depot, and it’s also a museum and a welcome center for the city of Tarpon Springs. You can see artifacts, photos, and artwork detailing the story of Tarpon Springs from when it was the land of native Americans to Greek families who came to America to dive for sponges. And now, there’s a free smartphone app that takes you on a narrated, self-guided tour of 10 places in the Greektown Historic District.
If you’re going to stay on your boat, you’ll be in a convenient place to walk or bike around Tarpon Springs to really get its special feel. There are quaint inns, B&Bs, and VRBOs in fairly easy walking and biking distance. However, if you prefer a brand name hotel room, you’ll probably want to rent a car to get there and back. There are dozens of hotels and resorts just short drives away in towns like New Port Richey, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, and Clearwater.
So put Tarpon Springs on your cruising stops list. And when you’re there, don’t forget to buy some sponges for the boat.
-by Bill AuCoin
