The hardest part of cruising is casting off the dock Iines and getting started.
After land-based delays to our early December departure plans, we finally got to Snead Island Boat Works to launch Bay Breeze and start cruising. A few more delays in the boatyard finishing their work allowed us to have a wonderful holiday-season dinner and evening with Pat and Judy and their remarkable friends. Finally, the next day, we untied the dock lines and headed to Marina Jack in downtown Sarasota.. We spent a couple days finishing up a few projects that are always looming on a boat, rested and got provisions to officially start the cruising life again. Because we were at Marina Jack we were able to meet up with Todd and Marie who will be sailing off on their Hunter in early January. They live nearby and had Ardea on a mooring ball.
From Sarasota we were lucky to spend a couple days at Cayo Costa State Park, having the Pelican Bay anchorage all to ourselves. It felt odd to be alone in one of the most popular anchorages along the Gulf.
Tying up to the dock at Cabbage Key, we enjoyed Christmas dinner at the famed island resort which is rumored to be the inspiration of Jimmy Buffett’s “Cheese Burger in Paradise.” (The Rod and Gun Club in Everglades City also claims the fame of being the inspiration for Cheese Burger in Paradise.) Like No-Name Pub on No Name Key in the Florida Keys, the dining room is festooned with dollar bills taped to every available space. At Cabbage Key, they collect all of the bills that fall off and donate the proceeds (about $20,000 each year) to charity.
Wirth no wind we motored to Fort Myers Beach. Most cruising sailboats call the stretch of Intracoastal Waterway from Cabbage Key to the Sanibel Causeway Bridge the “Miserable Mile,” although it is longer than a mile. There are so many boats traveling fast through this area, throwing wakes that bounce sailboats. Most of the time, they are large power boats in the 50’ range, plowing their way along. This time there were fewer boats, but the ones we saw were speed boats. They must have been having a race or poker run. At least 60 boats of various sizes and classes could be seen all around us, going full throttle. Most had 4 engines and Cigarette boat style hulls, built for speed and not much else.
Arriving in Matanzas Pass on the inside of Estero Island, we docked at Pink Shell Marina. It’s season down here on the southwest coast and hard to find slips at marinas. Our usual stop at Snook Bight was full. I’m sure Pink Shell would have been too except that they didn’t have electricity at the dock, due to an electrical fire in early December. They have been waiting nearly a month for permits, fixes, and finally to have FPL install the meter and flip the switch. We were there 2 nights and at 8:30 p.m. (2030 for our nautical readers) on the second night the switch was flipped so we could turn off the generator and plug in.
The resort is fabulous, but not really our cup of tea. Reminds us of Atlantis in Nassau but on a much smaller scale (no casino or aquarium.) A front came through the first night, dousing us with heavy rain and brisk winds and waves so we were happy to be at a dock and not on the hook. Plus we had time for chores like provisioning and laundry as we embark on a week-long trip through the wilderness of Ten Thousand Islands and the Everglades, cruising to Marathon.
Ft Myers Beach is sure showing the slow painful signs of recovery after Hurricane Ian. Years after the CAT 4 storm hit Estero, there's a lot of activity and scraped lots. Folks are rebuilding like there will never be another.
Then, while trying our best to catch up with Michael and Linda on a sister ship, Zydeco, to buddy boat to the Keys, fog as thick as Maine’s made for a stressful run to Marco Island. A slip was available at Rose Marina. Otherwise we would have anchored in Rookery Bay. We are more comfortable navigating the fog in Maine on our Tiara but it's no fun in either location.
Socked in, we are spending our second night at the marina hoping to rendezvous with Zydeco at Panther Key or Pavilion Key in the Ten Thousand Islands tomorrow. Then with wind forecast to be out of the north we look forward to sailing on to Marathon for a Shoalsailer reunion with Edie and Steve, Commodores Emeritus of the Shoalsailer Fleet.
We are cruising at a different time of year than our usual spring adventure. We can do this because, after our spring cruise this year (2024), we left Bay Breeze on the hard for hurricane season at Snead Island. We figured we would be in Maine for the summer on Aquavit and not using Bay Breeze so why not stage her half-way down the coast giving us a chance to go cruising again, in the 2024-25 winter. Given that the 150-mile crossing from Shell Point to Dunedin area is always taxing for us, we would be skipping the hard part and be able to enjoy more time cruising to our usual haunts, ending up in the Keys, at a nice time of year. Of the 29 times we’ve made the trek across the Gulf, only a few have been enjoyable. We may pick her up again in the spring and cruise a little while before bringing her back to our own dock. Previous blogs tell the story of the 2024 hurricane season in both North Florida and Snead Island areas.
We wish everyone a Happy New Year.
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