We never did get to a marina on Friday February 6th -- the local marina was full and the north winds made it impossible to get out of Charlotte Harbor, and even if we did there were no feasible anchoring or docking options for some distance. So, we stayed put, or rather we stayed on Freedom while she swung on the anchor chain. Getting in and out of the dinghy was a bit treacherous, so Ham had to be content with one trip to shore per day. #mostpatientboatdogever.
When we did make it to shore we enjoyed walking about Punta Gorda. There was an excellent free dinghy dock adjacent to the waterfront promenade allowing all of us to get onshore and stretch our legs. The winds died down enough on the morning of 7th so we headed in to the weekly Saturday Farmers Market. The highlight of this market for me were the incredibly fresh Strawberries from nearby Plant City. Next time you buy strawberries in your local market, check the origin. It is quite likely they are from Plant City. But, I can assure you they are no where near as delicious as the ones you can buy at the local markets. Here they are sweet, full of flavor and red all the way through. As I understand it, the berries picked for shipping out of state are picked before they are fully ripe, resulting in white centers. That early picking robs the fruit of the its full flavor potential,.
Some local fishermen were also at the market selling "caught the day before" fish. We feasted on Mahi that night.
After returning to the boat, eating lunch and taking a siesta, we lifted the anchor ( not an easy task after all those days and nights of heavy wind) and headed down the ICW to the Burnt Store Marina, just 2 hours away. Once again, the winds picked up and our 2 night stay at the marina turned into 4. Burnt Store is a large gated community north of Fort Myers. There are over 3,000 residences in mid size condo buildings, townhouses and single family homes. We spent a lot of time walking through the various neighborhoods. One day we saw an owl chick take its first flight between the branches of a Live Oak tree. The marina grounds and restaurant are a gathering place for many of the residents. Every morning groups would gather on the porch or under the Tiki Hut for coffee and conversation. (In case you were wondering,, "highlighter yellow" appears to be the official color of 2015 snowbird outerwear.) As we did on boat chores on Sunday afternoon we were able to sing along to the live entertainment on the restaurant deck.
Once again, the winds calmed enough for us to continue our cruise, and on February 11th we pointed our bow towards Useppa Island. Two and a half hours later we were anchored in one of our favorite anchorages. A combination of the wind direction and the number of fast moving pleasure crafts in the ICW made it a less than enjoyable stop for us this time, We had hoped to stay put for a few nights, dinghy over to Cabbage Key for their famous cheeseburger (rumoured to have inspired Jimmy Buffet), and spend some time exploring a local state park. But, we couldn't stand the rocking and pulled anchor just after noon on the 12th for a 5 mile trip to York Island near St. James City.
Keeping with the theme, the north winds made for a few bumpy nights at anchor and some cold and damp trips to shore with Ham. Once we motored the dinghy out of the anchorage and into the St. James canals, the waters calmed down and we had a great time exploring the area. We had lunch at a canal side restaurant on Friday the 13th and considered ourselves lucky to get back to FREEDOM before the winds kicked up even more and prevented us from safely landing the dinghy back on FREEDOM. Once again, it was a long night for Ham because there was no way we could get back to shore for his evening walk.
On Saturday the 14th we proclaimed success in squeezing a two day trip from St.Petersburg to Fort Myers Beach into a 2 week cruise. It was time to head to the dock.....just 7 miles away.
Until March 15th we will be calling Moss Marina in Fort Myers Beach home. It's a lively, colorful town, and the beach is just two blocks from our dock. There is a constant stream of boats passing by-- fishing boats, run-abouts, shrimpers, the daily Key West Express, the local Pirate ship "Pieces of Eight", muscle boats, sailboats, and a water taxi -- to keep us entertained from sun up to sundown.
If only the winds would calm........
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Friday, February 6, 2015
Back to Loopin'
I see over on my blogger home page that it has been 2 months since my last update. Most of the time was spent at our on-shore home for holiday celebrations, but we did manage a one week dog-free trip back to Freedom in December and a quick ski trip to Colorado. Once our youngest was back to college in mid January we headed back to St. Pete and the Loop. Our intent was to stay just a few days before throwing off the bowlines. It only took a few days, though, to remember how much we love St. Pete and how much we wanted to extend our stay. The marina had room for us, and so we settled in for another week. There is always something going on in St. Pete -- music festivals, boat shows, and in mid February the annual Martin Luther King Parade. Ham and I headed up the dock to watch and it was full of marching bands, kids throwing and catching beads, and high spirits.
As always we enjoyed watching the St. Pete Yacht Club kids sailing lessons every afternoon. Their chatter made us laugh..
Once that week was up, Mother Nature chimed in with her opinion and we waited out a cold front for a few more days. The extra time in St. Pete allowed us the chance to head over to our favorite beach side lunch spot one day and drive down to Venice for lunch with Al and Donna (staying on Venice for the month), Bill and Judy (who live in Venice fulltime), and Allen and Amy( Ft. Myers residents). We really don't have anyplace to be until February 15th when we have a month long slip reservation in Fort Myers Beach. We could easily do that in two days -- but instead we are squeezing it into two weeks.
We finally did untie the lines on January 29th -- and what a project that was! After nearly two months of hard work the lines were tight and taut around the pilings. The Cap'n wisely suggested we start the process on the 28th. That afternoon we spent about an hour untying what I call the long-term lines, ie those lines that allowed FREEDOM to withstand the winter weather patterns, but were not needed to keep us safely in the slip until the next morning. We were also able to make a plan for getting the remaining line untied the next morning -- we were fully prepared to just cut off the starboard bow line and keep moving the next day. As it turns out, with expert use of the thrusters and boat hook, we slipped out easily just before 7:30 AM and we were back on the blue highway.
It was a cold start ( 46 degrees) but a sunny and calm trip to Venice. Among the crowd of fishermen and snowbirds lining the jetty at the Venice Inlet we spied our friends Donna and Bill waving a welcome. We felt like celebrities!
That was nothing compared to our arrival at Fisherman's Wharf Marina just a few minutes later when waiting on the dock were our friends Margie and Jim from Maryland, and Donna and Bill who had somehow reunited with Al and Judy between the jetty and the marina. The dockhands were very impressed with our welcoming committee and the Cap'ns smooth docking.
After two nights in Venice we were off again, continuing our very s-l-o-w trip south. It was Saturday and there was lots of boat traffic, bridges openings to wait for and shallow waters to avoid -- welcome back to the Gulf Coast IntraCoastal Waterway! By 2:30 we were anchored 14 miles from Venice near the town of Englewood. Late afternoon we lowered the dinghy to explore the area. We had quite a time finding a good place to take Ham ashore and finally settled on a small patch of grass between two private homes at the end of a street. A post on Active Captain told us a park bench by the water indicated it was okay to pull up. At this particular spot we felt we were being assessed by the neighbors, so we made it quick: we pulled the dinghy up to the concrete bulkhead, told Ham to jump off the bow, gave him the command to do his thing, and then to jump back on board. 30 seconds later we were off.... Not a good solution for more than an overnight, but he was a trooper and it all worked out.
The following three nights found us in a cul de sac-like anchorage near Cape Haze, about 10 miles down the ICW We were a short dinghy ride from the Don Pedro State Park -- a perfect spot to take Ham to shore, get some exercise and do some shell seeking. Ham wasn't allowed on the beach, but we found plenty to do and see on the nature trail. We shared our anchorage with two Nordic tugs ( one a Looper named Celebration) for the first two nights, and 2 different boats, including one Looper, on the third night.
On Wednesday, Feb 4th, we ventured about 20 miles to Punta Gorda in Charlotte Harbor. Once again, we are at anchor. The first few days were a little rainy and lumpy due to a passing cold front, and thunder storms kept us awake, but after all the months of limited anchorages and difficult on shore dinghy access through the Great Lakes and down the inland rivers, we are really enjoying the chance to anchor out and really "cruise.". I love the late morning departures, spending no more than 4 hours traveling each day, and staying in the same anchorage for as long as we want. No rush, no docking lines and fenders to sort out, no marina fees. And a fabulous sunset every night.
We may end up in a marina tomorrow night to take fill the water tanks and go out to dinner, but even so, it's good to be back to Loopin'
As always we enjoyed watching the St. Pete Yacht Club kids sailing lessons every afternoon. Their chatter made us laugh..
Once that week was up, Mother Nature chimed in with her opinion and we waited out a cold front for a few more days. The extra time in St. Pete allowed us the chance to head over to our favorite beach side lunch spot one day and drive down to Venice for lunch with Al and Donna (staying on Venice for the month), Bill and Judy (who live in Venice fulltime), and Allen and Amy( Ft. Myers residents). We really don't have anyplace to be until February 15th when we have a month long slip reservation in Fort Myers Beach. We could easily do that in two days -- but instead we are squeezing it into two weeks.
We finally did untie the lines on January 29th -- and what a project that was! After nearly two months of hard work the lines were tight and taut around the pilings. The Cap'n wisely suggested we start the process on the 28th. That afternoon we spent about an hour untying what I call the long-term lines, ie those lines that allowed FREEDOM to withstand the winter weather patterns, but were not needed to keep us safely in the slip until the next morning. We were also able to make a plan for getting the remaining line untied the next morning -- we were fully prepared to just cut off the starboard bow line and keep moving the next day. As it turns out, with expert use of the thrusters and boat hook, we slipped out easily just before 7:30 AM and we were back on the blue highway.
It was a cold start ( 46 degrees) but a sunny and calm trip to Venice. Among the crowd of fishermen and snowbirds lining the jetty at the Venice Inlet we spied our friends Donna and Bill waving a welcome. We felt like celebrities!
That was nothing compared to our arrival at Fisherman's Wharf Marina just a few minutes later when waiting on the dock were our friends Margie and Jim from Maryland, and Donna and Bill who had somehow reunited with Al and Judy between the jetty and the marina. The dockhands were very impressed with our welcoming committee and the Cap'ns smooth docking.
After two nights in Venice we were off again, continuing our very s-l-o-w trip south. It was Saturday and there was lots of boat traffic, bridges openings to wait for and shallow waters to avoid -- welcome back to the Gulf Coast IntraCoastal Waterway! By 2:30 we were anchored 14 miles from Venice near the town of Englewood. Late afternoon we lowered the dinghy to explore the area. We had quite a time finding a good place to take Ham ashore and finally settled on a small patch of grass between two private homes at the end of a street. A post on Active Captain told us a park bench by the water indicated it was okay to pull up. At this particular spot we felt we were being assessed by the neighbors, so we made it quick: we pulled the dinghy up to the concrete bulkhead, told Ham to jump off the bow, gave him the command to do his thing, and then to jump back on board. 30 seconds later we were off.... Not a good solution for more than an overnight, but he was a trooper and it all worked out.
The following three nights found us in a cul de sac-like anchorage near Cape Haze, about 10 miles down the ICW We were a short dinghy ride from the Don Pedro State Park -- a perfect spot to take Ham to shore, get some exercise and do some shell seeking. Ham wasn't allowed on the beach, but we found plenty to do and see on the nature trail. We shared our anchorage with two Nordic tugs ( one a Looper named Celebration) for the first two nights, and 2 different boats, including one Looper, on the third night.
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| Despite the thousands of "Manatee Area" signs in Florida, in the three winters I have spent a significant amount of time on the water all over the state of Florida I have seen 1, yes one, manatee |
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| We replaced out overly loved dinghy with a new sleeker model, Here's Ham looking a bit windblown, but still in charge. |
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| Ham and the Cap'n on the Don Pedro Park Nature trail. |
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| Motoring through the mangroves |
On Wednesday, Feb 4th, we ventured about 20 miles to Punta Gorda in Charlotte Harbor. Once again, we are at anchor. The first few days were a little rainy and lumpy due to a passing cold front, and thunder storms kept us awake, but after all the months of limited anchorages and difficult on shore dinghy access through the Great Lakes and down the inland rivers, we are really enjoying the chance to anchor out and really "cruise.". I love the late morning departures, spending no more than 4 hours traveling each day, and staying in the same anchorage for as long as we want. No rush, no docking lines and fenders to sort out, no marina fees. And a fabulous sunset every night.
We may end up in a marina tomorrow night to take fill the water tanks and go out to dinner, but even so, it's good to be back to Loopin'
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