We enjoyed our stay in Sarasota very much. It was time to depart and head to Pelican Pass, that was the plan anyway. This would be a nice long ride, we were set to cruise 52 miles. Once again we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise, and calm waters! The strong gusty winds from yesterday had died down.
It took us approximately 6 hours to reach Pelican Pass. This would be another place to anchor for the night. Once we approached the anchorage, conversation between Sean and Charlie, they decided that this would not be a good place. The wind would be coming from the north east. We need to be near land that would protect us, from the high winds expected that night. The journey continued to another spot that we may be able to throw the anchor. We ran into issues getting in there too. Seems as if there was not enough water for us to get to the cove that we were headed for. MV “Stella Maris,” ran aground rounding the corner, and then of course we ran aground too! Thankfully the bottom was sand where all this took place, both of the boats were throttled up and our motor pushed us out of the sand. Third time is a charm, right? Well, not exactly today. We were told about another anchorage but we were not quite clear where it was, therefore we past that one up too. It was now almost dark, we needed a place to dock. This put us in the coolest place for a couple days. This would be a 100 acre private island called “Cabbage Key.” The only way that you can get to this island is by boat.
We went up to the restaurant after we had gotten all secured. This was a very nice place so we actually did clean up a little. When you walk into the door, there are thousands and thousands of dollar bills taped on the walls. I think they estimated that there was $82,000. When the dollars fall off of the wall they are gathered up and given to charity. They have donated over $80,000. They also have dollars that have been signed by people like Jimmy Buffet and John F Kennedy Jr. The bartender, who’s last name is Fish, that is also what he was called! This man was extremely funny! He could pop off one liner jokes one after another! We ended up eating dinner at the bar, it was so good! Thankfully, we had decided to stay there for two nights. The next morning we would be faced with two weeks worth of laundry! Now, these places don’t have the best of machines. It took us almost all day to complete this chore. We did take time out, to go out on the dink with Sean and Hazel, to another island that had a beautiful beach. There were some fallen trees that had really neat root systems. They were laying partially in the water, one even had an old crab trap wrapped around it. On Cabbage Key, there is a wooden water tower, it just happens to be the highest point on the island. We climbed to the top to watch the sunset. It was amazing. From Cabbage Key, we would make it to our next destination in a little over 5 hours to, Fort Myers.
Once again, the idea would be to anchor out. The problem was because of all the north wind that had been blowing, it has blown a lot of water out into the Gulf of Mexico, making the water very shallow. After a few incidents of running aground, once again we were headed to a marina. This one would be, Ft. Myers Yacht Basin. This marina sits right in between two bridges, it’s a very unique location. Docking again, would be another challenge. Trying to dock this 39’ boat in a slip that was designed for a 50’ or longer boat was of course another interesting experience. Thankfully, there were several dock masters there. These guys hopped onto the boat, grabbed the lines and then got us all taken care of.
The evening would be spent with Sean and Hazel, as we made a quick little pot luck dinner, and watched part of a movie (Charlie kept falling asleep!) Friday would be spent getting things together so we could depart Ft. Myers in the morning! Sadly, we would be leaving MV “Stella Maris,” and Sean and Hazel behind. They had company flying in later that week. They will be catching up to us soon. We spent the evening together, and said our good byes. I am learning on this trip that all of the people we have met so far, you bond with very quickly, and then they become family.
We would be up before daylight and pulling out of our slip at sunrise. We have a long ways to go, an early start is a must. Sean was gracious enough to help us get out of our slip, made it go very smooth! Once again, waved good bye, and we were on our way. I am anxiously waiting for them to catch up, and we haven’t even gotten all the way out of the marina yet!
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