Day 121 - January 30, 2013: Marathon in the Florida Keys

Again today, it was important to rise and get an early start before the impending storms dropped into the Gulf, and this is the sight I encountered while preparing to raise the anchor. It is a shame we miss so many of nature's paintings while busy in our working lives.

Sunrise over the Shark River in the Everglades

Back into the Gulf, the early morning waters were calm, but after entering the Florida Bay crossing to Marathon, we again ran into high winds and waves. We encountered thousands of crab pot buoys with a string every couple of hundred yards the entire five-hour crossing. This crab boat is typical of those working the Gulf, and as the captain pulls alongside, the crew reaches down, retrieves the buoy and line, and pulls up the cage. After removing the legal-sized crabs, the pot is baited and returned for another day's catch. Despite the hundreds of square miles of water, a crab living here doesn't stand a chance!

Typical crabbing boat

Approaching a crab pot buoy

By early afternoon, we followed Moser Channel and crossed under the Seven Mile Bridge at the western tip of the Marathon Key. Here, the water has taken on that magical aqua effervescence that makes the Caribbean waters so unique.

Seven Mile Bridge in Moser Channel

We suddenly found ourselves thrust into 25 knot southerly winds which were pushing up 5 to7 ft waves that we had to traverse to get to our marina. It was the most uncomfortable one hour ride so far on the trip and gave Anne some serious concerns for our safety. Great Laker handled them with ease, even though we struggled to stand and keep all our belongings secure.

Day 120 - January 29, 2013: Shark River anchorage in the Everglades National Park

After I determined that we only had two good weather days to get to the Keys before a major storm sweeping across the Midwest reaches down into the Gulf, we decided to arise early to head down the Gulf to the Everglades National Park and anchor in the Shark River. This park covers 1.5 million acres of wetlands and dense forest areas, fed by rivers to the north. It is the third largest national park in the U.S. and protects a fragile ecosystem of plants, animals and birds.

The Gulf was beginning to stir up, but we only encountered one to two ft waves, which occasionally caused a light spray up over the deck. Still, the American Great Loop Cruising Association flag was getting a workout from the 15 knot winds.

Spray from Gulf waves

After seven hours of cruising, we entered the Shark River, crossing a shoal and winding around a horseshoe bend. Our anticipation was high, as this area is virtually the same as it has been for hundreds of years.

Entering the Shark River

We explored the river upstream for a few miles, marveling at the density of the everglades. The shores of the river are covered with trees and roots growing out of deep water, so you cannot go ashore. Besides there are alligators, snakes, and many insects that would make it an unpleasant experience. We anchored with care beside the entrance to a side creek, paying attention to the wind direction and the fact that there are strong tidal currents that reverse the flow of the river overnight.

Side channels into the Everglades

The evening was peaceful, and without cell coverage, internet or TV service, it was a good time to absorb all the beauty and give thanks for the chance to see it from this perspective. Who would have ever thought that we would buy a boat and find our way over three thousand miles into this paradise? That realization made this sunset, in this remote part of the Everglades, quite special.

Sunset over Shark River in the Everglades

Day 119 - January 28, 2013: Marco Island

Win was kind enough to drive Anne to a hair appointment and take me to pick up some items at Publix grocery store. Then we stopped to say goodbye to Susan, went back to Great Laker, and headed out for Marco Island. Thanks again to Win and Susan for all they did for us while we were in Naples!

Marco is a four-mile by six-mile island, ten miles south of Naples. It was used as an Air Force airfield for surveillance and defense missions over Cuba during the 60s. At that time it was almost totally deserted with a population of only 550 and one small older hotel. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the island was opened up for private development, and the first commercial and residential development started in the mid 60s. A complete island plan was created and canals were dug to provide fill for homes with water access, many gated areas, condominiums, shopping areas, and two hotels. Today, the 15,000 permanent resident population swells to over 35,000 in the winter season. Also, the island now has a hefty 1,500 inhabitants per square mile, and many are the rich and famous. This island, in just over 50 years, has become a treasured destination, albeit filled to capacity.

We came into the Esplanade Marina, which is right in the heart of the downtown. I needed to do some repairs on the dinghy davits and needed additional tools which the dock master provided. After washing down the boat, we took a walk through the downtown area. Here is the Esplanade Marina, amidst scores of downtown buildings, and our view of a nearby restaurant from Great Laker's sun deck.

The Esplanade Marina

Restaurant off the port bow

For dinner, I grilled a thick slab of fresh salmon, and it was as good as any restaurant!

Day 118 - January 27, 2013: Another great day in Naples

Today, another of Anne's sorority sisters, Linda, who lives in Naples, took her to lunch. That gave me a chance to do research on our upcoming run to the Keys. We are facing some high winds and rain and may be delayed in our departure. When they came back, Linda took us up to see her home. It was another of the beautiful homes in a gated community, so popular here in the Naples area.

Linda and Anne

Later, Win picked us up and we went to his home for a dinner with Tom and Sue who are long time boaters in the Great Lakes and have been looping for several years. Susan prepared a wonderful meal, and we spent the evening sharing stories of our boating experiences.

Day 117 - January 26, 2013: Naples

This morning started with an early bike ride up to West Marine to exchange a leaking fender under warranty. Success! No questions asked. How often does that happen?

After waiting for the high tide, we prepared to exit Wiggins Pass, which I'm told was named after a beekeeper. We crossed our fingers that we could get through. Three times we touched bottom on the sand bars but fortunately were able to keep underway. What a relief! Then we headed on down to Naples and the Naples City Dock.

The challenging Wiggins Pass and shallow sandbars

There were dozens of high-rise condo buildings along the coastline, and as we entered Naples there were many very, very large estates. I'm told that many of these are worth up to $40M dollars!

Large estates surrounding Naples

Arriving at Naples, we were picked up by Chet and Susie, friends from Spring Lake who have a winter home here, and were given a tour of Naples and the coastline north. After visiting their home in Bonita Springs, we went back into Naples to eat a fabulous dinner in the heart of the downtown shopping district.

Day 116 - January 25, 2013: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary & Blair Audubon Center

Today Win and Susan took us to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary & Blair Audubon Center. This pristine wilderness, owned and maintained by Audubon since the 50s, dates back more than 500 years and contains a slow moving river that flows to the Gulf. We walked the 2.25-mile boardwalk through prairies, swamp lands, and forests of towering trees, which are home to many birds, animals, and reptiles.

The boardwalk trail

If you look up, there are pines and ancient bald cypress towering up to 130 feet into the sky and draped with mosses, lichens, orchids and ferns.

Bald Cypress

Pines

          If you look down, wetlands and dense undergrowth serve as feeding areas for wildlife. 

Dense undergrowth

Wetlands and a white egret

If you were very quiet and still and had a keen eye out, you could see many birds and animals. Our list  included: a water snake, an owl, raccoons, a turtle, egrets, cormorants, and many other birds we couldn't identify.

Florida water snake with full stomach

Baby raccoon looking for food

We looked in vain for an alligator and have yet to see one in the wild on this trip. (I'm told they are common in the golf course water hazards.) We'll look again in the Everglades.Tonight we ate at Win's favorite restaurant which was Vietnamese. Very tasty!

Day 115 - January 24, 2013: The Pelican Yacht Club and North Naples

We decided to move the boat down along the Gulf coast into Wiggins Pass and stay at the Pelican Yacht Club in North Naples. This is very close to where Win and Susan have their condo and would give us an opportunity to see this area.

The entrance to Wiggins is very shallow and required us to come in at high tide. Luckily, a boat similar to Great Laker was exiting the pass as we arrived, and I was able to observe the path it took and talk to the captain by VHF.  The water level turned out to be only six inches deeper than our keel, so we carefully worked our way in.

Clearing the sand bar by inches in Wiggins Pass (photo by Win)

The Pelican Yacht Club is an exclusive and private member owned club. Although they do not appear to favor transient boats, with some persistence we were able to get in, but we were limited to two nights.

We went to see Win and Susan's condo, and then Win and I went out to see the gulf beaches while Susan and Anne went shopping. Later we had a most delicious seafood meal at Susan's favorite restaurant. It is so great to see them and have some time together.

Day 114 - January 23, 2013: The Edison & Ford Winter Estates

One of the highlights in Fort Myers is the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. Win, my college fraternity brother, and his wife Susan, who winter in North Naples, met us here to tour this historic site. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford became lifelong friends, and these estates are next to each other facing the Caloosahatchee River. Edison's site dates from 1885 when he first visited the area and bought the property. Ford purchased the adjoining property, The Mangoes, in 1916.

During WWI, Edison became concerned that rubber would be in short supply, built a laboratory on the site, and experimented with plants that might produce latex. The research work was eventually shut down in 1934, after failing to find a workable solution.

The tour includes the two homes, a laboratory, a museum, acres of grounds, and beautiful gardens with a vast variety of vegetation. This is a must-see if you are in Fort Myers.

Edison Estate

Ford Estate

Our very good friends, Win and Susan

Day 113 - January 22, 2013: The Legacy Harbour Marina at Fort Myers

Every sunset deserves a good sunrise, and this morning nature has provided this one for all to greet the day.

Sunrise over Fort Myers

We released from the mooring ball and went into the Legacy Harbour Marina where we will spend the next two days. This is a very modern marina enclosed with sea walls, nice concrete surfaced floating docks, security gates, secure WiFi, a heated pool, and Joe's Crab Shack restaurant. Many loopers spend time here before taking the short cut across Florida on the Okeechobee Waterway.

There is a massive cold front crossing the U.S., and we are experiencing high winds and cold nights. Today was a day to wash the boat, do laundry and make some minor repairs.

Day 112 - January 21, 2013: The Caloosahatchee River and Fort Myers

We liked Sanibel so much, we took another bike ride through the homes along the west shore before departing up the Caloosahatchee River for Fort Myers. This is the route loopers take as a shortcut across Florida through the Okeechobee Waterway. We chose this side trip, going only as far as Fort Myers, primarily to see the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.

The river is wide with many small islands and many slow, no wake, manatee zones. In between, the go-fast boats came tight alongside, seemingly ignoring us, and threw large enough wakes to spill things off counters and cause us to have to grab handrails to keep from loosing our balance. This is just the opposite of the behavior we experienced in the Midwest rivers. There were some very large estates interspersed with the other homes. How would you feel living in the white home next door to this one?

Caloosahatchee River estate

As we passed Coral Gables, the Fort Myers skyline began to rise over the river. This is one of the largest cities in the area, with a population over 62,000, and a combined population in the surrounding areas of over 600,000. The city was hit by Hurricane Charlie in 2004, and much of the harbor downtown areas appear newly rebuilt.

Fort Myers skyline

We took a mooring ball for the night, rode the dinghy to land, and walked the harborside downtown. The streets and sidewalks are nicely bricked in with palm trees, many shops, and outside dining. Some of the businesses are playing off the Edison/Ford theme including banks, restaurants and bars.

Downtown Fort Myers

The Ford's Garage Restaurant and Bar (the car is a nice touch)

Back on Great Laker, we relaxed, dined and enjoyed a southern Florida sunset.

Sunset over the causeway bridge

Day 111 - January 20, 2013: Sanibel Island

We awoke off Ding Darling Refuge to the gentle lapping of water on the bow, something that for me promotes a good night's sleep. Some small craft had arrived to fish in the bay, competing with a sizable number of birds who were already there with the same idea. After some more quiet reading time, we retreated into Pine Island Sound, went east along the ICW into San Carlos Bay, and entered Sanibel Marina.

There, we went directly to Gramma Dot's, which was dockside at the marina, for lunch. This famous and award winning restaurant was named after Dorothy Sterns, who fell in love with this area and came to live here in 1963.

Sanibel Island has evolved into a good balance between development and  preservation of the island's ecology. The city of Sanibel has about 6,500 residents, but almost 50% of the land is protected by nature and wildlife refuges. There is a nice mix of residential, condominium, and small businesses, knitted together by winding two lane streets and bike paths, and surrounded by sandy beaches.

We rode bikes to the historic lighthouse on the eastern tip and walked the beach. This lighthouse was typical of the other Florida lighthouses we have seen, and while quite functional, they do not have the architecture and charm of those found on the Great Lakes.

Sanibel Historic Lighthouse

The beaches on Sanibel and Captiva are reported to be some of the best "shelling" beaches along west Florida. They have a great variety of shells which are best found at low tide after a storm off the Gulf. This poster displayed at the beach helps shellers figure out what they have found. If you are really interested, you can visit the Bailey-Mathews Shelling Museum. 

Day 110 - January 19, 2013: Anchorage at Ding Darling National Refuge

Constructed high on an Indian shell mound, Cabbage Key, at 38 ft above sea level, is one of the highest points in this area of Florida. Before departing this morning, we took a nature walk through the Mangroves around Cabbage Key.  The air was quite cool, and the winds were high. Mangroves are various kinds of trees and shrubs that grow densely in the wet saline soils of the tropics. Along the walk the marina had posted helpful descriptions of the plants.

  Sign posts on the trail

The Spanish Moss hangs gracefully from the trees, filtering the sunlight from the ground and the dense undergrowth tangles together making most areas impassible.

Spanish Moss

A good place for animals to hide

Some areas were dry and some quite wet with pools flowing in from the bay.

Low lying areas with pooling

Then, we cruised on down to Sanibel Island and the Ding Darling National Refuge, where we found a quiet spot in a bay off the protected mangroves to anchor. We took a dinghy ride along the shore, but you are not allowed to land on the refuge itself. As evening approached, towards the northeast, the lights of civilization began to emerge along Pine Island, while to the south, the refuge was wrapped around us in darkness, emanating only the sounds of nature. I reflected on the Caloosa Indian history of the area and how different their lifestyle was from anything we know today.

Day 109 - January 19, 2013: Cabbage Key

I rode the bike into Punta Gorda a couple of miles to and from the Publix (grocery) to get some items before we cruise back to the ICW and our next destination which is Cabbage Key. For the first time, since there were several heavy items, I decided to try towing the hand cart behind my bike. It actually worked very well, and Anne got a kick out of my creativity.

The bike trailer

Cabbage Key is a small island just south of the Gulf entrance to Charlotte Harbor, and just east of Cayo Costa Key. It is quite famous among boaters for the Inn, which is a popular stopping point for great seafood and for exploring the wildlife among the mangroves. You can also visit here and stay in cottages scattered around the Inn in the mangroves. We met the owner, Rob Wells, who was very engaging, and had one of our best meals so far on the trip.

The Inn at Cabbage Key

Years ago, visitors started a tradition of taping dollar bills to the walls, posts and ceiling of the restaurant, and now there is an estimated $50K in bills, all of which are signed by those who left them. We wondered if this asset is insured?

$50K in dollar bills left by restaurant patrons

Great Laker at Cabbage Key Marina

Day 108 - January 17, 2013: Punta Gorda 

Today, I awoke early and was lucky to see an unusual sunrise over the harbor. Yes, those are cell phone towers, and they are pretty much visibly present no matter where you go these days. Still, nature prevails.

Sunrise over Punta Gorda

By mid-morning, it became one of those days boaters call "snotty." That means high winds, maybe rain, white cap waves or high chop, and cold. So, we moved from the mooring ball to the Laishley Marina docks for protection.

Snotty day at Punta Gorda on Charlotte Harbor

I biked to West Marine for a carabiner to help us in capturing a mooring ball shackle, and then we biked to Fisherman's Village, which turned out to be a marina and several buildings full of quaint shops and eateries. Later we went to dinner at The River City Grill. As I write this, the winds are still 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 25 mph, so we are unsure about our travel tomorrow.

Day 107 - January 16, 2013: Punta Gorda

Here are some additional pictures taken as we left the Boca Grande Marina and headed out into Charlotte Harbor for Punta Gorda. The marina was small with limited slips, but it looked relatively new, had a good ships store, and the restaurant was quite busy at night. You could also rent bikes and golf carts. The entrance was very shallow (you can see the light brown water which was only a couple of feet deep), so we had to skirt that area and come around to the right.

Boca Grande Marina where we docked

Boca Grande entrance

This is the back side of the beautiful Gasparilla Inn as seen in the distance across the harborside golf course.

Gasparilla Inn across the golf course

We moved up the harbor with the wind and tide to our stern, and this gained us two mph over normal ground speed, thus saving fuel. Punta Gorda means "fat or wide point," and if you look on a map you will see that it is a broad area sticking out into the harbor. Arriving mid-afternoon at the Laishley Park Municipal Marina, we chose to stay out on a mooring ball for our third time, and this turned out to be rather challenging. Every situation is unique.

The wind was strong enough that after Anne captured the mooring buoy line from the swim platform, the boat swung around so quickly that I couldn't get the line to the bow to fasten to the bridal. So, until I could figure out something better, I quickly tied it off on the stern cleat. Here we hung, stern instead of bow to the mooring ball and wind, as a couple on a nearby Grand Banks watched us struggle. Embarrassing!

I made several attempts to turn the boat around without losing the line to the buoy with no luck. Finally, I was able to back up along the ball and then power the nose around fast enough that I could run the line to the bow. Anne helped me secure the bridal, and we celebrated our triumph with a cheer. Fun, when you are successful in getting it done. I hope they were still watching, ha ha.

This is the marina and skyline of Punta Gorda from Great Laker on the buoy. We took the dinghy to shore, checked in, and walked a few blocks through the waterfront streets. This area was devastated during Hurricane Charlie in 2004 but since has been completely rebuilt. It now has modern storefronts, restaurants and a conference center.

Punta Gorda skyline

Day 106 - January 15, 2013: Boca Grande!

It took just an hour to cruise down through Charlotte Harbor to Gasparilla Island and Boca Grande. Boca Grande is a small residential community, home to many seasonal and some full-time residents. Its name, Spanish for "big mouth," comes from the adjacent very deep and wide entrance to Charlotte Harbor. The city is known for its charming downtown, no gas stations, many golf carts, sugar sand beaches and world class blue water fishing.

Entrance to Charlotte Bay

We stopped at the Boca Grande Marina, unpacked the bikes and headed for the Gasparilla Island State Park to see an 1890s lighthouse and museum. We learned that the first known inhabitants were Calusa Indians who lived here over 1,000 years ago, and they survived entirely living off the sea. Spanish fisherman also arrived and established camps along the shore where fish were shipped to Cuba.

Gasparilla Island Lighthouse

Many rich and famous people discovered this area starting in the 1920s, staying in the beautiful Gasparilla Inn and fishing the Gulf and Charlotte Bay. Later, phosphorous was discovered up in the bay and trains brought it down to Boca Grande where it was loaded into large ocean going ships.

Gasparilla Inn

Here is Great Laker reflected in the boat next to us. It was a 124.3 ft yacht named Hilarium. A yacht is a boat where someone else does all the piloting, cooking and maintenance! We have a baby cruiser where we do it all and are quite content.

Great Laker's reflection

This seemed like a good day to have a special dinner out, and we chose the Pink Elephant and had red snapper in a pretzel crusted coating. It was a super supper (:-). We rode the bikes even though it was dark, and I carried a spotlight to keep us safe on the road. Overall, this is a very special kind of place, and we really liked it!