Heading North

Marco Island

(Monday April 1 - Dist: 108.1 mi;  Avg Speed: 14.4 mph;  TTT: 7:40 hrs)

We chose a perfect day to cross Florida Bay and go up the Gulf Coast; the seas were smooth, the sun was out and the crab pots were every where.  You can see a line of them in the above photo between Finally and ourselves.

We spent a single night in the Marina at Factory Bay and had dinner at the Snook Inn, a very popular bar and grill.  The next morning after a short fog delay we headed out for Fort Meyers Beach.

Fort Meyers Beach

(Tuesday April 2 - Dist: 40.6 mi;  Avg Speed: 7.2 mph;  TTT: 5:00 hrs)

The water was not as smooth the following day and we ran into a number of fog banks but visibility was good enough to see and avoid the crab pots.

Just one look at the beach and Linda was hooked:

Our first week here was supposedly the last week of Spring Break but you would never know it as the beach remains busy every day.

Here are a few shots of our friends enjoying the local colour.

Bonita Bills with Finally and Floating Stone

Tiki Hut with Optimystique

 

Takin' easy

Headed for Doc Ford"s Bar

We had a great last night get together at Doc Ford's with the last remaining Dockside Drinkers from Marathon... Unfortunately, while getting into our dinghy we rubbed against a barnacle and put a 3/4 inch hole in the fabric.  As the air was escaping the front tube the four of us, Richard, Jeell, Linda and I made a mad dash across the bay towards our marina.  Richard was holding the deflated front end out of the water and we did make it to the boat.  Whew!  Fortunately, I was able to get the hole fixed and we are now back in business.

Unfortunately, our friends have all headed off for their summer moorings.  Linda and I decided to stay another couple of weeks in order to enjoy this area and to work out the details for storing the boat for the summer.  More to come on that front.