Ft Myers Beach

Hi All,

It was a busy five days in Ft Myers beach. We got there on Thursday and got a mooring ball in the municipal mooring field and got settled in. The last couple of days the battery charger / inverter was acting strange so we found a mechanic to come look at it on Friday. We're not sure if it was the original or not but it was overcharging the batteries and generating way more than 120 volts AC when inverting so a new one was ordered.

Friday afternoon Susan's College roommate Pam and her husband Mike picked us up at Bonita Bill's Waterfront Cafe. It sounds much nicer than it is. It's a bar that also serves food. It's a great place to have a beer and watch the boats go by but when I think "cafe" I think of something at bit more upscale. But we liked it and would definitely go back. Anyway, we left our dinghy at their dinghy dock for the weekend and went with Pam and Mike to their place in Naples. Saturday they were nice enough to loan us their car so Susan and I went shopping for everything we could think of that we might need on the boat, plus a bunch of food and drinks. A bunch of food and drinks.

Sunday morning Pam had to fly off to New Jersey so we all took her to the airport and then Mike took Susan and I back to our dinghy. And it was still there! It was a great weekend and so nice to be able to take real showers, but it also felt weird to be on land for so long.

Monday Susan and I loaded our new folding bicycles into the dinghy and took them over to Ft Myers Beach and rode around for a couple of hours, including a picnic lunch by the beach.

Tuesday was a very busy day. The mechanic came with the new charger / inverter and installed it. He got to the boat about 10:30 and I took him back to the dock at around 3:30, in the rain. As we were unloading his tools and the old inverter out of the dinghy the taxi with our friend Allen Williams pulled up. Allen flew in from Texas on Tuesday to cross the Gulf Stream with us. We had a nice steak dinner on the boat and spent the evening catching up with Allen.

Wednesday morning, after filling up with fuel and water we left Ft Myers Beach and headed to Naples. Our original plan was to get as far as Marco Island but the weather didn't cooperate. We had plenty of wind along with rain and pretty rough seas. Not to mention a good part of the way we were dodging crab pots, I felt like a downhill skier trying to zig zag through gates. With the rough seas they weren't easy to spot. We got to Naples around 3:00 and everyone was ready for the day to be over so we pulled into the first anchorage we came too. It is really nice here, we're in a small cove surrounded by very nice homes.

A picture of our moon rise. Moon to the left, lightning to the right.

That's all for now.
Brian

Ding Darling

Hi All,
We made it to Sarasota with no issues. As we were coming through Sarasota Bay there was a race with one of the marks right next to the ICW so I took a few pictures.

We spent the night on a mooring ball at Marina Jack in Sarasota and then moved to an anchorage near Don Pedro Island State Park. We had a good anchorage across the ICW from the park but the wind was up and kept us from being able to explore the park in our dinghy. After staying there two nights we moved on down the ICW to Cayo Casta State Park. The anchorage was pretty shallow so we felt our way in until we bumped bottom and then dropped the anchor until the tide rose some to let us get to a little more protected spot. We were there early enough to drop the dinghy and do some fishing in the mangroves. Susan caught a Snook which fed us both last night.

With our anchorage being shallow we had to get up at 6:30 and be gone by 7:00 to make sure we had enough water. That also gave me an opportunity to try out the $50 SSB radio receiver we bought. With the antennae held against one of the stays I was able to hear Chris Parker's weather broadcast. Unfortunately, it's time that I start listening to Chris every morning. I've rather enjoyed sleeping in these last few months. Oh well. Knowing what the weather has in store is a lot more important than sleeping in.
Now we're anchored at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island. What a name! The wind finally let up a little bit and we sailed almost the entire way here. The blessed silence of no engine running.  :-)
I know sailors are supposed to like the wind but 20 to 25 kts with gusts up to 30 was starting to wear thin. We really are fair weather sailors.

MarineTraffic.com seems to do a much better job of keeping up with us on  the West coast of Florida than it did through the bayous of Southern Louisiana. Here are a few screenshots of our journey since Long Boat Key with the stop in Sarasota and then on to Cape Haze (Don Pedro State Park). The trip from Cape Haze to Cayo Costa is missing which is good because you would have seen us go in circles for an hour waiting for a bridge opening.

That's it for now. Take care.
Brian

Moving Again

Hi all,
After two months in St Petersburg, Florida, we are moving again. We left our slip at 9:30 yesterday morning with several of our friends helping us off and waving goodbye. It was a bittersweet departure. We had a great time in St Petersburg and were able to spend time with both previous and new friends. It was starting to feel like home and we were afraid if we stayed much longer we wouldn't be able to leave. But leave we did.

For the first time in a long time we were able to sail with no motor. We sailed all the way through Tampa Bay, under the Tampa Bay Sunshine Skyway Bridge to the ICW.

Along the ICW we had two bridges to get through. We had to wait 10 minutes for the first to open (opens every 20 minutes) and that put us in perfect time to get to the next bridge when it was time to open. We weren't on the ICW much more than an hour when we arrived at Long Boat Key, where we planned to anchor for the night. The anchor was set by 3:00, which was our target.

We went ashore to Mar Vista for a drink and dinner and were back on our boat in time for sunset.

We aren't going to be able to go far today as we need to wait for high tide to get out of here and that isn't until the afternoon. So we'll make a short run to Marina Jack (Sarasota) for tonight.

That's it for now. Take care.
Brian

SPYC Race

Yesterday the St Petersburg Yacht Club had a race in Tampa Bay. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures when they were all flying spinnakers but I did get a few as they came back in after the race. Most motored but there were a few that sailed back in to the yacht basin.

Notice the fuel dock in the background. An hour or so later there were both a US Coast Guard boat and a St Pete Police boat sitting at the dock when a power boat with 10 or 12 guys hooting and hollering came through, going way too fast. Either the police or USCG yelled at them to slow down, which they did. Surprisingly though, neither stopped and boarded them. If that had been me...


Also, here is a picture of Another Life as they motor sailed past us a couple of weeks ago on the way to Egmont.

Have a nice Sunday.
Brian

Getting Ready

Hi All,
We have another 10 days or so here in St Petersburg before we start making our way south again. The last couple of days have had Susan cleaning, staining, varnishing, and oiling. We're working on fabricating a new table for the cockpit, have replaced worn out hinges on cabinet doors and ordered more stuff online in order to get it here before we leave.

This past Saturday we went to the farmers market, did a two hour walking architectural tour of St Pete and went to the Tampa boat show. At the end of that day we were both DONE! The market was fun until Susan ran over me and about 10 other people trying to get away from the girl that had her pet python wrapped around her. To say Susan is afraid of and hates snakes is a huge understatement. I couldn't figure out what was going on and she couldn't form words until we were well away from the snake.

The boat show was mostly for power boats and I was thinking was a waste of time and money until we found a vendor selling dinghies with clear bottoms. We are very intrigued. How cool to be able to check your anchor is set well without having to dive on it. Not to mention checking out possible fishing spots and marine life. We're still talking with him as we have been in the market for a new dinghy.

The other day I replaced a rope clutch that has been broken (but still operable) since we bought the boat. This was another project that went much easier than expected. I'm not sure when all this saved time is going to be used up by some seemingly minuscule task that takes three days. Here a few pictures as that project progressed.

Last night we had dinner with Kelly, Nancy, Ted and Claire on Dance Aweigh. Here's a picture from the boat at sunset.

Tonight we are planning to see the Escher Exhibit at the Dali Museum then go to movie night at the park.



That's all for now.
Brian