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Floating chapel leaves St. Petersburg, anchors in historic Cortez



ST. PETERSBURG — Three years after America's only floating chapel docked at the Pier, the distinctive blue-roofed attraction is off to a new port of call.

While it signals an adventure for new Sarasota owners, who hosted their first wedding this weekend, it's lousy timing for waterfront businesses that catered to chapel visitors.

"We thought it was a great boost for the area," said Peter Ceruzzi, manager of Fresco's Waterfront Bistro. "It's a shame."

You'll see the chapel for a final month in St. Petersburg starting in late March, when it will sit outside the Renaissance Vinoy Resort.

But its new home is historic downtown Cortez, on the mainland across from Anna Maria Island, not quite an hour's drive from the Pier.

It's a third stop for what's billed as the world's largest floating chapel. The creation has been the Tampa Bay area's from the start.