What cruising is really like

We had a fairly short travel day when we left Ft. Myers after refueling, refilling the water tanks, and stalking the pumpout boat till we finally caught him. The trip to Useppa was gorgeous -- sunny warm weather, lightly rolling water, dolphin escorts all during the day, and maybe just the slightest hint of vibration from the engine. We're familiar with that feeling and sound, having experienced it after snagging a crab pot on our first cruise. Yep, another crab pot. We should be called a CPSV (crab pot seeking vessel) for our ability to find crab pots in the middle of the channel, in the middle of the ocean, and even in the ICW. We caught one on our crossing from Key West to Ft. Myers which locked up the engine, but after the Captain was able to get in reverse, it seemed we were clear (and could continue on our roller coaster ride). After arriving at the anchorage in Useppa, the Captain used his hookah to go below and check the propeller. The souvenir from the crab pot he got to cut loose is displayed on deck....we gave it a free ride for a while, but no more!

Useppa is such a good anchorage; we visited Cabbage Key (one of the restaurants claiming to have provided the Cheeseburger in Paradise) for a great lunch and a hilarious otter adventure. When we were leaving in our dinghy, Captain noticed an otter in a runabout at the dock. The little guy was peeping out at us just before he grabbed a plastic bag (we don't know if it was their lunch, a souvenir t-shirt, or garbage but we do know it left with the otter) and slipped over the side. Unfortunately it happened too quickly for a photo op, but it would've been a great picture! We then took a dinghy tour of some of the surrounding islands and found a beach for dinghy cleaning. We'd managed to collect quite a few little barnacles in Ft. Myers, and you can tell which side has been scraped (with an ice scraper, a rare commodity in Florida); now she tows behind us with a happier bottom. Gilligan stopped for refreshment after the three hour tour to the small beach, then we watched a gorgeous sunset on our last night in the anchorage.

We left Useppa and headed north to anchor in Englewood, but couldn't reach any locals to check the depth of the anchorage. We decided to keep moving, and ended up at Fisherman's Wharf. It was a nice marina, but it turns out the manager we spoke with when we made reservations was the manager of the restaurant. He assured us a 6' draft was fine (that's always the first question we ask). When we got through the bridge and headed for the dock, we ended up in 5'4" of water (and the tide wasn't due in for over an hour) -- stuck. Conversation with the manager would have been funny if the Captain hadn't had steam coming out of his ears. When the Admiral mentioned (again) the 6' draft, the manager said "sure, we get 100 ft. boats in here" (red flag), then we asked as we came in whether to rig for a port or starboard tie and had to explain what that meant (HUGE red flag). Good news is that some huge boats came by and rocked us enough to get us off the shoal, and we made it to a dock in deeper water (and the first air conditioning we'd had in two weeks).

We cruised north on the ICW again, passing some gorgeous homes (go ahead and pick your favorites; we like to do our Christmas shopping early). Sarasota is impressive, and as we entered the beautiful Sarasota Bay, we got a greeting from the birds singing "Ebony and Ivory" on a small island. The ICW was very active, with some huge boats, some smaller (but high-powered) medium-sized boats, and a smaller canoe of guys on a family outing. It was a good trip, and we ended up within 2 miles of Bradenton, getting the anchor down just after sunset.

Monday was a short trip to Twin Dolphin (about 30 minutes), and we're now backed in, plugged up, and have been to Publix and done the laundry. Thanks to all the guys for helping us in (sailboats don't back up well, especially with strong current and some wind). We had a cookout by the pool with old and new friends, and are now awaiting our daughter, her husband, and the grandbabies!

Ft. Myers was fun.....and we're outta here

We said goodbye to new best friends John and Elizabeth (s/v Dunteri) with a sundowner at Matanzas Pass on Sunday evening, waved goodbye to William and Judy Tuesday morning as they headed north, and waved hello to not-so-new best friends Bill and Charlotte on Wednesday morning as they arrived on Omega. We spent Wednesday afternoon and evening doing a modified pub crawl with Bill and Charlotte, using the last of the freebie and two-fer coupons we collected around town and at the Taste of the Beach festival Sunday afternoon. Since the Captain is known for his.....frugality, Bill and Charlotte cheerfully display the Wicked Wings coupon after a walk on the beach. The evening was complete after we got to hear Steve and Laurie (Laurie Star Duo) at Nemos. They're long-time favorites, and we always look for them in Ft. Myers. The gentleman at the bar is obviously pondering life's mysteries while enjoying the music.

We'll miss Ft. Myers, but are excited about spending the next few days anchoring out, walking on beaches, cleaning the dinghy and boat bottoms, enjoying sunsets, collecting shells, cooking on the grill, and not being near any commercial establishments. Hard as it may be to believe after reading our blogs from the Keys and Ft. Myers (our liver transplant phase), our pleasure in cruising is doing just those things, and it will be nice to begin again. We're headed north to Bradenton, where we'll be joined by our daughter and son-in-law and two grandbabies for a visit. There will definitely be some grandbaby photos soon!

Bonita Bill's on Friday night

Even though the Captain tries his best to keep the Admiral away from karaoke, we were invited by new best friends John and Elizabeth to join them at Bonita Bill's for what they promised would be a great evening...and they weren't wrong! Thankfully, the Admiral kept her seat (having asked those at the table to shoot her if she got up, and the Captain asked them to shoot him too just in case she lived -- he'll pay for that one) and we all enjoyed the music.

We were joined by Todd and Allyson (son-in-law and daughter of William and Poor Old Judy -- more Mayberries growing wild!), who were in Ft. Myers to celebrate Todd's birthday. He wore the traditional family birthday hat (featured earlier on son Eston in Key West), which is passed on with an addition for each new recipient. The addition this time was a line attached to the hat and a coozie so he could always have a beverage handy. The hat was a huge hit, as it was in Key West, and could have been sold for a hefty sum.

The karaoke was buckets of fun (there were also pitchers of fun on the table, but that's another story), with performers ranging from very young (~12 maybe?) to quite mature (~80 maybe?). But by far the best, most popular and sought after performer was Allyson, who did a rousing Dixie Chicks solo, then performed Happy Birthday on stage with Todd, then.....surprise!!...a duet with William. The DJ was so impressed with Allyson that he asked her to attend his session on Saturday night also. Maybe a new career is in the making?

Farewell to the Keys, Hello Ft. Myers

All good things must come to an end, and we untied from Dockside in Marathon last Saturday. We had a good time and met some great people there, but it's time to quit being dock possums and get back to real boating. Not too soon, of course, because we went to Key West when we left.....one last trip to Schooner's Wharf to hear Michael McCloud sing and see our favorite waitress Debbie was a necessity for the Captains. The Admiral also needed an animal fix, provided by McCloud's roadie Cinderella and a sleepy Hemingway cat waiting for the fishing boats to come in. And of course one last sunset shot at Mallory Square for the memory book....

We meant to go to the Dry Tortugas for some great snorkeling after we left Key West, but the winds didn't cooperate with us so we decided to sail overnight to Ft. Myers instead. Winds were predicted at 10-15 out of the east, which would provide a great sail. Monday was great all day, with both the main and the headsail out and gorgeous weather. Monday night, however, the winds picked up to 25-35 for quite a long stretch. We rolled and rocked and pitched and slammed for what seemed like two nights instead of one. When we finally got to Ft. Myers at noon Tuesday, the boat was crusty all over with salt and there were things in the floor we hadn't seen for a year or two...lots of lockers had opened themselves during the night. Thankfully, the only damage was a few bruises and loss of sleep. It took the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday to get everything rinsed off and put back in place, but now it's done and the sun is setting in the mooring field.

On our first cruise, we met a man in Georgetown who learned to play bagpipes and brought them with him on his boat Go Lassie Go. His wife was less than thrilled with his new hobby, but it was a treat to hear "Amazing Grace" every night at sunset in the Bahamas. We also anchored near them in Staniel Cay and got to hear his serenade at sunset there. We saw the boat in Marathon last week, but weren't sure it was him. Imagine our delight when we heard bagpipes at sunset Wednesday in Ft. Myers! It was Go Lassie Go, with the piper on top.

The Tribe Increases

We made a journey to Tennessee and Georgia this past week for a very important reason. Our youngest son Jesse and his fiancee Brittany are getting married May 8 in Macchu Picchu (they're acclimating to the altitude now). In order to have their union recognized in the U.S. they were required to have a civil ceremony here also. That meant we got to attend! We captured the courthouse along with Brittany's grandmother Janice, our daughter Julie, son-in-law Lake, and grandbabies Madison and Micah. It was a wonderful day, a beautiful ceremony, and we're proud to add a lovely daughter-in-law to our motley crew.