Ft Myers Beach

We left Cayo Costa State Park on Wed the 20th. We hit bottom coming out of Pelican Bay but nothing serious. We were able to motor-sail with the genoa out on the ICW in Pine Island Sound. We passed by North Captiva Island and Sanibel Island; crossed the “Miserable Mile” (so named for the squirrelly currents). Captain Paul said the rudder felt “mushy” with the tidal pressure. We ended up in San Carlos Bay at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. We encountered two shrimp boats that ran aground entering the Matanzas Pass into Ft Myers Beach. A third shrimper was on the radio thanking pleasure craft for creating the wakes which helped him get underway again! We think they were in an area where they usually have plenty of water but storms may have recently silted in the pass. Shrimping is a very big industry here bringing $60 million to the economy, second only to tourism. The high cost of fuel has kept many of the boats in the harbors, however. Here’s one of the aground boats:

We got a slip at Moss Marine in Ft. Myers Beach. I was anxious to do some laundry but found out my timing was off. There’s a huge casino ship that docks there, the Big “M”, and they happened to be filling her water tanks, hence the water pressure for anything else was practically zero! But we did have a great view of the lunar eclipse when the clouds cleared.

On Thursday we moved over to the Matanzas Mooring Field run by the Matanzas Inn. It’s $13 per day which includes head (toilet) pump outs at your boat and limited shower/laundry facilities. The downside is the close to 15-min. dinghy ride to the dinghy docks. We’re on mooring ball #53 which is almost at the end of the 60-ball field. We paid a week’s rent and may be able to move closer if one becomes available. There’s a public trolley for a quarter which takes you just about wherever you’d want to go. But…. we got to grocery shop in a “real car” when Paul’s brother Jim and wife Lou picked us up. They’re nearby now in Bonita Springs so we’ll be seeing them a few times while we’re in the area – yay!



This one is for you Sue Hall! She'd asked what temps we're enjoying. This was in the internet cafe we went to on Friday by trolley. The 80 degree reading was in the shade so it felt much warmer in the sun. Paul figures I'll be complaining about the heat soon (he's probably right!) Ft Myers Beach is a very busy place this time of year - lots of traffic and lack of parking spots.

On Saturday morning, we took the dinghy over to Salty Sam’s Marina and paid the $10 to leave it there as it was way more convenient than the other dinghy dock. Jim and Lou picked us up there; we drove to Naples and had breakfast at a nice outdoor café. We were entertained by the “attack cat” and her owner who sat next to us – very strange! We toured around Naples and checked out the municipal marina for a possible place to stay. We hit a produce market on our way back to Jim and Lou’s lovely condo at Coconut Shores in Bonita Springs. They made us a delicious dinner and the evening was topped off by a “real” shower and sleeping in a “real” bed - what a treat!
Sunday was spent running some errands, taking in a Florida flea market, some clothes shopping and a visit with Bill and Mary, Lou’s sister and brother-in-law who live in Cape Coral. This picture was taken poolside in their lanai (a Hawaiian word for a screened-in patio). Paul's brother Jim and Lou are on the right.


Then we checked out the Cape Harbor Marina and “yachting community” where we’ll be moving later in the week. We got back to the dinghy, then the boat on good old Mooring Ball #53 on Sunday evening. Thanks again Jim and Lou for a fun weekend!

Monday was almost “hot” (low 80s) and humid – I’m almost looking forward to the “cold” front that supposed to be moving in! We finally saw one of our “Looper” friends; Andre and Olga of “Mystic Bond” are here on a mooring ball but headed out on Monday. We took the trolley back to a point where Brother Jim could more easily pick us up. Later that night he drove us out to the airport where Eric’s flight came in at 8:10. I think he was glad to shed his winter coat and enjoy some warm weather. Milwaukee was expecting about 6 in. of snow but he made it out before that arrived. We had a nice dinner and stayed the night on land (thanks again Jim and Lou!)

On Tuesday we headed back to the boat via Jim’s car and the trolley. It took two dinghy trips to get the three of us plus bags to the boat; we’d stopped for some groceries on the way. Here’s Paul (in his new hat) and Eric (the bearded one) at the helm of our little dinghy.


Eric and I spent some time at the beach on Tuesday aft. Ft. Myers Beach is a pretty popular destination as you can see from this picture.

The wind really picked up during the night. We feel pretty secure being tied to the mooring ball as opposed to an anchor though. Here’s a view of part of the mooring field from the upper deck of the Matanzas Inn where Eric and I enjoyed a beverage.


Paul had a pretty low-key birthday (the way he wanted it I think) on Wednesday. We had a mini carrot cake with candles and the three of us went to dinner at the Parrot Key Bar and Grill (the Packer-flavored place) at Salty Sam's Marina. It was a chilly dinghy ride over there. It was only in the 60s today and may hit 40 tonight. I guess Eric brought the cold weather with him!

This is our last night on "good ole mooring ball #53 - we're moving on over to the marina in Cape Coral tomorrow.