Fort Myers and on EAST

Fort Myers and heading on East

With brisk winds only slightly diminished, we headed south took a left turn up the Caloosahatchee River to Fort Myers Yacht Basin a few blocks from the heart of their refurbished downtown.  It is also handy to a Publix on the courtesy town trolley where we made a pit stop to restock.  Our main purpose for stopping in Fort Myers, however, was to pick up our new boat bikes.  The trusty bikes we used for a year on the loop were recalled and replaced by West Marine.  However, our replacements were not scheduled to arrive in Panama City before we left, so they kindly arranged for us to pick them up at their store in Fort Myers.  It was a short taxi ride to the West Marine superstore and a five mile ride back – we had to make stops for a new lock – somehow the old one got left on our shore bikes as did the bells which required yet another stop. Frankly I was grateful Florida is extremely flat (since the winds were still blowing) and we had those required stops for essentials so I could recover and hydrate. Our return route passed the busy Ford and Edison Winter Home complex which we visited several years ago – another good rest stop. 

With good luck there was a Farmer’s Market in the park with a tempting French Bakery stall – perfect for breakfast before a bike ride. Also a bonus, the Yacht Basin hosted a dock party on the local paddle wheeler the night of our arrival, but we passed on more water based fun for an evening on terra firma. 

We did meet several other Krogen owners in the Basin – one is for sale and the other a pristine 2008 44 where we were entertained by the owners, Glen and Linda with their adventures on land, sea and in the air.  We have rarely seen two Krogens in the same place let alone four (there was a Manatee also moored in the basin.)

On leaving Fort Myers we continued up the river through the locks leading toward Lake Okeechobee our shortcut to Stuart and the ICW. We soon realized that the boat behind us looked very familiar – it was a Krogen 39 being moved by charter captains from Pensacola to Stuart. We again had the strange experience of see ourselves passing us as he headed out a little faster than we travel.  We tag teamed all day and finally left him as we docked for the night in Moore Haven just before the lake. 

A few minutes later the boat that was a few miles behind us pulled in – another Krogen, this time a brand new KK55 with cordial Captain Peter and Admiral Anne.  They graciously gave us the full tour of their beautiful custom boat – where they comfortably live fulltime moving from winter harbors in Florida to summer digs in Massachusetts. While we find our boat comfy, theirs is palatial with full size appliances in the kitchen - truly a floating condo.  But for Steve, probably the most tempting feature is the walk in engine room. We will be sure not to stop at the Krogen office in Stuart since Peter and Anne only went in for some advice on upgrades to their ‘older’ Krogen 48 and ended up with their new home. They also kindly gave us their reservation in Indian Town since we had to wait  “two hours for the trains to clear before transiting the lock at Moore Haven.  At our slow speed we would have been arriving after dark in Stuart – our intended destination.  So, we sit secure on the Indian Town Marina dock with a gentle rain and power for the A/C if this humidity doesn’t break. The marina staff left at 2 – well before we arrived, but friendly fellow mariners jumped out to grab our lines and ease us into the dock. Life is good even the cats are happy.

 The big guy keeps busy!

 Did he see our 'Noles flag?

Chasing 70

Chasing 70 

– with only an occasional glimmer so far

Working our way south we cruised on the “outside” from Anclote Key to anchor just behind Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay.  Last year we visited this island which is largely a protected wildlife reserve and state park with the small tip devoted to a Coast Guard lighthouse. This time we arrived on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to join a fleet of large and small pleasure boats enjoying the sunshine and beach. We anchored on the northern end this trip, making a short walk from the beach to the lighthouse and across to the gulf side. Again the weather cooperated and we rested comfortably in calm water watching the massive cruise ships enter and exit the shipping channel next to our boat soothed by the gentle chime of the harbor bell.

From Egmont we headed south on the “inside” using the GICW or the Gulf Inter Coastal Waterway for a shortish run to Siesta Key where Bob met us on his dock to catch our lines.  We have known Bob and his wife Christy since our youth in Saudi Arabia – as Christy said, we all grew up together. They graciously hosted a feast for us and Linda and Pete also friends from our Aramco/Saudi days. We don’t see these folks often, but the years of separation disappear quickly as we rekindle the friendship bonds forged in our shared expat experiences. One of the pleasures of traveling is reconnecting with many of our widely scattered friends and family.  We also have to commend Bob for his help with the dock lines in a heavy mist – ok downpour.  We have actually had to get wet either docking or pulling out only a few times, since we tend to be fair weather sailors – so given the nasty wet weather, it was especially nice to have such competent and willing help to finish the job quickly.

In much better weather we headed south on the “inside”  for Pine Island Sound. Most of the bridges we needed to have open were “on demand” meaning when we arrived they opened on our request. Only one was on a schedule where we had a few minutes to wait.  However, the Tom Adams bridge experienced “an electrical problem” so we had to drop anchor and wait. We were the only boat on our side, but by the time they got it operating there were three sailboats hanging out on the southside. Fortunately, this all happened at lunch time so Steve got to eat in peace. We intended to anchor off Useppa Island and dink over to the famous Inn on Cabbage Key for dinner, but the 25 knot winds blew us into the shallows and the faithful TowBoatUS pulled us off.  We happily tied up at the Cabbage Key Marina to wait out the breeze in comfort. This morning the wind is still howling although less fiercely, so we will head to Fort Myers after a walk to explore the Indian Mounds on Cabbage Key. By the way, the restaurant lived up to its reputation for fine food and exotic décor. We added our cash to the stash (purported to consist of over $50,000 dollar bills papering all available wall and ceiling space) with the wish this is the only time in 2014 we need the services of TowBoatUS!