January 19-February 10, 2018
Rilee and I see Chad and Joel off from Apalachicola, and then we hop in the rental car and head towards Tarpon Springs. Driving over the bridge as we head out of town, we catch one last view of the boat. Once we leave Apalachicola and pass Carrabelle, we would not see anything but an occasional gas station for hours. Eventually we approach Crystal River, and we see a bit of the old Florida everyone talked about. There were cute scenic stops along the way that looked straight out of the 50’s. If I had felt better, Rilee and I would have stopped to check some of them out, but instead we drove on. After a six hour drive, we arrive at our hotel for the night. Thankful for a warm shower and comfy bed, I settle in for a good night’s rest, hoping it’s not too cold for the guys. I know the temps are dropping into the 30’s, and hope they have enough warm clothes.
The next morning, weather seems to have finally made a turn for the better. Rilee and I take our time heading towards the marina, where we will meet the guys. We are greeted in Tarpon Springs by an amazing harbor host, Herb. Herb somehow knew we were on the way before we got there, and met us with a map highlighted with all of the city’s attractions, and a box of yummy cinnamon coffee cake. Tarpon Springs is a cool town full of sponges and Greek food. We spend the next few days walking around town, and checking out the manatees wintering at Spring Bayou. This is the first time we’ve seen manatees on this trip, and it was slightly underwhelming. Hopefully we’ll see more as we get south and it warms up!
We leave Tarpon Springs and head south down the ICW towards Clearwater. We will be able to take the protected waters of the ICW south to Marco Island, where the Gulf ICW will end. We find a nice anchorage, where we can take the dinghy to shore and check out Clearwater Beach. It is very busy compared to the laid back vibe of Tarpon Springs. We walk around and decide on a nice quiet dinner back on the boat, where we watch an amazing sunset. The next morning we wake to find we are surrounded by fog. We wait for the fog to clear, then set off for Gulfport. Gulfport is another sleepy town, outside of Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg. We spend a few days checking out the farmers market and the stores and restaurants.
We decide to skip going in to Tampa Bay, as we are trying to get south for a family vacation that is quickly approaching. We first learned to sail on these waters back in 2012, when we took a course out of St. Petersburg. We lived aboard a beautiful Catalina for a week, and got to explore the Tampa area. We decided we had to visit our favorite and first ever anchorage at DeSoto Point, in Bradenton. Despite a strong wind from the North leaving the anchorage unprotected, we set anchor for the night and took the dingy to shore to explore the park. Quite different than the buggy, hot, humid visit we had during our last visit, this visit is quite chilly with the wind kicking up quite the surf. We spend an uncomfortable night at anchor, but we are glad we got to come back in our own boat. It’s a good opportunity for me to reflect how far I’ve come on my sailing skills, who would have thought Chad would have talked me into selling our home and sailing around America!
The next morning, we awake at sunset and depart the anchorage. The wind is strong, and we are glad we are able to take the ICW. However, we quickly find that many others are taking this inside route as well, and not many are very kind about passing without waking you. We arrive in Venice, and tour the town. As we are departing the marina in the morning, we are again fighting a strong wind as we wait for the drawbridge to open. We encounter more of the friendly, courteous Florida boaters. Chad moved over to the side of the channel to allow them as much room to pass, and unfortunately they don’t do us any favors. They pass so fast, throwing off a huge wake. Reacting to the wake and getting a bit too close to the edge of the channel, we quickly find we are aground.
They say there are three kinds of boaters. There are those who have been aground, those who haven’t yet, and those who lie about it. Well friends, this was our first grounding, something we had hoped wouldn’t happen, but knew it probably would. With the wind blowing hard on the side of the boat, the boat heels to the side. Chad quickly lays out a plan to deploy the anchor to help us get ungrounded. We move fast, deploy the dinghy, release the anchor and rode (none of this pleases Rilee). I start to pull the anchor in, and we are again waked by a boat moving too fast near a bridge, but this time the wake is in our favor and the violent rocking actually ungrounded us and bumps us back into the channel. Anchor up, we quickly maneuver under the bridge and get out of Venice as quickly as possible.
We find an awesome anchorage in a cove off of the ICW, near Placida. The cove is very protected and peaceful. We deploy the dinghy to check out nearby Don Pedro Island State Park. After a dinghy ride through mangrove islands, we arrive at the park dock. We spend some time walking the trails and beach, and collecting sea shells. The park and beach are deserted. It is just the three of us, the setting sun, and the waves gently rolling on the beach. We make our way back to the boat, and Chad decides he is going to try to get to shore, as there is a Publix in walking distance.
Anchoring out can be amazing, but we have learned how hard it can be sometimes to get to shore. Cruisers with dogs know this much more than those who don’t. We have passed up amazing anchorages because they lacked a way to get to safely and/or legally get to shore. Chad set out on the dinghy to see if one of the homeowners in the cove would allow him to tie the dinghy up to their dock and walk thru their yard to go to Publix, and if we were really lucky, let us bring Rilee back for a night and morning potty stop. Sometimes I am surprised at how trusting people can be. Wearing his Michigan hat, Chad happened to meet a fellow Michigander who not only told him we could tie up to her dock and use her yard, but she would drive him to Publix. It is a good reminder that as the Luke Bryan song goes, “I believe most people are good.” We’ve found this so many times along the trip, how helpful and trusting so many people are.
Leaving the anchorage in the morning, we enter Charlotte Harbor as the wind kicks up again from the Northeast, and the waves quickly follow. We had looked forward to sailing this large harbor, but with the wind on our nose, beating into the waves, we will have to sail another day. We finally arrive at Burnt Store Marina and despite the strong wind Chad will have to back the boat into the narrow slip. He does an amazing job, and luckily there are lots of extra hands on deck to help catch our lines. We are happy to spend some time with friends from home, and the previous owners of our first sailboat, Gris Gris. They show us a good time in Burnt Store as we wait out the strong winds.
With the winds subsiding enough to head out, we make our way to Captiva Island. Hoping to anchor, we find the anchorages are a bit too shallow for us, especially with these strong winds. We find the island resort has a marina with room for us, so we tie up to the long dock. The small barrier islands provide little refuge from the wind and waves, and we spend the next few days and nights pinned against the dock. With lack of sleep, we take advantage of some relaxing time in the hot tub and at the beach.
Again the winds let up enough for us to get off the dock, and we are now in a hurry to get further south. We are meeting family in Marco Island at the beginning of February. With so many great places to stop in the area, we decide on Fort Myers. Heading into the Caloosahatchee River, we have to pass under two 55 foot bridges. Our mast with wind gage and antennae is 52ish foot tall, so we are careful to go slow and pass at low tide to allow the most clearance possible. We arrive at the marina, which is part of the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. We spent the evening and next morning checking out the historic downtown, as well as the Edison and Ford winter homes.
Had we continued further on the Caloosahatchee River, we could have cut across Florida to the east coast via the Okeechobee Waterway. Because we were planning to go to the keys, we continued south. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway ends, and we are again planning for trips out in the Gulf. Preparing for our next jump to Marco Island, we stop at Fort Myers Beach, a good place to get an early start the next day. Fort Myers Beach is much different than the historic Fort Myers. We spend the evening visiting with vacationing friends from Michigan, and leave early the next morning for Marco Island.
Our chart books are lacking for Marco Island, citing “seek local knowledge.” We arrive on the north side of the island and follow directions from Active Captain, a great online boater’s forum for local knowledge. The advice is spot on, and we have no problems. We get as much advice as we can about the south side of the island, and set out for a nice sail down the coast. We arrive a bit earlier than the family, and anchor out in a bay on the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands. We watch the sun begin to set and watch dolphins play in the bay.
What an amazing beginning to a fun week ahead at Marco Island!