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Published: December 29th 2010
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Ft. Myers Beach
Do you suppose he paid for his mooring ball? Friday, 24 December
We left Ft. Myers Beach after a pleasant night’s sleep, with no worries about slipping anchors or high winds. The winds were from the NE so we ran as close to shore as possible, ¾ to 1 ½ miles off, to avoid the worst of the chop. At Marco Island we took the inside passage up the Marco River to Goodland then across Gullivan Bay, anchoring next to Panther Key in the Ten Thousand Islands. Thus we missed the shoals of Cape Romano without having to go several miles out into the Gulf . The Christmas Eve sky was glorious with billions of stars and the Milky Way clearly visible..
Saturday, 25 December
The wind died late in the morning, then picked up again in the early afternoon, changing to south. The water was becoming pretty choppy by the time we reached Little Shark River in the western Everglades.
Little Shark River was wider than we expected, lined with Mangroves, and with a strong reversing current. We saw dolphins in the river and pelicans, ibis, herons and egrets. We rafted the boats together and Trevor dropped their stern anchor to keep us straight in the river.
Panther Key
Anchorage in Ten Thousand Islands The wind and the current picked up through the evening and, just after we went to bed, we heard an odd sound and the boats shifted, turning at an angle to shore. The stern anchor had slipped, and the waves were slapping the sides of the boats. After deciding we were secure, we went back to bed for yet another restless night.
Sunday, 26 December
We pulled up the stern anchor, realized it slipped because there was no chain on it, and added chain from our spare anchor. Then Kerry and Trevor dinghied the anchor out and reset it, leaving us straighter in the river. Sunday night was much more peaceful in spite of wind gusts to gale force.
Monday, 27 December
Monday was another quiet day with diminishing winds, though we could still hear the wind in the treetops. In the afternoon we moved the boats closer to the mouth of the river. The current was a little quieter and it would be closer to the gulf in the morning. Sara and Kerry threw out fishing lines, but didn’t have a nibble.
Tuesday, 28 December
When we left the shelter of the river, the gulf was
Panther Key
Sunrise on Christmas morning choppy. The waves were on our beam until were 1-2 miles out and able to turn south. We then had a following sea and winds from behind us. We were moving quickly, but the water was still pretty bumpy. We were past Cape Sable almost before we knew it (yeah, right) and into Florida Bay. Florida Bay was a minefield of crab pots, some in bunches, some in lines close together, some seeming randomly placed. There was no relaxing, just a constant lookout for floats. Even once we got into Moser Channel, which runs between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and under the Seven Mile Bridge, we had to dodge those darned crab pots.
Once we got to the dredged channel leading to the house we’d all rented, we thought we had it made. But no, silly concept. When we started to turn for the canal that runs next to the house, the water shallowed quickly and a man from a house in front of us waved us off. He told us the water got very shallow with hard rock, then gave us directions on getting in. We got in without incident, relayed the directions to
Shark River
Wide, mangrove-lined, and far from everywhere Sara and Trevor, and got both boats tied up happily at the house. We were not pleased, though, that the owners had not warned us, having advertised deep water at their dock.
However, the hugs and kisses we received from all six grandkids, our two sons and their lovely sweethearts, and my mother made the whole tiring day seem worth it. The evening was filled with wonderful company, a delicious dinner, and great showers.
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laurie Gray
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Have been thinking about you
Yeah! I've been wondering where you spent Christmas this year. SO glad you arrived and are now spending time with your family. This cold nasty weather on the east coast has been amazing. Makes me wonder if the Gulf Coast is really worth it! Maybe we'll pick up the Great Loop in Florida and avoid some of this . . . . John and I have an opportunity for some consulting work in the next few months which will fund additional travel, so I don't think the Great Loop is on for 2011 for us. Maybe 2012? But we'll follow your adventures and wish we could be sharing electrolytes with you two!