We departed the land of Izod this morning at 1000. Exited Boca Grande Pass and headed southeast along the beautiful coastline. We passed Pine Island, Captiva Island and the cape around Sannibel Island. The wind was blowing 10-15 out of the east and we enjoyed a romping sail at a respectable 5 to 6 knots. I tried all kinds of sail trim trying to find her best set-up.
As we rounded the cape, the wind really hit us and picked up to a solid twenty. It was also now right on our bow and we had to roll up the genny. We motorsailed for a while and watched as ominous black clouds built up along the coast toward our destination. Discretion being the better part of valor, we headed in to Ft. Myers where we now are tied to a mooring in a mooring field run by the city. What a scam! It used to be free to anchor here but I guess too many derelict boats moved in and nastied the place up. So we paid $26 for two nights.
Tomorrow is going to be project and maintenance day. We have a bad forecast for the next couple of days so we'll take advantage of the standdown by knocking out some items on the to-do list. We had some engine issues on the way in. The fuel filter was clogging up due to the new point of sail (our first port tack). All the algae in the bottom of the tank was getting sucked into the fuel line and slowed us down.
This place is pretty cool. It's definitely boat oriented and there are sailboats of every type all over the place. We actually went on our first official dingy ride as newbie cruisers! We had to go check in and pay for the mooring. The dingy dock was under a bridge where people were fishing. We had to dodge their lines and suffer the ill looks they were shooting at us. I couldn't say anything as I've been in their shoes many a time! Oh well!
So now it's time to turn in and get some much needed sleep.