Day 23- Saturday, 2-2-08 - North Captiva Island to Naples

With the bridge from Punta Rassa to Pt Ybel on Sanibel Island receding in our rear view mirror, the crew bid adios to the ICW, Pine Island Sound and San Carlos Bay and entered the Gulf for the leg to Naples, the last short leg before the 100 mile or so to Key West but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Since the crew's will for showers crumbled after last night's dinner at the Crow's Nest Restaurant at 'Tween Waters Inn & Marina followed by coffee and animal crackers on the boat, everyone agreed to assemble at 6 am the next morning to trek to the four bathrooms for showers. Having showered the crew returned to the boat for a scrumptious breakfast of French toast prepared ala Master Chef Sara who used the leftover bread from our previous night's meal. The tide was flooding when we awoke but the overnight low tide had left only about 0.3 ft below the keel of Last Dance so we delayed our departure until the water rose about another 0.4 ft. Although still concerned about water depth, we slowly made our way out the 'Tween Water's channel to the ICW without incident. Before reaching the ICW, Gerry and Roger decided to raise the mainsail in hopes that it would provide some boost for the engine. For a time their plan worked, but they decided to drop the main when the wind came around dead on the nose of the boat. The ICW carried us out of Pine Island Sound, a gorgeous body of azure blue water, into San Carlos Bay and finally into the Gulf. Along the way, we saw numerous birds, boats of all sizes and dolphin, but sailboats seem to be the minority choice of boaters. Some folks have no taste! Between the channel markers and information provided by the chart plotter, the course was fairly straightforward. Prior to initiating our approach to the pass into the Bay, we passed the intersection of Mile 0 on the ICW and the western terminus of the Ockeechobee Waterway. We're hopeful of following the Waterway on our return trip, allowing us to cross FL through canals and the Lake from Stuart to Fort Meyers. Reading the navigation chart, we expected to find another bascule bridge at the exit from San Carlos Bay but were delighted to find that it had been replaced by a high vertical clearance fixed bridge. This likely disappointed Jean since she couldn't add to her now extensive collection of bascule bridge pictures. Once we passed under the bridge and cleared the entrance channel, we raised our mainsail again and set a heading of about 160 degrees magnetic to Gordon Pass at Naples. As we continued along our track, we were able to deploy the jib and sail (ok with a little help from the engine) at about 6 kts. Much to our amazement, the entire coast from Fort Meyers to Naples was lined with high rise condos- probably filled mostly with persons of the northern persuasion. The waypoint in the chart plotter brought us right into the outer marker of Gordon Pass. As we approached the Pass, the housing changed from high rise condos to massive individual residences-one of which was painted an in-your-face frosty pink- Gerry suggested that it might be Mary Kay's residence? The Pass was well-marked and lined with more impressive homes leading us into Naples Bay. As we made our way in the channel towards our mooring for the night, the Naples City Dock, the gals took on the role of architectural critics dissecting the architectural tastes of the rich and famous- it wasn't pretty! After refueling, we moored in our slip getting help from the sailor in the neighboring slip. Being already past the beginning of the cocktail hour, Roger mixed the crew "jimsicles"- a libation of coconut rum and orange juice which is both healthy and tasty - and Sara heated the leftover pizza from the previous night for snacks. Once sufficiently relaxed, the crew walked 5 blocks to the center of Naples where the outdoor cafes were bustling with customers. After some investigation and discussion, the crew settled on the Barcelona Caf�, a small tapas caf� with outside seating off the main drag. Gerry was the most adventurous ordering marinated anchovies and saut�ed shrimp with garlic. The walk back was sufficiently strenuous to justify ice cream cones for all. Before hitting their berths for the night, Gerry and Roger laid plans for the 100 mile or so leg to Key West at a bearing of 188 deg M. They turned in, hopeful of the opportunity to actually operate Last Dance for her intended purpose-that is, SAIL! (RKS)