MIDORI ADVENTURES

Our first night at anchor felt so great! Maybe because we know the anchorage and trust the holding, maybe because the adrenaline of getting underway has worn off, but we both slept well.

Last evening, we received two phone calls on our “pay as you go” cell phone from cruising friends. Surprisingly, because we think of Cayo Costa State Park as being quite remote. However, we were not able to make an international call to Canada. (I will have to follow up with Net 10 when we are back in civilization.) We did not run the generator and did not turn on our Verizon MiFi Hotspot in order to check email and Facebook! We did set off the SPOT (Satellite GPS Messenger) which is received by our families and a limited number of friends.

After our first cup of coffee, we are underway at 8:00 a.m. The sky is blue with a few clouds. Coming out of Pelican Pass, we turn south and are following the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GiWW) behind the barrier islands of Cayo Costa, North Captiva, Captiva and Sanibel islands which separate Pine Island Sound from the Gulf of Mexico.

The channel runs a jagged course, through pools of relatively deep water interspersed with great shallow bays. It is best to stay mid-channel and follow the navigational aids, i.e. not try to take any shortcuts!

The wind continues to be out of the NNE, so we are able to get some help from the self-tacking jib sail as we motor along.

We start off with the tide against us, but within an hour the tide switches and we are attaining speeds of 5.5 - 5.8 knots. There is not a lot of boat traffic today - until three hours later when we get to the southeastern tip of Pine Island. This next stretch to the start of the Okeechobee Waterway heading east through the Caloosahatchee River is known as the “miserable mile” because of the boat traffic coming from the east, the Keys and the southwest coast. And also because of strong cross currents. Our speed decreases to 3.8 knots. And the dolphins come out to play!

We reach green day beacon “1” at around noon and turn towards the Sanibel Causeway Bridge on Punta Rassa point. After passing under the 65’ fixed bridge, we cross San Carlos Bay to the Matanzas Pass which takes us behind Estero Island and into the harbor/mooring field at Fort Myers Beach.

Once into the Matanzas Pass, I phone the Matanzas Inn to find out what mooring balls might be available. There are many in the preferred north field which is close to the dinghy dock, office, and showers.

For the first time this season, I am mentally preparing myself to pick up the mooring ball. I am standing up front and in the centre of the trampoline, and have my two lines attached to the cleats, one on the starboard side and one on the port side - piled in such a way that I can grab the bitter end and not get crossed up on the bow rigging. Captain Brian slowly drives up to ball #9. I note that the pendant and line is covered in a thick plastic cover and when I try to get hold of it with the boat hook, it slips off. We are wearing our head sets aka “marriage savers” and I am trying to communicate “different, plastic, can’t get hold………lost it!” He is back in the cockpit and really can’t see what I’m talking about and what the problem is. He slowly turns and we go back for a second attempt. This time, I do get hold of it, but the current pulls the ball under the boat and I have to release the boat hook which would have taken me with it! As we turn around for another attempt, I run to the back starboard sugar scoop and manage to retrieve the floating boat hook with our old, short, broken one. I am now behind the cockpit and tell the Captain that I would like to try for a different ball. He still doesn’t understand why, but we go for #23 instead. This one has rope on it - something I can grab hold of, but as we get close, the current pushes the boat away. One more turn, and another attempt - and I am finally successful! I holler for “neutral” then put my starboard line through the eye and secure the line on the cleat. With the boat in neutral, the Captain comes out to help with the second line. The current is very strong, and with difficulty we manage to pull the pendant back and put the second line through the eye and secure the line to the port cleat. We know the pendant is too long, so now we take the time to adjust the length of our lines and re-thread the lines through the large shackle on the mooring ball. Done! it is 2:00 p.m.

We have travelled 28.1 nautical miles in 5 1/2 hrs. It is early enough to put the dinghy down, go in to the office to register, have a shower, and still make it to The Beach Whale for Happy Hour mussels!

We briefly discuss whether or not to get our portable gas tanks filled first, but decide we will have time to do it later.

Stay tuned!

First Mate Lynn

Note: Feel free to correct my use of the word.....is it pendant or pennant?