Pelican Bay Getaway

Had an unexpected call last week from an old bus industry friend Tom Foley, who at the time was on a small cruise boat near Marco Island and thought "Hey, maybe Rick's somewhere around here". The call was made and plans were formed to get together for dinner. It was fun catching up on industry gossip and even more fun to finally meet his wife Carmen.

Rick, Carmen, Pam, & Tom at The Roadhouse in Ft. Myers.

After being tied to the dock for a couple of weeks Tourist and crew were finally able to cast off the lines and head out for a few days. We got a late start on Tuesday and so decided to go only as far as the Ding Darling Preserve area on Sanibel Island. Any further and we would have interrupted cocktail hour!
Travelling with us were the crew of Kasey's Choice who agreed to come with us after some persistent badgering about buying a condo if they just wanted to look at the boats go by and not leave shore.

Tourist anchored off Ding Darling Preserve.

Sun setting over Sanibel Island.
After a pleasant night at Ding we travelled another 21 miles north to Pelican Bay at Cayo Costa State Park and anchored back in a small cove with good protection from three directions. The weather was warm enough to wear swim suits, soak up some sun, and get rid of the pastie white skin tones.

Thursday evening we had cocktails on Kasey's Choice along with the crews of SeaGull and Double Trouble. Marilyn from KC made some delicious bacon wrapped scallops to go along with the libations. Un fortunately we couldn't stay long because we had another engagement to get to. We had been invited for a dinner of Curry a few nights back while still at the marina but had to decline the invitation because we were going to be out on the water. As it turns out the dinner came to us.
Pam and I took our dinghy, Minnie T a few miles south to an anchorage just off Useppa Island where we dined on a delicious meal of Curry aboard Front Page. Dinner was great as was the company of Pete, the chef for the evening. John and Mary Kay of Root Beer Float, and our hosts Gene and Kathy owners of Front Page. Before long it was time to head back. Traffic on the ICW had long ago ended and so we had the water all to ourselves as we headed back to Tourist. With the help of the moon and a portable spotlight we arrived back on Tourist by 11pm. Luck was with us because by 11:30pm a thick fog set in.

Initially we had planned on going back to Legacy on Friday to be in ahead of the predicted cold front which was to come through on Friday night. We awoke to the same thick fog that set in the night before. As fog does it teases you into thinking it is going to lift and then sets back in. It was during one of these teasing periods that Donnie on Kasey's Choice decided to leave. By the time he got around to the main part of the anchorage he couldn't see the other boats in the anchorage. Thank God for radar and chart plotters! Undaunted he kept on, drawing on his many years of operating in the fog around his home waters of Nova Scotia. (Some would say he is always in a fog. I think it's just the rum.) About three hours later he called me to advise staying in the anchorage. He had made approximately 22 miles of peering through the thick fog and dealing with a GPS unit that was acting up and still had 19 to go.

Kasey's Choice weighing anchor.

Fortunately his call came just as we were attempting to leave ourselves. The fog had lifted to where I could see the other side of the anchorage and looked to be clearing. By the time we pulled anchor and rounded the point heading into the main anchorage the fog set back in. We spun the boat around and followed the track on the plotter back to our starting point and dropped the hook. Nothing to do now but have a Bloody Mary!
Saturday arrived with a wind from the Northwest and cooler but not as drastic as was forecast. Pam & I had a relaxed morning and pulled out of Pelican Bay at 11am. As we rounded the corner to the main anchorage I was surprised to see that almost all the boats had left. We had a leisurely trip most of the way back with two exceptions. First our auto-helm was acting up. The course heading displayed was 40 degrees off from our compass and plotter headings making it necessary to hand steer or run aground. Finally after wracking my brain I checked the location of the auto-helm compass and found one of our folding camp chairs (metal Legs) leaning against it. Once I removed the chairs all went back to normal.
Second when we turned onto the Caloosahatchie the wind kicked up, still from the Northwest. This isn't a problem while moving but I knew it would make for a challenging docking situation. Once outside the marina I turned the boat so Pam could hang the lines and fenders without being blown off the deck. I then took a deep breath and headed in. As usual the marina staff and plenty of others were there to catch us. We made it in on the first try without taking out any cleats, pilings, or losing my deckhand. We later found out the wind was blowing up to 28 knots.

The only drawback to the Cayo Costa anchorage is a shaky internet connection which meant Pam couldn't skype Franklin while we were there causing severe pains of withdrawal.

Just to remind those of us in the lower latitudes what we're missing back North I've included a couple pictures taken from one of the Marquette Towing Company towboats just above the Mel Price Lock on the Mississippi near Alton, IL.

Extreme Boating!