Monday, February 9, 2009
Our New Favorite Anchorage - The Gulf of Mexico
Jim was ready to lose his mind, or at least what is left of it, if we stayed in Marathon another day! On Saturday, at 0700 we departed the anchorage at Boot Key Harbor. We followed the Moser Channel through the bridge and past the Shoals until we could sail across Florida Bay to The Little Shark River (about 54 miles). We had hoped to sail with three other boats, but all decided that the wind wasn't exactly perfect for them. We sailed the course with a reefed main & jib & staysail - doing 7+ knots. The Little Shark was spectacular - egrets. manatees, herons, osprey, hawks, & dolphins (it is good we have a vet on board to identify all the wildlife)! When we departed Sunday morning at 0700, we prompted got "stuck in the mud" for a couple of hours at the mouth of Little Shark due to the extreme low tides caused by the full moon & northeast winds (three feet below the charted depths). By 0900 we were on the move again - great sail to Indian Key (where we anchored outside to avoid yesterday's problem). Today we left Indian Key at 0620 - (again, the depths were below charted levels) and we sailed 51 miles to north of Naples, FL. We are anchored just North of Wiggins Pass about .5 miles from the beach in the Gulf of Mexico! (if we drag, our new address will be Texas!) Tomorrow we will pick up a mooring ball off of Fort Myers Beach; just in time to meet Jamie!
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Gulf of Mexico, my favorite, my parents are located by Englewood/Port Charlotte, FL. My Dad & Uncle both have a boat and they use the Charlotte Harbor. We take a day trip sometimes weather permitting to the Gasparilla Island which is gorgeous. Punta Gorda is a fun place to visit also. Beaches we visit are Englewood & Venice they are close by. We go fishing off the piers. Sanibel Island is also a nice place my sister's husbands family used to own a house on the island, if we happened to both be in Florida at the same time we would meet up. My daughter's favorite is the manatee, we adopted her one for Christmas this year. His name is NICK. Enjoy your visit with Jamie. The Gulf of Mexica is alot calmer than the Atlantic Ocean. Looks like you're in for a nice day. Snows melting here, as long as it does so slowly & stays within the banks we'll be happy. Thanks for another sunset picture.
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