Longboat Key

Longboat Key offers a plethora of outdoor activities — from biking, rollerblading and even recumbent biking up and down Gulf of Mexico Drive to a variety of watersports performed on our turquoise waters of Sarasota Bay and Gulf of Mexico.

Sarasota Sailing Squadron anchors the Key to the south in the area known as City Island. Drive past Mote Marine Aquarium all the way to the water’s edge and you will be greeted with a line of sailboats, along with an unforgettable view of the downtown Sarasota skyline. The squadron grew out of the youth sailing program at Sarasota Yacht Club in the late 1930s, but was disbanded during World War II. It was reorganized under the auspices of the YMCA in 1946 and obtained its own charter in 1947. Today, more than 800 families sail at the squadron, which is open seven days a week. Not only does the facility host many regattas a year, including the Labor Day Regatta, it also allows visiting sailors to dock for $20 a night during non-regatta days.

The squadron is also the launch site for a different kind of race, the Sarasota SUP race series. SUP stands for stand-up paddleboarding, which requires only a longboard, a paddle and a healthy dose of balance. Some SUP yoga teachers lead yogis-turned-water-sports-lovers in gentle moves while balancing on a SUP board in the waters off Longboat or Lido keys.

Other outdoor activities for the area include kayaking through the mangroves, yoga on the beach, tennis, golf, boating and fishing. Call the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce at 941-383-2466 for details.

For more information, visit the Town of Longboat Key at LongboatKey.org (http://www.longboatkey.org/)

Something happens when you drive into this neighborhood. As soon as you turn onto Broadway off of Gulf of Mexico Drive, your foot automatically switches to the brake pedal to be in accordance with the feeling this area radiates.

Although a slower, dream-like pace of life is evident, this is a dream sequence where anything can happen. On any given day, a peacock could stroll by or your neighbor could throw the bash-of-the-century that people are still talking about years later.

Tucked away on the north end of Longboat Key lies historic Longbeach Village. Known in its earliest days as a transient fishing village, the neighborhood is now drawing more year-round residents.

The draw seems to be not only its historical links to the Key and Florida but also its ability to be dynamic. Houses dating to the 1920s are intermingled with new, more contemporary constructions.

Driving down Broadway, the main “strip” of the neighborhood, one can see the water and docks waiting at the other end. Circling around on Bay Drive, you can drive past the local kayaker or fisherman docking for the day — or bringing in his fresh catch. Across the street, the Gulf of Mexico laps onto Whitney Beach.

Fifty people were present at the first meeting of The Village Civic Association May 7, 1986. And those 50 people decided on their name, Longbeach Village Association, based on the old village of Longbeach’s post office, which stood within the confines of their neighborhood.

To date, there are about 175 registered members of The Village Association, and not all of these members actually live in The Village. Anyone who has an interest is invited to join.

With regular potluck dinners and social, holiday-themed parties, this group both lives and socializes together.

The residents also take advantage of each other’s talents and have formed conversational French groups, a play group for dogs and regular softball games.

Still, keeping to oneself is not difficult, with places to retreat to such as the beach or the Longboat Key Center for the Arts, a Division of Ringling College of Art and Design.

The animals that are in abundance in this neighborhood can certainly not be forgotten: ibis, wild parrots, tortoises and egrets. And then, of course, there are the peacocks, whose beginnings are a mystery. There is lore of the peacocks being gifts from a few town commissioners, yet there is also the version that they were freed from cages and made their way to The Village. Either way, over the years they have multiplied into a flock whose members love to flaunt their colorful plumage up and down the streets. And one thing is for certain — the peackcocks are never shy when it comes to photo opportunities.