The end of the Journey

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We are back at our friends house, tied to their dock, in Fort Myers.

It was an enjoyable trip with good weather but exceptionally high winds. That is always a concern but even more so in a house boat. The sailors we met said that the Keys don't usually get this weather, 30 knot winds are usually further south. It must be elnino. There are worst places than Islamorada to be waiting out the weather.

We went to happy hour every evening and listened to the live entertainment. We ran across the Canadian sailors we had danced with in LaBelle and had a good visit with them. She had interesting sailing yarns to relate from her single handing days. She has written three books about her adventures and mistakes she calls it. Boating is all about the scenery, the adventure and the colourful characters you meet along the way.

We got underway last Friday even if the winds were still high, it is that restless thing we have. When the Captain says lets just go out and see what it is like, I know he is going, it takes a lot to turn him around. It was rolly and windy but coming from behind so not uncomfortable. Difficult to stear though, a real work out on the arms and legs. Crab pots everywhere so lots of unnecessary steering required. I did very little driving in those conditions. We made it to Little Shark River after 6 hours of struggle.

Saturday was much better so we made our way to Marco Island where we took the inside passage through Goodland and back out on the Gulf for 20 miles to Fort Myers Beach. I don't care if I ever go back out in that Gulf, our boat is not designed for this kind of boating When the Gulf is calm you can see flying fish, sting rays, turtles and dolphins but with the week long high winds, the water was all churned up and murky. We saw very little wildlife.

We arrived at Fort Myers Beach on Sunday and joined the procession of pleasure boats out enjoying the weather. The Gulf was rolly again today and the winds still up but again coming on our stern so not so bad. It was only for 2 hours so we persisted and made it safely to our destination. We anchored in front of the coast guard station and dinghied ashore to our old haunt, Bonita Bills. We caught up with many friends, had some dinner and back to the boat. We sat on the bottom at low tide all night but were afloat by morning so off we went to Fort Myers.

We are back on the Caloosahatchie River where we belong. Not sure what is next, we shall wait and see.

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