MIDORI ADVENTURES

It is 10:00 a.m. and after warming up the two 9.9 Yamaha outboards that power MIDORI, we are ready to depart the dock. Brady helps us cast off, but WAIT.....Brian can't seem to get the port engine in reverse! (I'm thinking the worst, because this happened to us 2 seasons ago with the starboard motor). Brady re-ties us and goes off to tend to other business. Brian "tinkers" for a few minutes, finds the shift cable disconnected, attaches it, and we are on our way!

An hour or so later, after meandering through "the lake" and past homes built on the canal waterway, we arrive at the self operating lock - our nemesis! Last year we purchased a remote control for the lock with the hope that it would negate the requirement to stop and tie up before entering and again upon exiting. But we're in luck, a power boat has just come through and hollers if we want the gate left open and we holler back "yes"! They also holler back "Are you sure your boat will fit?!" (MIDORI has a 16 ft. beam and the lock might be 18 ft. wide?) That's probably why we dread it so much!

Once we are in the lock with me on deck mid-ship with a boat line loosely draped around the cleat on the concrete wall and Brian at the stern doing the same, he uses the remote to activate the gate closure. That goes reasonably well, although he has to depress the button an extra time or two when the gate stops. Now he uses the remote to open the exit gate. This is where the water rushes out in order to reach the level of the bay side and we have to hold on tight. Again, he has to depress the button a couple of extra times because the gate stops during the process. As we enter the channel, I use the remote to close the gate behind us, but after several attempts, nothing happens! Not a courteous departure for the next boat, but nothing we could do about it. So, not sure the remote is really helping us.

As we enter the Myakka River, the water is choppy.....on our port beam. With the headsail out and a rising tide, we are motor sailing at speeds of 5.7 to 6.0 knots.

About three hours later, when we turn SW into Charlotte Harbour, we were expecting the "following" sea and the incoming tide to create more chop, but although the tide slows us down to 5.0 - 5.5 knots, the ride is much smoother. We continue for another two hours, until we reach the Gulf intracoastal waterway that passes behind the barrier islands of Cayo Costa, North Captiva, Captiva and Sanibel.

Our destination is Pelican Bay which is an anchorage in Cayo Costa State Park. Cayo Costa is south of Boca Grande Pass and we have fond memories of going to the beach at Boca Grande when visiting my parents - before we had a boat. The Pelican Pass entrance is dicey because of shoaling, and it is surprisingly close to shore, but we have our previous track and it is still daylight and we feel fairly confident, having gone in here many times over the years. This is where I captured the photo of the hundreds of white pelicans. Strange, but this is the first time we have ever seen them here and were astounded by the numbers and their size!

We are anchored by 3:25 p.m. Not bad for our first trip of the season. We have covered 29.8 nautical miles in 5 1/2 hrs.

Stay tuned,

First Mate Lynn