It's difficult to explain how great it is to get back on land after being on the boat for an extended period of time. It's certainly not because we get tired of the boat. After all, we did live aboard for over 9 years and moved off the boat only because it was too good an opportunity to pass up. We certainly missed the ice maker. Using trays on the boat makes you plan ahead.
We are still in the slip. The outboard for the dinghy is done and is to be brought back today. Do not know what was wrong. The fact that the mechanic did not call is encouraging. Since we came in Monday morning, we have changed the oil and transmission fluid, defrosted the freezer, cleaned the anchor rode, and washed the boat. It is ready to go again. However, I'm not sure we are. It's pushing 90 degrees and high humidity. Summertime in Florida is returning. We can go out for a day of sailing in Charlotte Harbor and be back at home for the night. The only draw back is the boat is still provisioned for several more weeks of cruising.
If we don't get back on the water as originally planned, we'll just have to cruise vicariously with Duane and Diane on Diva Di as it heads north to Maine. They also blog on Sailblogs.com.
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Sunday afternoon we decided to head back to our marina to address several issues, since we were nearby and the predicted weather would limit what we could do. So, we pulled the hook Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. to get to the 7:30 a.m. bridge opening at Boca Grande. The wind then was 10 to 15 mph. By the time we got to Charlotte Harbor an hour later, it was a steady 20+ withgusts to 25. There were swells 0f 2 to 3 feet, all on the nose. Although there was an incoming tide against the wind, it did give us a good boost to limit the time in those waters. By the time we were entring the channel into the marina, the winds had built to 25, gusting to 29. Our slip is in the back basin which offers great protection. Nevertheless, docking was a bit interesting as the wind was behind us and just blew us into the slip. Good thing our dock lines were in place. We definitely made the right decision as the wind increased to gusts of 35 during the afternoon. The other good news is that our mechanic picked up our outboard by 3:00 p.m. and will have it back by the end of the week. Good timing to go back out. After all, our boat is provisioned for another few weeks of cruising.
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Looks like this chapter of Cruise 2012 is over, at least for a while. Yesterday we intended to stay here for a couple of days until the weather settled down and then head north for a couple of weeks. Now, we are going back to Burnt Store Marina to address a few issues.
This morning we dinghyed over to the beach for at least a 3 mile walk along the Gulf. We must have picked up at least 100 sharks' teeth and got to visit with a very good friend that lives on the island. On the way back to our boat, I noticed our dinghy motor was not discharging cooling water. Not good! I turned it off and prepared to row back when a passing boat offered us a tow. Most boaters are so helpful as we have all been in bad situations before. The motor probably needs a new impeller which is not an easy task even if I had one.
Yesterday our autohelm began to act up. It's a luxury item and we can get along without it.
The good news is that if we go back now we may be able to take advantage of an invitation to attend a minor league baseball game with free beer and hotdogs next weekend. That's an easy decision.
Like I have said before, go with the flow and keep your options open. Besides, this cruise may not be over. Just a time out.
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Hope you keep up with us; we'll see how it goes.
We are now anchored in our favorite anchorage, Cape Haze, just north of Charlotte Harbor. We have spent over 90 nights here in the past 9 years. It offers excellent protection in all directions and is a short dinghy ride to a great park on the Gulf. With a northerly predicted and possible storms, we headed here from last night's anchorage at Glover Bight. Sure beats going to our home base at Burnt Store.
On our trip north this morning, we actually had our head sail out, making 7 knots at time. What a nice ride and the ICW was not all that busy. We are staying here for a couple of days and if the weather is okay, we will head out Stump Pass and go up to Gulfport and visit friends. Our cruising season is not over.
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Another long day today. We left LaBelle at 8:00 a.m., planning a 2 1/2 hour run to get the 11:00 a.m. Franklin lock opening. We made it with time to spare. However, the lock did east bound traffic first - 1 boat. Meanwhile the 5 west bound boats had to wait until 11:20 a.m. Before entering the lock. Other than that, we moved right along.
We arrived at our destination of Glover Bight at 3:30 p.m. After fuel, pump out, and some water, we dropped our anchor. Always a great spot. It was a long day and the boat traffic from Ft. Myers was unreal. Very tired as we have been on the move for four days. Tomorrow we go north to Cape Haze to ride out the predicted northerly. After that, who knows? Certainly not home.
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Not only are we in LaBelle, as you will note, we are stern to the City Dock. This is a free dock, right by the library, for a total of three nights. You are not allowed to tie up to it along the side of your boat. That way, maybe three boats would fit. So, you do what is called a Mediterranean mooring which means you drop an anchor out in the deep water and then back into the dock and tie off, That way you can fit six to seven boats on the same dock. We arrived around 1:00 p.m. this afternoon and much to our surprise, no other boats were here. Patty and I actually looked like we knew what we were doing. We have been traveling the last couple of days with a 32 foot Endavour as they head to their home in Port Charlotte. They were impressed.
This dock is two blocks from downtown and right next to the library that has wifi. We did go into town for an early afternoon beverage and to cool down in some air conditioning. Well worth it. We found out about a Little Caesar's nearby so we opted for pizza. After we returned, we discovered that the dock has 30 amp service so we plugged in and are now running our air conditioning to cool the boat down.
I had previously forgotten to mention the alligators between Clewiston and Moore Haven. There must have been over 40 of various sizes. Some were as big or bigger than me. Quite the trip.
Tomorrow we are going to Glover Bight near Sanibel. We are looking at the weather as it is supposed to turn northerly this weekend. So, on Saturday, we may head to our favorite anchorage, Cape Haze, which offers great protection from all directions. After that, who knows where we will go.
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hope you have a great cruise in SW Florida.
If you go up as far as the Manatee River, a new dinghy dock allows access to Emerson Point Perserve. The dock is across the river from the cross. Check our blog for pictures.
