BOOT KEY – LITTLE SHARK RIVER – 44 Miles
Part 7
This was an important trip for me. It would mark the first time going on a major trip without the assistance of a Captain. And it offered everything…including ALLIGATORS swimming around my boat in a remote anchorage!!! More on that a little later.
The water tanks, diesel fuel tanks, gasoline fuel tanks and propane tanks were topped off; engine checked (oil, belt tension, fuel filter and coolant. Provisions were purchased for meals; the marina was notified that I would be gone for 7-10 days; and my oldest daughter was emailed my float plan; and, the boat was clean and ready to go. Phew!
Even though I am eating well, my weight still seems low. After looking at the chores involved in just getting ready for a trip it’s no wonder. Hell, I must burn a ton of calories a day just going up and down the companion way steps. I know my legs feel stronger than ever…from that and climbing in an out of the dinghy. Which reminds me, when stepping up several feet onto a wall from your dinghy do not use just the strength of one leg to get you up….the Stairmaster in the gym was never that difficult. My hamstring took several days to recover.
I keep getting reminded I’m not as young as I use to be…. It’s a tough lesson to learn and one day I expect to learn it…but its coming slowly.
Several days before departure I saw some masts sticking up across highway 1 and wandered back to investigate. I discovered a tiny, private marina with about 10 Island Packets parked (the same type of boat as mine).
A gentleman stopped me and said “this is a private marina, can I help you?” I said, “Oh I have an Island Packet across the way at Burdines and just came to check out the area”. “Oh”, he said, “you said the magic word; “Island Packet”. He added, “You’re welcome to look around”.
There were a variety of Island Packets there, an Estero, 38s, 35s, 44s. Everyone was very friendly (as most cruisers are). People came up to me and introduced themselves and asked about myself and my boat. They invited me back the next day for cocktails. I went and visited for a while, and they invited me back two days later for a potluck. I learned that several of them were heading out in a few days for a trip up the west coast of Florida then would return in 3 weeks or so and they were all going to meet in Biscayne Bay (Miami) and head to the Bahamas.
I told them I was planning a trip up the West coast also and they invited me to join them. I wouldn’t be ready in time, but told them perhaps I’ll catch up with them. We parted company and I hoped to see my new friends again.


Page Two
After checking several different sources for weather forecasts online (especially passageweather.com), I picked the 18th to head out. The first place to anchor heading North from Boot Key is Little Shark River. This river is in the Everglades and there is nothing there except a variety of wildlife and mangroves. It is simply a safe anchorage and nothing more.
Leaving around 9AM (later than I had planned) I headed out of Boot Key and under the 7-Mile Bridge and into Moser Channel. After weaving your way past some shoals and tiny keys you head almost due north to Little Shark River.
Both winds and seas were calm, little or no sailing but motoring would be the order of the day. It was a beautiful day. There were the usual crab pots to avoid and a few fishing boats, otherwise nothing. I was out of sight of land… Yikes!
I arrived at 15:45 to Little Shark River. I had been here exactly one-year ago during my last sailing lesson. When the upper shroud broke in the middle of the night heading back from Key West we took refuge here.
Pulling into the river there were a couple boats anchored in the first little cove. The depth of this river is good so I headed back further into the river and found a large anchorage with about a dozen boats in it. And it was a beautiful cove.
It took 4 attempts to set the anchor. Hmmm? What am I doing wrong? I need to mark my anchor chain better so I know how much I’m letting out. This guessing thing isn’t working. During the night I thought I was dragging as I kept hearing a grinding noise. It was not a restful sleep!! I kept getting up every couple of hours trying to decide if I was dragging and what the noise was. Not good. Compounding my worries that night was sleep deprivation. In addition to all that, there was a constant crackling noise all night long. It sounded like a fireplace crackling away on a cold winter night and that’s what I imagined to help me tune it out.
I later learned that the anchoring four anchoring attempts were not the result of anything I was doing wrong. The bottom is rock…thus very difficult to get your anchor to catch. The trick is laying out a lot of chain to keep you from drifting. And that grinding noise I heard from time-to-time throughout the night was the chain rolling over the rock….not the anchor dragging.
As for the crackling sound, that was coming from very tiny “snapping shrimp”. They’re about the size of the first joint of my finger and they feed off the algae on the bottom of the boat. So, while I slept I was getting the bottom of my boat cleaned by these tiny buggers.



Page Three
The anchorage was beautiful. The sunset awesome. You are surrounded by mangroves, in the middle of the Everglades with egrets and other types of birds all around….and the quiet was something else. Not a sound. Well, not a sound until that blood curtailing screech I heard at 2AM……I envisioned an alligator chomping on some unsuspecting animal. Oh, well back to sleep…..NOT!
And, the best news of all, this time of year there were no bugs. It is a magical anchorage with its own unique beauty…and…no cell service and no internet service…only wilderness. Not everyone would find beauty in this cove…but I did. I don’t remember ever being in a place that was so quiet.
Tomorrow….the trip to Marco Island. Sorry, the alligator story will have to wait until my blog on my return trip to Little Shark River.