Days 65-66, Jan 6-7, Gasparilla Island
Next stop Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island. Boca Grande is what I’ve labeled “the Hamptons of Florida”. The Gasparilla Inn & Club was built more than 100 years ago for the wealthiest of the wealthy from New England to escape winters. The Bush family winters there. We were looking forward to experiencing at least a day or two. We were unable to get dockage at the Boca Grande in the heart of the town as they were hosting a yacht club group. On their recommendation, we headed for Uncle Henry’s Marina at the north end of the island.
Getting to Uncle Henry’s required a treacherous journey along a very narrow winding channel for over a mile. Have never before experienced a channel with S-curves like that. Fortunately, the dockmaster was at a third floor lookout and could direct us along the way. Shallow water creates much stress for us as a crew and this was some extremely shallow water. The marina was at least a safe harbor for a couple of nights though extremely pricey for few amenities. The only nearby restaurant was closed the two nights we were there.
The locals and visitors mostly use golf carts to get about. We only wanted to make the short 3 mile trip to the town area for a few hours so opted for Uber instead of renting a golf cart. I noted that the Uber driver was coming over the bridge from the mainland but didn’t think much of that since I guessed most Uber drivers could not afford to live on the island. We arrived downtown about 5:15 to find that (as we say in Texas) “they had rolled up the sidewalks”. Shops closed at 5:00 and there was hardly a soul in sight. Still we enjoyed a walkabout and had an amazing meal at the famed Pink Elephant restaurant.
When we were ready to leave about 7:30, I opened my Uber app and got a response “no drivers available”. I waited a bit and tried again, same response. Uh, oh, no driver was wanting to come back over to the island. I asked the hostess if she could call for a taxi. That was when I found out there were no taxis on the island. I asked if she had a boyfriend who wanted to take us back and make a bit; not on the island. I explained our situation and that our marina was more than 3 miles away and we weren’t prepared to walk that far. The restaurant was part of the fancy hotel across the street, she called for them to send a cart for us. When the cart driver started out in a different direction, I gave him directions to our marina. “The golf cart doesn’t have enough charge to go that far”. He assumed we were at the in town marina only a few blocks away. So he took us back to the hotel to get a van. When he got off the cart and started in to get the key, I asked if we should follow him. He looked stunned and gave a quick “no”. We easily got the idea the boss would not approve of his taking non-guests for a ride home. He did get a van and returned us to the marina where we stayed put until time to leave and face the treacherous channel again.
Day 67 – 77, Jan 8 – 18, Ft. Myers
Ft. Myers – what a treat! The city owned Ft. Myers Yacht Basin was quite a way up the river from the ICW but we were happy to add the side trip for the conveniences and delightful time we spent. The marina was an easy walk to the charmingly redeveloped old downtown area with lots of restaurant choices and good shopping. It was a very socially active time for us. We made new friends with the crew of Pizza Money who shared their car for shopping. We reconnected with the crew of All Talk whom we had anchored next to near Panama City and shared a dock in Apalachicola.
Our friends Simon and Linda Hameka, also from the Galveston Bay, TX, area had left more than a month after we did. They caught up with us and we spent fun time together.
Dave and Barb Reinken had us to their home for a gathering of DeFever owners. What a pleasure! Not only did we make lots of new friends but we finally met in person with Kemba and Bob DeGroot, former owners of our boat. Not only are they the sweetest people and great fun socially, they are generous beyond words as they visited our boat and spent hours sharing advice and answering questions then gifted us with scads of charts and books documenting their journey. Kemba is quite the writer and brings great color to her story.
John and Pam Short of “Short Vacation” are also DeFever owners. They generously provided us with transportation to the DF party and spend time sharing their knowledge and experience. We had the very great pleasure of attending their celebration of earning the gold burgee as they crossed their wake and completed the Great Loop right there at the Ft. Myers Yacht Basin.
We hated the thought of leaving and easily see why so many loopers choose the Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area as a new home base after completing the loop. There is so much to see and do in the area and we did not even scratch the surface.
Day 78 – 79, Jan 19- 20,
As much as we were enjoying our time in Ft. Myers, the Keys were calling to us. Once again, the weather was dictating a schedule. There would be less desirable conditions for a week or more and about a 24 hour weather window with conditions we felt comfortable with. As uncomfortable as we had been on the overnight trip from Apalachicola to Clearwater, we decided to do another overnight trip. We felt confident the conditions would be much more in our favor this time and they were. We scrubbed our plans for a leisurely hop down the coastline with multiple stops and geared up to head straight across the Gulf from Ft. Myers to Marathon, a 130 mile, 20 hour journey. We were comforted that we had two other boats to share the voyage.
While the weather and wave conditions were much better, the crab pots presented the big challenge. They were everywhere the entire passage; bad enough in the daylight but even worse in the dark. We were three boats and the lead had a good light on the front. Throughout the night they were calling out on the VHF, “crab pots to port”, “crab pots to starboard”, “crab pots everywhere”. We had on our forward spotlight plus using flashlights to try to keep them spotted. Good news was we all three made it thru without incident. About 5:00 in the morning, we realized we would be arriving at the marina before daylight and the density of the crab pots was becoming impossible. We dropped anchor for about an hour to wait for dawn. While we were waiting the wind began to build up with us totally unprotected as we were still in the Gulf. Another challenge but not too much for us.
Day 80 – 105, Jan 21 – Feb 15, Marathon, FL
Reaching the Florida Keys has been another major milestone. It is a boaters dream come true. We had heard there were no marinas available and had some concern for finding a spot (well, Peter anyway). Yvonne worked a little magic and found us great dockage at the gorgeous Marlin Bay Resort & Marina with a plan to stay one month.
It isn’t a particularly large marina but it is filled with other loopers and we have spent time making new friends and catching up with others we have met along the way. Some arrived ahead of us with plans to stay the entire winter. Others come and go in a few days and everything in between. Everyone cruises in their own unique style and timing. The winter storms that bring blizzards to other parts of the country will sometimes reach down here bringing a north wind and dropping temps into 60’s requiring a hoodie when out and about. Mostly it is sunshine and high 70’s temps, even warmer some days.
We finally had the opportunity to put our dinghy in the water. We had acquired her only a few days before departing in early Nov. with barely time to make a few rounds in Clear Lake then lift her to the carrier on top of the deck. As we were settled in here for a bit of time, she made it back into the water. We’ve spent time cruising her in and out of the marina and will begin using her for transportation to other parts of the island. Very happy with the selection we made.
Yvonne’s sister, Denise, and great niece, Tori, came for a too brief visit. We enjoyed lots of eating out, cocktails by the pool, a day trip to Key West, and time together.
Looking forward
Yvonne’s brother, Dave, and his wife, Pauline, will be visiting this coming week. For a variety of reasons, we decided to keep our slip at Marlin Bay until March 20. During that time we will be making a two-week trip back to Texas and preparing to leave for the Bahamas. Not a day passes that we do not express our appreciation for the opportunity to experience this life with the joy of being on the water in gorgeous scenery, the connection with nature, the pleasure of time with family and friends. We only wish such happiness for all of you.
