Antares Cruising East

Vessel Name: Antares
Vessel Make/Model: Endeavour 37 Ketch
Hailing Port: Toledo, OH
Crew: John and Evelyn
About: John started sailing as a kid and he hasn't stopped (neither sailing nor being a kid). He introduced Evelyn to sailing in 2000 and together have been cruising Lake Erie.
Extra:
Left the lake for the ocean late August 2013. We traversed the Erie Canal, headed down the Hudson River, and tried to keep up with summer weather on our way to Florida. Each winter season since, we leave the snow behind, drive to sunny Florida, prepare Antares for the nomad life for half a [...]
07 February 2023 | Glades Boat Storage
26 December 2014 | Ft. Myers Beach to Key West
24 December 2014 | Ft. Myers
13 December 2014 | LaBelle, FL
18 November 2014 | La Belle, FL
19 December 2013 | Marathon Key
19 December 2013 | Marathon Key
20 November 2013
02 November 2013
30 September 2013 | B-Ville, NY
15 September 2013
15 September 2013
09 September 2013
06 September 2013 | Buffalo, NY
Recent Blog Posts
07 February 2023 | Glades Boat Storage

Can we still do this?

John and I are back at it again. Finally, we are able to return to our s/v Antares after a long bout of physical ailments. So we lost the first 3 months of plan/preparation/upgrade/replace/reconfigure "to-do" list. That list is now reduced to just preparation. That may change, but as all things sailing, [...]

26 December 2014 | Ft. Myers Beach to Key West

Sailing the Gulf of Mexico

Wednesday, December 10, 2014. Engine won't start. John switched the battery indicator to "All" and that worked. The air temperature is 46 (perhaps that's the reason she wouldn't start), northwest winds 10-15 mph and diminishing, waves 5 feet and decreasing, clear skies, high today of 65, continual [...]

24 December 2014 | Ft. Myers

On the Caloosahatchee River

December 2, 2014. Today was to be a short day with a 14 mile trip to the LaBelle free docks. We could check systems, make adjustments, finish bending on the sails, and fill the water tank. We had to go through the Ortona Lock, an eight foot drop only a few miles from the Glades. It was a beautiful, [...]

13 December 2014 | LaBelle, FL

Glades Boat Yard

November 13 -December 1, 2014

18 November 2014 | La Belle, FL

Continuing the Journey, Round 2

Tuesday, October 28, 2014. Leaving Toledo is about to finally happen. I feel we spent the entire summer preparing for this moment. The van is stuffed to the rooftop; the seats removed for the added space. We expect to leave right after the water department shuts off the tap at the curb. All day [...]

19 December 2013 | Marathon Key

Day 104-107 Cruising the Keys

Our first visitors from home at Dinner Key Marina were so welcome. Stef and Roy (Anchor Pointe Marina!) found us at the dock and what a great greeting! We spent time with them and this is when I first found out that more people were reading our blog than just the few we knew of. I apologize for not [...]

On the Caloosahatchee River

24 December 2014 | Ft. Myers
neverending summer
December 2, 2014. Today was to be a short day with a 14 mile trip to the LaBelle free docks. We could check systems, make adjustments, finish bending on the sails, and fill the water tank. We had to go through the Ortona Lock, an eight foot drop only a few miles from the Glades. It was a beautiful, calm day as we headed toward the Gulf. Around 8:00 am I began hailing the lock tender on the hand-held VHF radio to request an opening. No response, so I called again on the larger Raytheon VHF radio. Again, no response. We were some distance away yet, so I wasn’t concerned. We figured the tender was probably away from his radio and couldn’t answer right away. By the time we were at the lock and waiting, I was getting a bit impatient at the lack of response. We hovered almost one hour. Another boat came up and told us that they could hear us and tried to reply. They, too, could get no answer from the lock tender. Now, what are the odds that both radios could only transmit? John began troubleshooting the main radio. At first he planned to install the new one we had on hand, but after detaching the antenna cable from the Raytheon, he noticed the corrosion. A few swipes with sandpaper and we began to receive transmissions. Between the two radios, we had one working radio! One problem temporarily solved, but where was the lock tender? Then we got the call that the lock was open. Earlier, during that hour wait, I telephoned the lock and got an answering machine. I then called the LaBelle Bridge tender to see if she could help. She gave me the Army Corp of Engineers number. They, too, had an answering machine and I left a message. The gentleman who was working the lock was the supervisor. He had gotten word at 8:10 am that there was no one tending the lock. He must have driven like a mad man to get here from Clewiston so quickly. This lock is gravity feed. The gates at the downstream end were opened slightly to release the water slowly for a drop of eight feet. We were on our merry way.

Around 9:45, Bill on s/v Escape Pod and Caroline (of TheBoatGalley.com fame) on s/v Barefoot Gal were doing a radio check at the boat yard. We were 8 ½ miles away and our main radio was transmitting and receiving well. By 10:30 am, we were at the LaBelle docks. There are slips for 6 boats, three were in use. This is a fine location for access to water, electricity, and amenities. We put on the main sail and then John took the bike to get items at the hardware store. We now had hot and cold pressure water, but the sensor had to be tapped to activate when the pressure got low. (It was hardly considered inconvenient after only having jugs of cold water that we had to carry to the boat for the last month). S/v Escape Pod joined us at the free docks so John and Bill shared a round of beer and a round of stories with the other sailors already here.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014. It was warm and clear with a light east wind as we left LaBelle. Already, the little Nimble motor vessel and s/v Antigone had left. We helped s/v Salty Spray leave and he told us about anchoring at Bimini Basin as a great stopping place across from Ft. Myers about a mile in up a canal. We considered it, but planned to anchor across from the Ft. Myers Yacht Basin between the Edison Bridges and the Route 41 Bridge. Bill was going to stay at LaBelle another day to work on his hard dodger some more. All the bridges and the lock that we had to open were “on request” so there were no schedules to keep. We passed through the Denaud Swing Bridge and the Alva Bascule Bridge. The Franklin Lock west side is on tidal water and we only dropped one foot. After the State Route 31 Bascule Bridge, we no longer needed to request openings. All the rest were either already open or at least 55 feet tall. We only need 46 feet.

About 3:00 pm, we stopped for a free pump out at the city marina, and anchored across the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) between the bridges. Several boats, including s/v Salty Spray and another from the boat yard were already settled in. We decided to find Bimini Basin on the charts and it seemed interesting. We called TowBoatUS for information and Jerry told us all about it including upcoming activities there. He informed us where to avoid the shallow spots and how the incoming tide can help. With all this info, we decided we would go to Bimini Basin next.

John says: All systems good, inverter gave us BBT, Origo-a hot meal, Perkins-hot water for shower, Jabsco-good water pressure; Corona and Angry Orchard the final soothing for our first sunset at anchor.

Thursday, December 4, 2014. It’s another beautiful day for cruising toward the Gulf of Mexico. We started at 8:30 am; several boats have already moved on already. Slowly…slowly, we followed the channel markers back to the ICW during the low tide. We took our time going the 14 miles to arrive on the incoming tide at the approach to Bimini Basin. John says: Observed sport fisher with excessive wake. Chatter was heard on channel 16 regarding boat violating no wake standard. Evelyn gave the one-finger salute and screamed “a**hole!!” She said it was a great stress reliever. Evelyn recanted morning knot tying lesson as the “sheep bend.” I said, “No, that’s what sheep herders use”. The knot is called a sheet bend.

Two and a half hours later, we made the turn at Red-86 toward Bimini Basin, Cape Coral. Cautiously we approached the canal… not much water under us, maybe two feet… once in the canal, we had plenty of water and paid more attention to the beautiful homes, boats, and landscapes here. The one overhead powerline was not a problem. After the curve to the basin, there were about seven boats, including s/v Salty Spray at anchor. There is a park to the northwest with dinghy docks, a beach, and boat ramp. Houses, apartment buildings, and small canals skirt the rest of the basin. You can see commerce across the street from the park and the road traffic seemed minimal at this distance. A hound dog on s/v La Famille announced our arrival and solar panels were charging at a rate of 8 amps. We headed for shore to find the perfect trio of stores: Ace Hardware, West Marine, and Winn-Dixie. First, we made the recommended stop for ice cream at the edge of the park. Here we debated whether to continue, because it was a much longer walk than expected. What else had we planned to do today? We went to all three stores and two more for good measure. Back at the park, we rested in the shade a bit before going back aboard to ready for tomorrow’s departure. Dueling conchs at sundown had everyone laughing, and that old hound dog was still making announcements.

Friday, December 5, 2014. We need to pay attention to the batteries after the sun goes down. Voltage was down to 12.6 on the battery bank this morning so the engine was slow to start. (John keeps the fully charged starter battery in reserve). It was cloudy, 69 degrees, light wind, tide coming in. There’s a one foot tidal swing this time of year, so we knew we had enough depth. We measured 2 ½ miles back to the ICW. I suppose that’s equivalent to a country mile, right? Around 10:30 we got a bit confused at the split between the ICW channel that goes north inside the west coast, Green-101, and the channel that leads to the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of panic, we slowed, let other boaters pass us, compared the paper charts to the GPS, changed heading to 162 toward Green-13, and on to San Carlos Bay with Kitchel Key on our starboard beam. We are definitely better cruisers this year.

By 11:00 am, we entered the Gulf of Mexico. More blue sky showing and the grey clouds turning fluffy and white; winds light and variable…..Crap pot! The first one we actually had to avoid! At this point, there is no channel, but we made for the green marker that signaled the beginning of Matanzas Pass into the mooring field of Ft. Myers Beach. I am amazed at how close we are to the beach as we make our way in. We are assigned a ball way back in the east end mooring field. That’s a long dinghy ride to the office, showers, and Bonita Bill’s. On the other hand, we could go up a near-by canal and dock right behind Topps Grocery Store. John stepped on his new glasses, so after registering at Matanzas Inn at 2:00 pm, we set off to find OptiExpress. We took the 400 trolley across the bridge to the old Summerlin Mall, walked a mile, got a temporary repair, walked another mile, took the trolley back, had a 30 minute dinghy ride to our mooring ball, and arrived after sundown. House batteries were low, so we ran the Honda generator to bring them back up to 13 volts (one cup of gas and ½ hour). By 9:00 pm, we had lights out.
Saturday, December 6, 2014. We worked inside this morning making our home more comfortable. We mounted the vegetable hammock in the galley and changed out the lightbulbs for LED lights (John had to reverse the wiring). In the head we installed a clothes hook and reorganized storage so fewer items on the counter. We designated a drawer in the saloon for spare bulbs, hardware, and zip ties, another for electrical components, and leveled the light over the table. John took a hand with some laundry and also ran the generator again to battery level of 12.9 volts. The sunshine continued to charge the batteries. After lunch, we spruced up a bit for going ashore. A nice breeze, clouds and blue sky, and expecting some rain later didn’t stop us. We came back to Antares to watch the Christmas boat parade, but they didn’t parade (that I could see since we were in the east mooring field). There were some very decorative and innovative ideas, though. For the next couple of days, we took it easy going ashore, visiting the beach, restaurants, and shops, watching the people and the sunsets. We added 20 gallons of water to our tank 5 gallons at a time, each time we went ashore.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014. Harbor master came around to do a pump out, six days after the first one. We can go about 12 days, if we’re careful, but all pump outs in Florida are free so we take advantage when available. We also moved to a mooring ball in the west field, spent the afternoon at Bonita Bill’s, then pulled the dinghy and outboard on deck to get ready to shove off in the morning. This is one place where we could spend a month, but the weather gets worse in January, so getting 200 miles further south now makes a big difference in comfort.
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