Shark River is a pretty exclusive resort. First of of all, you need a big stinking boat to get here. It is about 50 miles south of Marco Island. If you look at a map Florida, Marco is where civilization ends and wilderness begins. The most famous wilderness is the Florida Everglades, but there are hundreds of miscellaneous scrubby islands along the south west coast that no one ever visits except those with a small boat and a lot of mosquito repellent.
On our trip today we enjoyed a delightful sail. We departed our secluded anchorage just north of Marco at 7:30 a. m. which by daylight savings time looks much like 6:30 am. Flat seas and calm winds are a pleasant start to the day when the coffee hasn’t really kicked in. We cruised down the seemingly wild inland waterway to Capri Pass which exits to the Gulf. From there we have to circumnavigate the Cape Romano Shoals before heading on course to our final destination, a pretty little river which delves deeply into the everglades near the southern tip of the mainland.
Fortunately for us, mid-morning the winds did pick up and we were able to throw up all 3 sails, main, jib, and mizzen and cruise southwards at about 6 knots. Do the math: that is more than an 8 hour sail if the winds hold up, which they did not. Mid-afternoon the winds all but died and we engaged the diesel to motor sail of the rest of the afternoon. About 3:30 the forecast wind shift occurred and we got a boost from the breeze to take us into our destination.
For those of you who love to eat Florida Blue Crab or Stone Crab, I hope you know what a hindrance to navigation are the hundreds of crab traps strategically placed along our route southward. It was a sunny day with flat seas, so dodging the traps wasn’t too difficult, and kept us awake on an otherwise lackadaisical sail. I’m not complaining, just commenting. It seems the closer we got to the everglades, the more traps sprang up. At least, today, we didn’t need to crash head on into 3 foot seas with a headwind while avoiding them. I may have a little post traumatic stress.
We sailed into Shark River about 5 pm followed by several other well equipped sailboats which arrived from the south. It is a nice stopping off point on the long southern coast. The only annoyance were an attack of no-se- ums just before sundown. A generous application of OFF and citronella candles saved the evening. We grilled some hamburgers on deck, then watched the sun go down while the gentle currents rocked the boat. I’m getting sleepy just writing this.
Tomorrow we head for Marathon, and if you can read this we have returned to the land of cell service.
More to come.