On the last weekend in October, we anchored in the Little Shark River (!) to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Everglades. We were expecting a stormy weekend courtesy of Tropical Storm Phillipe, so this quiet little anchorage seemed perfect. We are going to tell you all about the swirling waters and 40-60 knot winds, which were quite exciting ;( but we heard that Phillipe joined with another system and wreaked some havoc in New England. So no whining here – hope everyone has recovered from whatever damage was done! After Little Shark River we went to Indian Key. That was pretty but there was traffic nearby and our exposure to the wind was less than comfortable. From there we went to Panther key – a really beautiful spot. We took the dinghy out for a ride around Hog Key and enjoyed the quiet of the area. Bob tried to put the sail up on the dinghy with some success -more practice is needed. He did, however, get some good rowing practice in that day! From Panther Key we made a long day into night run to Fort Myers. Fort Myers offers really nice moorings but they are first come, first serve. In the dark, Robin deftly (with barely suppressed terror) guided us into the harbor, under a bridge, and through a crowded mooring field only to find that none of the moorings were available! So, back under the bridge to an area near the Coast Guard Station where anchoring is allowed. After three tries we got a good hold and Robin, rattled and exhausted from the experience of navigating in the dark, soon found sleep while Bob did a couple hours of anchor watch. After a that we decided to spend the day at anchor to recover nerves and give Blue Bonnet a rest. Cayo Costa State park was our next destination. We had good protection from the West but the winds seemed to be more northerly than predicted. We thought we had a solid hold on the anchor but at 3am, with rolling waves and a thud under the keel, we found that we were dragging -just a little but enough to make us uneasy. SO – at 3:15am we set sail in the dark! Though none of these experiences have been really dangerous and we got through them without incident, we decided to make our way toward Tampa Bay. The scenery offered by the intercoastal route may have been interesting but this hurricane season moved some shoals to places where our charts show deep water. Shoals, bridges and traffic inside led us to decide that an outside passage would work better. (Even on the outside in the Gulf of Mexico, Robin managed to find a new, uncharted shoal to run aground on!) November 6, 2017: Monday morning is here now. We are nicely anchored with two other boats at Egmont Key. Last evening’s sunset gave us a nice view of the Skyway Bridge across the bay, but a heavy fog this morning has really hindered the photo ops. Once the fog burns off, we will make our way to the Gulfport Municipal Marina to spend that day cleaning. We plan to be in the slip for two weeks while we visit friends and have a small Thanksgiving celebration with Robin’s parents.
8 Comments
11/6/2017 03:46:35 pm
Great blog - so excited to follow your adventures!!!
Reply
Jewels
11/6/2017 04:29:57 pm
Love reading about your adventures! You are missed M stay safe. See you out to sea one day.....
Reply
Robin
11/6/2017 05:19:05 pm
You guys! Come down any time.
Reply
Tracy Morrin
11/6/2017 05:25:55 pm
This is just SO EXCITING!!! Looking forward to every single post. Hoping we can see each other next year. We will be on the ICW in NC. It will be super great to catch up!!!
Reply
Robin
11/9/2017 02:07:59 pm
Tracy! That would be awesome!
Reply
Debbie M
11/6/2017 06:51:27 pm
Love reading about your adventures! Stay safe and have fun.
Reply
Teres
11/10/2017 10:13:34 am
You crazy people! Keep using caution 🦈🦈🦈🦈
Reply
Dennis Wagner
11/15/2017 08:11:47 am
Great, albeit daunting tales on the high seas. Can't wait to see you guys this weekend and to meet Blue Bonnet and Pudgy for the first time.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorRobin and Bob recently quit their jobs, sold all their belongings, and headed south to begin a new life on the sea. Check back here to find out how life adrift is going. Archives
February 2019
Categories |