Underway Day 99:

Today was a long, rough, and windy day. There was a small craft advisory in effect. We were outrunning the hurricane and the various no wake/manatee zones frustrated our progress. We were often headed into the wind, at low speed, which caused the boat to sneeze and blow spray at us. There were, at times, thousands of birds, flying erratically.

We cruised through Sarasota, and the Blackburn Swing Bridge opened right away for us. The Albee Bridge did the same. Venice was very scenic and the houses were very nice. The weather showed the hurricane passing directly West of us, offshore.

As we entered Pine Island Bay, outside of Ft. Meyers, we were hit with a nasty storm cell. The waves kicked up to 4-6 feet, stacked up like razor blades. It was blowing 25-30 knots with pounding rain. It was dark at 2pm. We plowed into it, taking massive spray and lots of water. We did not see, smell or feel any of the reported Red Tide with Cyanobacteria that I had been concerned about. A good thing, since we were doused in this water. We were safe but it was uncomfortable and frustrating, to say the least. I elected to take a short cut through a shallow but more protected area. 45 minutes later, our hellish ride was over. The Matlacha Pass Bridge opened right away for us, and we were clear of the weather.

Once we got into the Caloosahatchee River, things settled down and we were able to make good time. We arrived at the Franklin Lock, just before it closed and locked up only six inches. We grabbed a slip at the state park marina/campground for $30 and gave the boat a good wash down before cooking dinner and calling it an early night after a long day.
We were exhausted, but now safely out of the path of Hurricane Michael. Thank God Mombo is fast!