Guy Harvey Outpost Coming To St Pete Beach

Celebrated marine artist Guy Harvey will  open his first Guy Harvey Outpost in the U.S. in St. Pete Beach. Harvey and his partners plan to spend $3 million re-branding the TradeWinds Sandpiper Suites with his sportfishing motif. Construction will begin on the new hotel and restaurant in late February with an opening set for 2013.

The re-branding will include incorporating Guy Harvey art throughout the public and exterior spaces of the hotel. Guy Harvey décor will adorn guest rooms, which will get new carpet, paint, artwork and flat-screen TVs. The gift shop will make way for a Guy Harvey Adventure Center, to feature his signature clothing and marine-related goods. The restaurant will get a face lift and there are plans to develop a second, upscale restaurant featuring the Guy Harvey brand.

St Pete Beach was chosen because the Tampa Bay area has an endless amount of outdoor and marine activities to keep Outpost guests busy and because of it's easy access to the Gulf of Mexico and marine research facilities. Harvey, a native of Jamaica, is a marine biologist by training and  pioneered a diving technique that allowed him to photograph free-swimming billfish in the open ocean. Today, his realistic depictions of billfish have given him an international following and adorn millions of t-shirts worldwide, and more of those shirts are sold in the Tampa Bay area than anywhere else in the world.

The Outpost property will remain owned and managed by the TradeWinds, and will share privileges with its larger, sister property, the TradeWinds Island Grand. Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts has  re-branded two additional properties in the Bahamas.

 

Clearwater and Sand Key Host Sailing Regatta

The International Sailing Federation Laser Midwinters East Regatta will take place Feb. 22 - 26. This is the 11th straight year the Class 1 International Regatta has been hosted by Clearwater Yacht Club. Two hundred sailors from 16 countries will compete on the Gulf of Mexico just off Pier 60. Participants sail the Laser, a 13.8 ft. one-design boat carrying one main sail and 3 classes of Lasers, defined by sail size, will compete in several races over four days. Pre-race meetings, and daily launching and recovery of boats will be at the Clearwater Community Sailing Center on Sand Key. For more information go to www.clwyc.org.