Day 117/II Engelwood Beach to Long Beach Anchorage

The Monster Go Fast Boat we saw docked at  Ft. Myers is sneaking up on our stern. They are considerate and pass at a reasonable speed. 

Just so you can understand the size of this Vessel.

I would like to see this guy on the outside with it opened up for sure.

See how big it is and how small the people are?

We had to wait for the bridge to open along with the little sailboat being towed in front of us, they ran on through.

We navigated through 10 bridges this day, this is the Magnificent Venice Avenue Bridge, the 4th one for the day.  Some open on request, some every 30 minutes, some every 20 minutes. Weekends and  Holidays can be different so read your Skipper Bob Cruising Guide for the info. 

I'm Thinking Venice would be a good place to come back to for a few days.

Dense Fog at marker 14 set in after the 6th bridge, The Albee Bridge. 

After Marker 20 Visibility was less than 100 yards, we were going ahead at 3.4 knots, 1000 rpm, just running with the flood tide. We had our auto Fog horn on and announced our position at every marker on the VHF.

This is the Blackburn Swing Bridge and you can not see the traffic headed  South so  the VHF was very important in  negotiating on who would go through first. 

Wow, really? running at planning speed in the Fog!

At least they had a  sacrificial lamb to follow through.

We enjoyed seeing this guy with his nice home right on the ICW near a  outlet to the Gulf with his big sailboat parked alongside in a very protected private channel. Do not think he even experiences wakes from the ICW.

After responding to a couple, on a Transpac 49,  who hailed us on 16 we moved in to a closer spot and the Rocna seemed to set just fine. 

Just in front of us was a shoal where one of the local liveaboards dragged onto.  The  people at the resturant said he  has lived here a long time and regularly drags all over the area.

The Very Cool Long Beach Anchorage. 

This couple from Houston on their Transpac 49 had the best spot in the whole anchorage. 

We heard of the two restaurants that the Mar-Vista  was the best all-be-it  more pricey

We decided the best thing to do was  get several appetizers and split  it.  They were great but the portions did not quite  fill us up. 

We still had some daylight left so we walked the short distance  through the neighborhood to Long Beach

There were just a few people here hoping for a sunset that did not come. 

One of the finest beaches I have seen so far. 

These are the only real dunes I have seen in Florida so far, not as big as Mustang Island but still pretty impressive as this neighborhood has not allowed any development making this a very nice beach. 

Several of these guys were freely roaming the neighborhood.

Bill decided he needed more food so we went in to Moore's and  we decided this should have been  our first stop. 

Bill managed to Grab a sunrise shot, I did not even notice as I was so concerned about the anchor dragging!

Day 117/II Engelwood Beach to Long Beach Anchorage

3/24/13 Departed 0740 hrs. Arrived 1510 hrs; Underway 7:29 hrs;  38.4 NM; Avg speed 5.1 Kts; 70-80 degrees sunny 10-20 SW winds. Dense Fog beginning at marker 14, began to lift to 1/4 mile visibility by 1130 hrs. 

The concern this day would the 10 bridges that we would have to navigate through on the way to Long Beach. Nine of the bridges are either Bascule or swing bridges and each have their own opening schedule. Since it was a Holiday a few were opening on request, Some of the busier bridges were on their weekday schedule. Skipper Bob's Cruising guide has all the info and makes the trip easier by putting this in a easy to use format as you travel through. 

Our trip through the remaining part of Lemon Bay was accented by the passing of the Huge Go Fast Boat we saw docked in Ft. Myers two days before. They were easing down the ICW and unlike the go fast boats the day before slowed as they passed oncoming vessels. I wondered just how fast would that vessel go? 

We were just past  Venice near St Mile 57 entering Blackburn Bay when the fog began to set in, Visibility was not to bad at first and we were hoping the temps would go up and it would be short lived. Well it just got worse. Bill slowed to idle speed at 1000 RPM's but we were on a flood tide and so we were drifting at 3.4 Kts. anyway. I turned on the radar, we set the fog horn on auto and we began to announce our North bound position as we passed each marker. We looked for a place to just stop and wait it out but this is a very narrow section of the ICW and depths were 1-3' on either side of us for a long distance. 

I was really tuned into our position as it was so dense now that we would not even be able to see the next bridge coming up. As we neared the Blackburn Swing Bridge the fog decreased just enough that we could see the bridge but not the other side where there was several power vessels waiting to pass South bound. We thought the tender would determine the order in which the vessels went through but I guess he could not see us either so he told us to figure that out ourselves. We had to trust everyone had a VHF radio and was listening on VHF 09. All went well even though there was an impatient Captain behind us in a 50+ plus Sea Ray. After we negotiated the bridge the Sea Ray hailed us to pass and we of course said come ahead on the 1 and he definitely did, I am thinking he has a lot better radar than I do as he cranked it up and zoomed by. Maybe he is so high on that flybridge he has excellent visibility??? 

By 1130 hours the visibility started to improve and so did our day. The one thing we disliked about this fog is it stole away our chance to see several miles of this cool section of the ICW. Onward we passed Casey Key, Stickney Point Bridge, Siesta Key Bridge, and into Sarasota Bay. We knew there was a bit of weather ahead, the winds were piping up and we discussed the options of stopping at Sarasota Moorings and looked at other possible nearby anchorages. The only safe anchorage in windy conditions was just the other side of the Ringling Brothers Bridge so if we stopped in this area it would be best to just get a Mooring Ball at the Mooring field. We checked weather radar and felt we could make it to the anchorage at Long Beach just a few miles ahead. The Weather Gods were kind to us and we avoided any hard rain or winds. After we got anchored at Long Beach I checked the weather radar again and the more serious weather skipped over us and was now just to our South, cheated death one more time! ( I can't help saying this as it is one of my favorite quotes of Dr. Ken on his 24' Pacific Seacraft Dana "Star" back at Commanders Point Marina on Lake Travis). 

After we got anchored a guy from Houston on a Transpac 49' hailed us and advised us to come in closer next to them. After looking about we decided he was right and there was plenty of room for us among the 4 vessels anchored over there so we moved in closer. 

We had plenty of daylight left so we got the dingy down and went straight over to talk to the nice couple who hailed us. They sold a relatively new Island Packet 44 and bought their 87' Transpac 49 in Kemah. they put the boat in cruising order including a in Boom Mainsail Furler (which I was lusting after) and are headed South to the Bahamas and beyond  They recommended the Mar Vista Restaurant as they had been here several days and had tried both restaurants a few times. We bid them fair winds and dingied to the dingy dock to check out this quaint key. Bill found us a table right away with a view to the little anchorage. We enjoyed a fine brew and several mighty fine appetizers that we thought would be better than ordering a couple of entree's. That idea fell a bit short but after another beer we were ready to move on and explore the Island a bit. We walked West down a neighborhood road to Long Beach and the Gulf of Mexico. Here we were surprised to find a beautiful beach complete with real Dunes. This is the first time I have seen any significant dunes in Florida as the condo/hotel development along the entire coast pretty much wiped them out years ago. There were some feeble attempts in some areas to restore the dunes but the progress was minimal at best. This community was pretty smart and did not allow any development on the beach so they have a beautiful spot  and hopefully I can bring the Admiral back here before we leave Florida for St. Pete. We  walked back with a bit of daylight left and Bill insisted on going to the Other restaurant and getting at least one more snack. We both agreed we enjoyed Moore's Stone Crab restaurant more, it is a bit more relaxed and the food was just as good.
We got back to the boat after dark and decided not to hoist the dingy back up till the morning since we had just a short 3-4 hour trip to St. Pete the next day. The winds were still out of the South but they were due to change to the North during the night. No worry I would be up a couple of times to check on the anchor as always. 

Day 116/II Fort Myers Beach to Engelwood Beach Anchorage

Spring Break and some take their small power boat to a small Key on the ICW and camp out.

This Captain was nice enough to slow down before passing, he  was delivering a brand new Viking to it's new owner.

No slowing down for this guy.

Watch out Manatee's!

Then here comes his Buddy and the 3 vessels heading South down the ICW ahead will have the pleasure.

These Canadians were anchored just in front of us at Little Shark  River.

Light House at the Boca Grande Channel from the Gulf to Charlotte Harbor 

Boca Grande Channel

Interesting Vessel from Oriental North Carolina, singelhanded by 1 old guy, reminded me of Kevin doing this on his Cape Dorey 30

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We knew there was a Ferry Crossing ahead but this was kind of comical, Two Ferry/barges pushed by a tow. Just a few  cars fit on each one. When they both pushed back from the bank the two tows took up the entire channel. they push back, turn a 180 then in less than two minutes are pushing up on the opposite bank. This is perfectly timed between the two of them. 

We waited at a distance before going ahead

The delivered cars have to back off. 

The Engelwood Beach Anchorage, you can find great protection here for winds from any direction..

Day 116/II Fort Myers Beach to Engelwood Beach Anchorage

3/23/13 Depart 0745 hrs Arrive 14:50 hrs; underway 7:05 hrs; avg speed 6.3 knots; 44.4 Nm. 




One could easily stay in Ft. Myers Beach a week or longer but the Admiral would be arriving at Tampa International 3/29 so we continued our journey North but this time on the Inside starting at Mile Marker 0 on the GICW. A lot of cruisers who have a mast height under 50' can avoid the trip to the Florida Keys and enter the Okeechobee Waterway, a short cut through South Florida that puts right at Stuart Fl. on the West coast. A few with higher mast can hire a company that puts 50 gallon drums of water on the boom to heel the boat over far enough to get a higher mast through. I'm thinking that puts a lot of stress on the rigging so No Thanks! But if your mast was just a couple of feet to tall then it would probably be ok.

As we entered the San Carlos Bay it was clear we had plenty of room to sail so out went the head sail and with favorable current we were making pretty good time early on. Normally I am pretty cautious about sailing in the ICW but with Bill aboard and plenty of sea room it was easy to do.

Gene had told us about a tricky intersection just before entering Pine Island sound but there was actually a lot of space to maneuver in spite of all the Spring Break traffic coming and going. A lot of cruisers going both directions were on the move and it is always interesting to meet them on the way. The seas were 1 to 3 especially when crossing near an inlet like at Charlotte Harbor going into Gasparilla Sound. We had already cleared the Ft. Myers Beach 65' bridge and the 70' Sanibel Bridge. Our only other navigational barriers were the Boca Grande Swing Bridge and a ferry crossing up ahead. We did not have to wait long for the Swing Bridge and as we went through so did several other power vessels. We crossed Placida Harbor and just before entering Lemon Bay we came up on the funky little Ferry Barges being pushed by small tow boats. Haaa!...The whole distance across the ICW here could not have even been 150 yards. these two small ferries pushed back from the bank at the same exact time taking up the whole channel, they then did a 180 turn and in two more minutes they were on the other side preparing to unload the cars who have to back off the barge to depart. We enjoyed going slow and just marveling at the incredible little ferry system and knew they were particularly busy during spring break!

Then on across Lemon Bay and lots of small keys on both sides. We were almost at our destination. Bill could see a long shoal that ran along the edge of the ICW on the port side and wondered if I might have made a mistake thinking we could get across it. No worry I told him, it is clearly outlined in Skipper Bob's, but he was not so sure so he radioed the Bridge tender at the Tom Adams Key Bridge that was just after our planned turn off the ICW. She assured him that a lot of boats make the turn and have enough water to head West. I was not concerned as Skipper Bob's guide has never been wrong and I always check Active Captain for the latest updates. Active Captain is the best resource for any cruising sailor in the US now. The South winds had piped up a bit so instead of going further in we anchored in the lee of the first large Mangrove Island just to our port side. The anchor set first time. Really good holding here. Time for some early sundowners and we just sat back and enjoyed all the Spring Breal boaters coming and going from Engelwood Beach. Again I know this could easily be a three day fun spot or longer but we did not even get the dingy down as we would depart by 0800 the next day for Long Beach.

Day 115/II Naples to Ft. Myers Beach

It is always easier departing a channel out to the Gulf than arriving, of course you have already been there so there are fewer surprises, a view of departing Gordon Pass.

We put all the sails out and actually passed this cruiser until he unfurled all of his head sail.

The race was on we were gaining on these two and in the distance to the left you can  just see a sail appearing so we were gaining on him also.

The exciting race lasted only 1.5 hours as the wind went to Zero and  seas were flat. Passing this Catalina 34 made me think of my friend Rick on GodSpeed at Lake Travis

I think this is an Endeavour Ketch?

Yep you will always see a Hunter out there.

His Mainsail fooled me, at first I thought it was a Tartan, but pretty sure this is a 80's Hunter.

We were in the Matanzas Pass channel to Ft Myers Beach when this Parasail came way to close for comfort, we I asked
Bill to shift to neutral and let them pass as the last thing we needed was some teenage girls dangling from our mast! 

The Garmen chart plotter would have had us entering to the starboard of the vessel you see coming at us. This is when you have to trust what everyone else is doing, your eyes,  and of course the channel markers. Chart plotters are not always right!You can see the North end of Ft. Myers Beach to the right, you pass very close to the sand!

After making the turn past the beach. 

The customs have a big presence in South Florida.

Approaching the Ft. Myers Beach Bridge

The biggest go fast boat I have ever seen, this boat passed us two days later on our way to Long Beach.

Bill said this is an Oyster, (top of the line sailing vessel) we figured the skipper of this vessel must have won her in a poker game or something  since it was anchored out and had a less than luxurious tender

Very busy Coast Guard Station to port just before the Ft. Myers Beach Bridge.

And to Starboard just before the bridge this Topsail Schooner "Lynx"

She has Cannon.

And a Mighty Crew

Lots of traffic above and below at the 65' Fort Myers Bridge

Just Past the bridge entering the North side of the Ft Myers Beach Mooring field, our Mooring Ball assignment is on the South end.

Thsi is Gene's Catalina 30, he was on the end of the dock with his new wife to welcome us to Ft. Myers Beach as we motored by.

This is the South end of the mooring field looking back at the  Ft. Myers Beach Bridge, a long dingy ride back to the Matanzas Inn by the bridge where you have to check in.  

We were just across from Salty Sam's Marina, and nearby was the Key West Express docked ready to take a bunch to Key West.

Check In Here

We met Gene and his new wife here for drinks and food. 

The Scallop Salad was mighty fine, Genes wife shared a big fried onion ring!

The Ft. Myers Mooring field is the bottom half of the Harbor, all the way just past the bridge all the way to the right.

Back at the boat before sunset to prepare for the next days passage. 

Day 115/II Naples to Ft. Myers Beach

Depart 3/22/13 0900 hrs Arrive 14:30 hrs, 30 Nm avg speed 5.5 Kts Underway 5 hrs. 27 min, Partly Cloudy 0-10 kt. E winds 78 degrees. Seas 1 to 2’

We slept in a bit since our trip up to Ft. Myers beach would only be about 6 hours. Bill took the helm as I released the lines from the $10 per night mooring ball and we easily glided to the Naples channel. There is no ICW here so you have to go on the outside to Ft. Myers Beach. Another reason to depart a litle later was to give the Gulf a bit more time to calm down after the passing front. We snapped a few more pics of the Mega Million$$ homes and noticed several new ones going up on the water front where they had knocked down the cheap $5 million dollar ones. As we approached Gordon Pass we noticed that the waters were pretty calm. Several sailing vessels were ahead of us and it looked as if we would have some company for our trip up to Ft. Myers Beach. At 0940 we were out and headed North, Bill turned off the engine and we put all the Sails out as the winds looked promising. We had 10 kt. East winds and thought how great it was going to be to be able to sail all the way to Ft Myers Beach. I trimmed the sails for maximun gain and we began to ease by a cruiser just to our port. It appeared as though we were actually gaining on the two...No wait,  three boats ahead. After about an hour and almost catching two of the boats ahead (the third was actually coming south) the winds laid down to 0. with the Iron genny fired up we were making 6 knots again and in no particular hurry for sure.
Two Cigarette boats passed us far to starboard heading North, they were out of sight in just a few moments, Bill said they were traveling 75-100 mph. they were certainly throwing up huge rooster tails and you could here the roar of their engines as they flew by.
We were soon in Matanzas Pass channel to Ft. Myers Beach. Very busy, the first encounter was with a vessel towing some teenage girls para-sailing  He was coming way to close for comfort and passed immediately in front of us. It looked to me that if we continued on the cable could tangle in our mast so I asked Bill to Throttle back and just let them go, did not need a bunch of teenage girls dangling from the mast for sure! The Channel passes very close to the North end of Ft. Myers Beach (A lot like Destin). On our approach the Garmin Chart plotter would have had our course 50-100 yards to port, the channel was busy with traffic so we slowed down and changed course hoping the channel markers marked the deep water, and they did. You can not always trust the electronics, If we had followed the chart plotter we would have run aground for sure just off the marked channel. It was a bit concerning since I could have jumped off the boat as we went by and landed on the sandy beach!
The closer we got to the Ft. Myers Beach Bridge the more traffic there was, It was Spring Break! We eased on under the bridge and got a bit confused again for a moment on how to enter the mooring field, we did a 360 and re-evaluated, the channel to Starboard appeared to be the one and 1 more time we cheated death and made it in. We had called a old friend of Bills and a Corpus Christi acquaintance of mine to let Gene know we would be there and perhaps we could all go have a drink together to meet his new wife. They were perched at the end of their dock as we went by and welcomed us to Ft. Myers Beach. Bill was creative with his own salutation. We soon found our mooring ball assignment at the South end of the mooring field and began to make plans to go check in, Meet up with Gene and be back in time to change the V-belts on the engine. I knew it was time to change them and did not want to be motoring in the ICW with belts that might be questionable. If one gave way it would be at the worst possible moment in narrow waterways with lots of traffic and bridges to navigate. It is always better to work on a cool engine rather than a hot one but the logistics of possibly getting back to the boat after dark after a couple of fine beers to change v belts did not sound so attractive either. I decided to just get her done so our evening schedule would not be difficult especially since we would be dingying to the far end of the mooring field for the evening activities. It was not so bad I just opened up all the hatches, got all my tools together and dived in. The old belts were cooperative, came off easy and the new ones back on.
After wards we dingied to the Matanzas Inn, checked in and then met Gene & wife at the Upper deck just above the Matanzas Inn and had a great reunion. Afterwards They gave us a walking tour of the Ft. Myers Beach area, one more beer at one of Gene's favorite Bar & Grill. They invited us back to their boat for more conversation but I felt myself headed for the dingy and a restful sun down on the boat. I told Bill I would be glad to dingy back in and get him later but after consideration he was ready to return to Wand'rin Star as well.