FT. MYERS MOORING FIELD DELAY

We enjoyed the sail down the ICW from Pelican Bay, going past the beautiful islands of Usseppa, Cabbage Key and even think we spotted Jo's dad's place at the southern tip of Cayo Costa.  The winds were favorable for a nice sail, 10-12 kts out of the NE.  Then came the crazy area around Captiva and Sanibel.  The eager fishing boat captains here are ruthless and most don't care how close to you and how big of a wake they leave as they are wizzing by to get out the passage.  However, we joined in on the fun.  We had been listening to a Channel 16 conversation going back and forth between a commercial shrimp boat, the coast guard and the Sheriff Dept. concerning a crew member on the shrimp boat.  Seems that a crew member became unresponsive while sleeping in his bunk and when another crew member went to wake him, he was making gurgling noises, his eyes were rolling back in his head and he had blood coming out of the corner of his mouth.  The boat was about 10 miles outside the Matanzas Pass, trying to get in as fast as his boat would allow.  Had we taken the outside route, we probably would have been close enough to him for me to feel that I should go assist if I could.  However we were inside and all we could do was listen to the broadcast.  The crew member continued to be unresponsive and was having seizures.  Scary.  We listened as the Sheriff Dept. boat reached the shrimp boat and boarded with a paramedic on board. As we approached the mooring field, going past the Matanzas Pass we saw the shrimp boat being escorted in by the coast guard cutter. Later we watched as he docked just across the bay from where we moored.  Since it was early in the day we were able to secure a mooring ball within close proximity to the Inn, so we only had short dinghy rides in to shore.  We figured we would be here for a day or two to ride out the high winds coming.  There is comfort in being attached to a mooring ball in high winds versus anchoring in a not so protected anchorage and hoping the anchor holds. 

Rounding Ft. Myers Beach

Our view from the mooring ball

Ed did his routine check of the engine and noticed a dripping.  I hear him exclaim “drip, drip…? what is dripping?” and he discovered it was a leaky water pump.  Well, that changed our plans pretty quickly.  Of course its Saturday,  so we relaxed and set up the TV and antenna to watch football in the cockpit.  On Monday morning we made phone calls and located the Yanmar dealer.  They happened to be right here in the harbor, a short dinghy ride away.  We ordered the part. Luckily, the Georgia distributor had ONE on hand and it would be shipped for delivery in 3-4 days.  Guess we’ll enjoy the mooring field for a little while.  Since we were delayed here, Ed decided to do some other maintenance stuff on the engine which included replacing a low pressure fuel line. We researched the area and found an auto parts store, the Home Depot, Walmart and Best Buy.  (I was having an issue with my Mac and wanted to get it checked out).  We decided Tuesday would be a good day to go into town using the transit system.  We caught the trolley at 10:00 am, and was brought over the bridge to a transfer station where we picked up the bus system.  OMG!  We only needed to go a 10 mile radius but it took several different bus routes and transfers.  We got back to the Inn at 6:30 pm!  But I gotta say, it was a fun and different day.  We got back in time to catch John Friday at the Upper Deck Restaurant and Bar, had a couple of appetizers and shared a bucket of Land Sharks.  Then back to Manatee for a nightcap and hit the sack.

Land Sharks, Conch Fritter and Coconut Shrimp after a long day!

John Friday, great Trop Rock Music!

The rest of the week was filled with catch up chores; grocery shopping, laundry and sanding and varnishing. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny and winds out of the NE.  Beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Hope the winds keep up until we are ready to go!

Sunrise

We watched the traffic on the bridge heading west over to the beach. Due to construction on the beach road, the traffic was backed up like this every day! Yuk!

San Carlos Bridge

Friday the water pump came in, but there was a big difference in the 1980 pump (which is a discontinued model) and the new pump.  The hoses had to be reduced from 1” to 3/4” and OF COURSE the dealer didn’t have what was needed.  Had to order.  Now its Friday, won’t be in until Monday.  More football in the cockpit over the weekend.

The order didn’t come in early on Monday and Ed got impatient.  He started calling hardware stores nearby to find the fitting needed to reduce the hose.  We had no luck with the hardware stores, but the guy at the last store we called suggested we call Erickson and Jensen across the bridge.  They service the shrimp boats.  We called and they thought they could help us. Google maps shows their shop is right on the harbor where we are.  Ha, turns out they are just across from our mooring ball, their shop has been part of our view everyday.  We dinghied over there and got fixed up.  The pump was installed in literally 20 minutes time.  Yay!  We are good to go.

The view from Manatee, to the left is Erickson and Jensen Marine Supplies

Uh, no….we had been watching the weather and the nice NE winds providing a great sail south were switching overnight to South and East.  Gee, thats the direction we were going! We decided to go anyway and just motor into the wind.  It would be choppy and a bit uncomfortable, but we want to go!

A flock of Frigate birds flew overhead, Ed was told as a child that it was good luck to have Frigate birds fly over you!

Tuesday morning looked different.  NOAA predicting winds not only out of the S and SE, but at 20-30 kts. and the seas 5-7 feet.  Ed thought better than to put me through the discomfort of going outside and heading south. The only way to go south from here is outside in the gulf.  

So here we sit, for another day.  The winds should calm down somewhat tonight and tomorrow, and those bands from Patricia are making landfall north of us.  We will see what tomorrow brings and hopefully head out tomorrow!  

And this is a screen shot of the NOAA radar for today: we made a good decision.

You just can’t change the weather...

PELICAN BAY

We weighed anchor at 0750 and proceeded down the ICW.  The winds were out of the NE and very light, 5-8 kts.  Not even worth raising the sails.  We still enjoyed the cruise though.  There are lots of beautiful homes along the shore and lots of wildlife to sneak up on.  

Shortly after we left, I spotted movement on a sand bar.  Upon further investigation, we realized what we were seeing was a large group of Manatees, beached.  We couldn’t get real close, as it was out of the channel, but we could see through the binoculars Manatees flipping their tails and moving about, but not very much.  Ed thought it should be reported, we weren’t sure if this group was in distress or not.  We first contacted the Coast Guard, who advised us to call the Federal Wildlife Commission and gave us the phone number.  Shortly after talking to the phone dispatcher we received a phone call from a Manatee Marine Biologist.  She thought this was a mating issue. When a female goes “into heat”, many males gather around her and try to inseminate her.  When she gets tired, she beaches herself and the males get as close to her as possible, waiting for the fun to begin once more!  The things you see when in the wild….

MANATEE SEX!!

The rest of the cruise down the waterway was uneventful and rather restful.

Under the Ringling Bridge, Sarasota, pretty!

Swing bridge, Sarasota

Beautiful homes

Marina Jacks, Sarasota

Neat architecture!

Osprey

We tiptoed into the Pelican Bay passage and found our anchorage.  We were lucky enough to have a spot available almost exactly where we anchored earlier this year on our way North!  To our amazement, as we were inching our way around the previously anchored boats, there in the exact same spot as last spring was a catamaran we had anchored  next to last time!  S/V Our Destiny recognized us as well!  Funny how it can be a small ocean sometimes.

They live in Port Charlotte and left the following morning, so we didn’t have an opportunity to visit with them again.  Chances are we will meet up again someday.

S/V Our Destiny

We anchored and relaxed in the cockpit with cocktails, as a small group of Manatees swam by.  We love this anchorage!

Sunset over Pelican Bay

We took Li’l Bit out the next morning, instead of the kayaks since the wind was howling and the water was choppy. We went into the little creek where we saw lots of Manatees last  Spring. However none to be found that morning.  We went through Cayo Costa State Park and took a long walk on the gulf side and shelled.

Kingfisher

A green can, misplaced.  DO NOT keep it between these navigational beacons! 

The next day was busy with brightwork.  We sanded and put a coat of fresh varnish on the cabin top rail.  As we worked, we observed several small (less than 16 ft) sailboats coming in the pass.  It was pretty windy out there, bet they had a great sail! We watched each one of them round the sandbar and beach up for the night.  We guessed it was a sailing club.

Small sailboat regatta

Saturday morning came and it was time to move on south, heading for Fort Myers Beach Mooring field.  We have been here several times in our travels and its a good place to stop for laundry, shopping and the security of being on a mooring ball.  Winds are predicted to be blowing 30-35 kts through Tuesday.  

On our way out, we passed Punta Blanca Island (aka "Ghost Island")

Sanibel Island Lighthouse

ANCLOTE TO ST. PETE

We had a restful evening and night.  The anchorage we chose off Dutchman Key was way more peaceful than the anchorage we saw further down by the dock off Anclote Key State Park.

Sunrise over Dutchman Key

We took advantage of this nice anchorage and beautiful weather the following day.  I washed down the teak on deck with fresh water, while Ed went down under and scraped the bottom.  We went swimming and just relaxed the rest of the day.

Anclote Key Lighthouse

Friday morning we communicated with our friends Marc and Robin (whom we haven't seen in over 10 years!) and made plans to be picked up by Marc in his boat. We moved over to the other anchorage which was situated just outside the channel Marc would be taking to find us.  We had a few hours to go explore, so we hopped in Li'l Bit and dinghied over towards Anclote Key State Park. The access for boats must be on the beach side, but we pulled the dinghy up on shore and tromped through grass, weeds and knee high sand spurs, but its an adventure, right? We jumped over the railing and walked into the state park via the "back door".
We decided not to splash through the flooded out path that leads to the beach side of the park, lots of mosquitoes and who knows what other kind of reptiles would be awaiting us!

Looks like Alligator land to me!

After a short swim in the beautiful clear water off the island, we dinghied back slowly to our boat. We explored an overturned (many years ago) sailboat, so sad.

Marc showed up in his beautiful 46 foot Ocean Cruiser to pick us up and bring us to their home in Tarpon Springs, on Tarpon Lake.  It was so good to see him.  Marc and Ed worked together for several years back in 2000-2005.  

Captain Marc!

We spent the rest of the weekend with the Brown's.  We enjoyed meeting a lot of their friends, getting to know their children Caleb and Shelby and just catching up on life.

The Brown's boat at their marina

Since we were going to spend the night Saturday at their place, we grabbed a slip at the Tarpon Springs City Marina at the beginning of the Sponge Docks.  The guys there, Mick and Mike were were nice, very accomadating.  The Browns didn't live too far from there so it was easy enough for them to come pick us up and drop us off.

Slip # 1 at the Tarpon Springs City Marina

We recognized the boat in the above picture...S/V  Devine Miss Em left St. Andrews Marina last April, they are awaiting repairs here.

Caleb and Georgia, fishing off the dock in Lake Tarpon

A wonderful, fun filled weekend ended Sunday evening.  We are so fortunate to be living this life, travelling about and catching up with dear friends.  Thanks for everything, Marc and Robin!  We will be back next spring.

CHEERS!

We weighed anchor around 10:00 am and went out the pass between Anclote Key and Three Rooker Bar.  We raised the sails but as we did, the breeze died and just never came back!  Was forecast out of the West at 10 kts.  We saw flukey winds, mostly out of the North with a little East to it, and maybe gusts to 6 kts.  So we motor sailed on the main down the coast, past Clearwater and down to Johns Pass Marina on Treasure Island to visit our friend Cathy.  We had a nice visit, had dinner at Gator's by the bridge, and experienced probably one of the worse service for a meal we have ever had.  Its too bad, the restaurant is right across the parking lot from the marina and would be so convenient.  But we won't be back after that experience.  But the company was perfect.  We got a good night's sleep at the marina and took off for points South.

We decided to go down the ICW and enjoy the sights. The homes along the waterway are so enormous and beautiful.  And there was no wind to speak of.  We did go through a little squall on Tampa Bay, but Manatee and Capt Ed did great.  We arrived at our chosen anchorage, just a few hundred feet off the ICW just south of Sarasota.  A really nice spot with lots of birds fishing around us. Drinks, dinner and good night to all!

THE MIGRATION BEGINS...

We left St. Andrews Marina after a morning of last minute preparations at 1330.  The air temperature was cool, 69 degrees, which feels a lot cooler on the water.  We had to pull out the jeans from last season!  UGH!  Jeans and long sleeves is just not my idea of outdoor attire.  We anchored just inside the pass off Shell Island for the evening.  We pulled out the 12 Volt TV and spent the afternoon watching football.  We thought we would enjoy it now, as this would probably be the last time to catch TV for some time.  The weather was not favorable to go out in the gulf Saturday or Sunday. Football and cooking/baking at anchor is fun too!  I baked some awesome oatmeal cookies, packed with coconut, raisins, walnuts and broken pieces of Ed's hershey chocolate almond nuggets.  One to two of them is a filling snack.  I pressure cooked a whole chicken to avoid having to cook much while under way.
Weighed anchor at 0611 on Monday morning 10/5/15 under a half moon and in cool temperatures, 69-72 degrees.  We left just in time, as a fog was rolling in off the land.  We were lucky enough to leave that behind.  We got out into the gulf and were able to raise the main and the 110 jib for an awesome morning of sailing!  Winds were out of the North at 15-18 kts with gusts into the 20's. Seas were 3-5 feet off our starboard quarter. Ed tried the staysail, but it just stole the wind from the jib, so we kept the 2 sails flying the whole run over to Cape San Blas. The whole gulf coast from Panama City to Apalachicola has been plagued by Red Tide (an algae that affects fish and sea life's nervous system and kills them).  We could see so many dead fish floating by.  Very sad.

A close look reveals dead fish floating by

Goodbye, Panama City Pass

In the "ditch" (Gulf Canal)

Enjoying a cup of tea

The ICW, going East

We motored and motor sailed through the ICW to Lake Wimico, down the Jackson River to the Apalachicola River and out into Apalachicola Bay.  The winds were out of the Northeast. The sun was going down, but we kept on going. From that point on, we motorsailed east under the St. George Island bridge, through St. George Sound to Dog Island, off Carabelle. The air was chilly and we had occasional sprinkles.  We spent the whole time watching the chart plotter and spotting the markers with the spotlight.  Time went fast. We arrived at our anchorage at 2250, pretty tired.  We each had one stiff drink and went to bed!  We just spent 16 hours, going 90 miles. It's amazing how long it takes to go 90 miles in a sailboat!

The next leg of our migration south was the crossing to Anclote Key off Tarpon Springs.  We slept until 0730 Tuesday morning and weighed anchor at 1030 am.  I spent most of the morning in the galley preparing dinner to go in the thermos.  I made a yummy dish of yellow rice, black beans, shredded cheddar and canned tomatoes.  The weather was nice, but cool.  Still wearing jeans and multiple layers!  Not good!

We sailed under a blanket of clouds all day, never saw the sun!

The clear sky just above the horizon in the above picture was out to the east.  It really was like sailing under the clouds into the clear eastern sky.  As soon as daylight came, the sky was a beautiful blue and the air was warmer!
                                                

Capt Ed, in his safety harness and tether

Sunrise

Sunrise over the gulf

We reached Anclote Key 26 hours later, tired and beat up from heeling over and having to brace ourselves in the cockpit.  Manatee did great, though.  Not a single hiccup, motor sailed and even turned the engine off for an hour or so.  The wind was out of the Northeast the whole time, blowing at an average of 15-18 kts. with gusts to 25 kts.

Sunrise behind the power plant in Tarpon Springs

We anchored off Dutchman Key at noon on Wednesday.  Enjoyed a hot shower and relaxed in the cockpit with a glass of wine for me and a scotch for Ed.  Shrimp skewers on the BBQ and to bed early.  Ahhh, we are getting south!

AN ACTION PACKED SUMMER

We arrived at St Andrews Municipal Marina on 4/7/15 and got settled into our slip.

MANATEE in her summer home

looking down on MANATEE and LIL'MAUR

Our great friends and managers of Old River RV park came over from Perdido Key to bring us our truck. We had a great afternoon visit with them.  Thank you once again, John, Stephanie and Cheryl! 

At the Shrimpboat Restaurant

The following weekend was the “Blessing of the Fleet” held at the marina.  This is an annual event, but the first time being held at St. Andrews Marina.  A couple of priests from an area church came by to bless any boat/ship wanting to participate.  This was followed by the “burning of the socks”,  a ritual commemorating the end of “sock season” and the opening of “flip flop season".  

The wreath tossed into St. Andrews Bay for the blessing of the fleet

Blessing of the Fleet

Governor Stone, a National Historic Landmark vessel (1877) has its home at St. Andrew's Marina

The  "QUEEN OF CONCH", throwing her socks in!

 We met up with NWA Parrothead friends, and shared bloody marys in the cockpit of Manatee.

NWA Parrothead Phriends, John and Judy, Jo and Randy

A facebook post appeared advertising that Southern Drawl Band was playing at Pineapple Willie's in Panama City Beach, so of course had to go listen to them.  They were great, as usual!

Southern Drawl Band at Pineapple Willie's

 Our first road trip and adventure for the summer was a trip to Perdido Key to pick up the camper and head over to the MardiGras RV park in New Orleans to meet up with Steve and Erica for a weekend at the Jazz Fest.  

First ones at the gate!

Capt Ed, catching a quick siesta at the Jazz Fest

At the bus stop in NOLA

From there we headed up to Arkansas to spend some time with the children.  We were planning on spending a month there, so there were lots of preparations to be made.  We had to empty the boat of any perishable foods, pack clothes, and transport items not needed on the boat to be kept in the camper.  It was an extremely hectic and busy time, trying to keep track of where all our things were, some being in the camper, some on the boat, some in storage. From there,  we drove to Little Rock and stayed at the Riverside RV Park where we met our son Edward and his girlfriend Casey.  We had a wonderful dinner and visit. 

Edward and Casey

Casey, hooping

Then off to NW Arkansas to set up our camper at the new "Powell’s Hickory Creek RV Park”.  The park actually is Steve and Erica’s yard.  We had a nice flat area to set up the camper, a 30 amp electric hook up and a nice secluded view of the woods. 

Our site at the Powell's Hickory Creek RV park

"Mowin Mama" aka Erica

 I packed my clothes and went to Erin’s house to spend much needed time with my daughter and granddaughter, while Ed drove back to the marina to meet the boat mechanic. I had a great time. 

Gardening

This should keep the deer out!

Then a trip to the park with Anna.

Anna, at the park!

she LOVES to chase the geese into the pond

Mother’s Day weekend was spent camping at Devils Den State Park. It was a great family gathering, but most of the weekend was rainy and cool.

Campsite at Devil's Den

Mothers Day (Anna took the picture).  Missing Sylvia, she went home to Mom for Mothers Day

The following weekend was Anna’s graduation from Pre-K and we were able to attend.  We were thrilled that we were able to be there for this special time in Anna’s life.

Pre-K Graduate!

My proud girl

The following weekend was a blast as well.  We attended a house concert at friends Jo and Randy’s place on Beaver Lake featuring great trop rocker Scott Kirby.  

Scott Kirby

We took a drive to Tulsa to take Anna to the zoo. 

Tulsa Zoo

Anna loves playgrounds

The month closed out with attending a dance recital of Sylvia’s in Alma, another priceless experience, witnessing Sylvia shine on the dance floor. 

Sylvia!!

Quite the dancer

Then it was back to the boat for a few weeks, working on misc jobs.  There are always misc jobs to be done on a boat!  Ed helped me pattern out sunbrella covers for the clear plastic windows of the dodger.  We completed that project and a few other maintenance projects.  Worn out zippers replaced, patches applied to stress areas on sail covers, etc

Laying out the patterns

Job done!

We took a day trip to St. Pete area for a quick visit with our friend Cathy. We got to visit with little Jonathan, Cathy’s awesome, darling grandson. 

We love this kid

Before we knew it, it was time for the 4th of July vacation!  The kids came with the grandkids for a week.  We went out on Manatee to view the fantastic firework show from the barge at the Panama City Municipal Marina.  The rest of the week was filled with boating, beaching and swimming, while dodging those summer afternoon storms. 

The family out for an afternoon sail

Arrrggghhh Matey!

Manatee, a busy looking boat

Fishing at the Marina

Both girls caught lots of pinfish

 The kids left and we kept our youngest granddaughter Anna for another week. A few trips to Shell Island’s beach, a trip to Gulfworld and then back to Arkansas, for another two events of Parrothead fun!

GulfWorld fun

We got back to Arkansasa just in time to attend a pool party at

Dale and Terry’s house with a house concert by Rick Lamb and Rob Stowe (the Phin Addicts).  The following day was our Parrothead annual fundraise party, complete with Cheeseburgers and Southern Drawl Band!  (Again...!)  Great fun.

Southern Drawl Band at George's Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville AR

We enjoyed our stay again at the Powell’s Hickory Creek RV park again, had an awesome view of Erica’s gardens and the Powell pool.

Our camp site, "on the slab"

DING!!

"Dude"

Hummingbirds

Dock Krawl 2015 was next on our busy schedule.   The weekend events went off without a hitch.  Everyone had a great time.

Sunset at Horseshoe Bend on Beaver Lake

Full moon over the lake

Our back window view

Sunrise

Our "Pres", Steve blowing the conch shell at sunset

Capt Ed blowing that conch shell too!

Steve and Erica's party boat

Our whaler... turned party boat

First stop, dock krawling

Arrrggghhhh!

End of a full and fun day

Time to pack the camper down for the winter.  It took most of Monday to do that.  We crashed at Erin’s and got up at 0400 the following day to head back to Panama City, to our “floating life”.

In between jobs on the boat, we took a trip on Manatee to Pensacola.  Ed wanted to get another overnight trip under our belt, mostly to get me a little more used to overnighting.  We thought we had a good weather window, as NOAA said the line of storms pushed south into the Gulf and would turn around and come back towards the coast in a few days.  So we packed up, fueled up and left.  Turns out the forecast was a little off...(go figure) and those storms hit us that evening and night.  We also had a following sea, therefore we rolled side to side all night long.  It was all I could do to stay behind the wheel, had to hang on to stay in one place.  I ended up not feeling well, got a bit green.  Ed had to take the helm all night.  So much for me getting used to overnight crossings!  As I say, win some, lose some.  You can't change the weather, just have to "roll" with it!

Pulling down the sock over the drifter sail

Storm coming

Sunset over the gulf

Swells picking up

At the helm at night

We arrived at the Pensacola Pass by daylight and made our way into Big Lagoon without incident. The wind was blowing as squalls were coming in.  The whole weekend was on and off squalls.  We still had fun though. We rested up and relaxed the first day.  The next day we surprised our friends at Old River RV park by bringing Manatee right up to the dock!  We were able to show her off some, and confirmed the fact that she is just too big to stay in Old River.

A fighter!

A big ol sail cat!

 The Blue Angels gave us a show, they were doing a complete dress rehearsal

Old River RV Park, from the water

She barely got in, practically resting on the bottom

The return trip to Panama City was great.  We left at midnight and by 2 am we were back in the gulf and heading east. We raised the sails and were able to sail on a south 10-15 kt breeze. Ed took the first watch from 2-6 am while I slept (works for me!) Ed finally gave me watch at daylight and he took a nap. We sailed almost the entire trip.  The wind died around 10 am, so we motored from that point. We arrived back at the marina around 4:00 pm.  

Back to projects for a few weeks.

Housekeeping, polishing all the stainless on deck

Capt Ed washing and waxing the hull

We took a late summer road trip to South Carolina to visit Nancy and John, Ed's sister and her hubby, then on down the coast to Daytona Beach for a fun few days with long time friends for catching up and dominoes competitions!

A beautiful resort on the ocean

Dominoes

What fun we had!

And....back to Manatee, more projects...

Sail repair

New hatch covers

Stay sail boom installed and new cover made

Winch covers

Installing grommets and Swedish clips to the 150 jib

Waterproofing the canvas

Rigging the jib

One more trip back up to Arkansas to see the family, drop off the whaler at our son Ed's house and swing by Mena for hormone refills.  We had a short but fun time with the kids.

So proud of our children

And back to Panama City to Manatee for final projects, provisioning and weather window to begin our cruising season!!

Our 2015 adventure begins October 3!