June 12-14

We just spent the most amazing 3 days anchored next to Cayo Costa Island, one of the many barrier islands between Ft Myers and Tarpon Springs.  We had anticipated and planned for this week for most of a year, as the highlight of our trip down West Florida.  We were not disappointed.

We woke late Wednesday morning June 12 & enjoyed our coffee on the back deck while waiting for the tide to come up, so we could exit the anchorage.  We had a short run of only 20 miles to our next anchorage.  We were able to raise the anchor surprisingly easy, even though it had dug in during the rain squall the nite previous.  The wind stiffened as we got underway, but the seas were dead calm as we crossed Charlotte Harbor.  We had to make our own wind by moving at a death-defying 10 mph!

We found Pelican Pass, our anchorage for the next 2 nites, and threaded our way into the bay.  We had to strictly follow the entry instructions from the AGLCA (Looper) website, enter at mid-tide or better, and closely watch our depth sounder.  Did I mention that the waters around here are kinda skinny??  We dropped the hook in the deepest part of the bay (9 feet) amid 4 sailboats and 4 other power boats.



"Fruition" relaxing by Cayo Costa

Since it was early afternoon, we decided to launch our dinghy & mount the motor to see if everything worked.  We had put the dinghy in the water only once before, and had never really tried out the motor on it.   While it was slow going, we were able to putt around the boat to take some picture of it at anchor.



ANOTHER  perfect sunset at Cayo Costa


It was getting to be 5:00 somewhere, and we were thinking about some adult beverages, when the thunder started rolling again in the distance.  We watched the T-storms and ANOTHER rain squall heading our way!  We let out some more anchor rode, and brought the dinghy up close, just as the squall hit us with 40 + mph winds.  Two squalls within two days!  Does our boat have a target painted on top of it?!?  We stayed at the helm ready to start engines if our anchor started dragging, but thankfully, we had a big enough anchor with lots of heavy chain rode and enough scope, that we stayed put.

We then broke out the margaritas and lots of ice, fired up the grill, and threw on the 1-1/2" steak that had been marinated all day.  After dinner, I threw the scraps of steak into the water, and they were immediately "attacked" by a small school of fish that we thought were Angel Sharks.  Really interesting!  After the rain, the cool evening created another picture-perfect sunset.  Could cruising get any better?

THURSDAY morning we took the dinghy to shore to visit Cayo Costa State Park, which is accessible only by boat.  We went over to the Gulf side beach of the island to act like a tourist.  The beach did not have fine powder sand like other beaches we've seen, but had shell bits all over, which made it easy to find whatever kind of shell you wanted.  As we're lying on the beach, we watch the big sand crabs sneak out of their holes & wander around.  When two crabs meet, only the largest one sticks around.  Next, as Sue was wading in the water looking for shells, she finds a sea urchin which had empty shells stuck to its spines.  So she picks it up by the shells & brings it ashore to show me.  First time I've ever seen one.  And then, as we're getting back into the dinghy to return to the "mother ship", right next to the dinghy surface two manatees!  We couldn't see them real clearly, but they lumbered around for about 15 minutes, and then went back up the small stream into the state park.  The first time both Sue and I had seen these creatures in the wild.

We go back to "Fruition" to change clothes and turn off the inverter (which keeps our refrigerator running, but sucks the juice out of our batteries).  Then back into the dinghy for a 3 mile ride a couple islands away to Cabbage Key - another island accessible only by boat. (I guess that's what an island is!)  I was a bit anxious about going this far in the dinghy with an unproven motor.  I kept thinking, "what would I do if the motor quit now?".  But we had a GPS with us, and a VHF radio, plus signal flares, so I guess we wouldn't be stranded for too long.



All this could almost pay for our engine repairs!

Cabbage Key is a private island that has a super restaurant open to anyone who can get there.  They also have cottages to rent.  Supposedly, Jimmy Buffet wrote "Hamburgers in Paradise" when he stayed here, so the restaurant specialized in hamburgers.  The unique feature of the restaurant is the tradition for diners to tape a dollar bill to the walls/ceiling.  The story goes that many moons ago, sailors passing by on the ICW would stop for a cold drink and some food, but then wanted to guarantee that a cold beer would await them on their return trip.  So, they posted some money on the bar or wall ahead of time.  The tradition continues to the point that there is an estimated $70,000 hanging there.  As it falls down, the restaurant donates it to charities.

"Paradise" looking out the window at Cabbage Key

We wanted to walk around the island more, but we saw the "duty" afternoon thunderstorm brewing to the north, so we hustled to the dinghy for the trip back to our floating ya-chut.  I guess we'll just have to return here to finish seeing everything.  We used the davit to haul the motor and dinghy back aboard & stowed them for the trip tomorrow.  It was after 5:00, so we found some liquid refreshment and watched another glorious sunset.
 
FRIDAY we finished stowing gear before heading out for the 45-mile trip to Ft Myers.  We pass the well-known barrier islands named Captiva & Sanibel, and gawk at the mansions lining the waterways.  As we enjoy the bright sunny day with a moderate breeze on the beautiful turquoise water, I remember that I first heard of Sanibel Island back in the 1960's, when my uncle bought a ferry boat to run on Lake Erie called the "Yankee Clipper".  I worked as a deckhand and general gopher on that ferry boat several summers.  The ferry boat had run between Ft Myers Beach and Sanibel until a new bridge was built.  And now, we're cruising under that same bridge.

A home-built partial square-rigged wooden pirate ship
near Ft Myers

We take a small detour south of Ft Myers Beach to buy diesel fuel.  The Looper website and Active Captain website clued me in to this place which sells fuel for 60 cents less than anyone else in the area.  We then head back north to find the end of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at Mile Mark 0.0 at the entrance to the Caloosahatchee River, which is also the western point of the Okeechobee Waterway Mile Mark 147.0.  We'll be on the Caloosahatchee for the next leg of our travels.

We head upriver about 10 miles to find Legacy Harbour Marina, where we can enjoy lots of hot water, a fresh water washdown, and a night without the noise of a generator.  This top-notch marina is a common stopping point for the Loopers heading east across Florida on the OWW.  We secure the boat, and then use lots of hot water (which we don't have at anchor) taking showers.  We find that Joe's Crab Shack next door serves a mean crab dinner to celebrate a most memorable week of cruising.