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!
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