Monday, April 28th (cont'd)
I failed to mention that, as fate would have it, a friend of Tim's is down here to get married on May 1st.  Pete is an almost-retired Army National Guard officer, whom Tim has worked with.  After we washed the salt off the boat, filled up the fresh water tanks and cleaned up a bit, we met Pete and his fiance Vicky downtown.  Most of the eating/drinking establishments here have live entertainment in one form or another.  In one of the places we went, the guy that was singing sang a special wedding song for them.  We enjoying watching the locals and visiting and parted ways before supper.  We walked down to a restaurant on the pier to watch the sunset, along with a whole bunch of other folks. Tim ordered some conch fritters.  He said he won't be ordering them again. After the sunset we headed back to the boat.  Since we've been sleeping 'on the hook', without electricity, we've not used the air conditioner.  When we got back to the boat tonight it about froze us out.  It did make for a nice night of sleeping, however.

Panoramic view of the pier

Pete and Vicky

Tuesday, April 29th
Ate breakfast at the marina snack bar. $38. Ouch.  But, we already figured out that everything here is expensive.  Our normal dockage fee has been between $1-$1.50 a foot.  Here it's $4 a foot.  It does go down to $3.25 if we stay more than 3 nights. There are a lot of "Everything is $5" stores all over the place, so I guess not all is expensive. :)
Each day we've been here, local fishermen catch and clean their fish right on the dock which runs along the back of our slip.  There are several cats that come out hoping to get a bite.  There is also a white heron that, according to one of the marina workers, has taught herself to not be afraid of people.  He said it has taken her quite awhile to 'socialize' and you still can't get very close to her, but she will walk the dock while fish are being cleaned and watch.  The marina worker said she is building a nice nest in the rocks which serve as the break wall for the marina and he is hoping she finds a mate and they stick around. Once the fishermen have cut their filets, they take the remainder of the fish (spine/head/tail, etc) and dangle it above the water close by.  Very large tarpon are waiting and will jump up and swallow the fish carcass whole.  The tarpon look an awful lot like carp to us, but we're told they are tarpon.  Big.  Ugly.
Another couple that Tim knows (Col(R) John and Sam), from St Augustine, came down to surprise Vicky for the wedding. While we were waiting for Pete and Vicky to get done kayaking, we all had a little lunch and toured the Turtle Kraals museum.  In the mid to late 1800s Key West was the center for turtle processing and canning. At that time, turtle soup was considered a delicacy in parts of the United States and especially in Europe.  Turtles caught throughout the Caribbean were shipped to Key West, kept alive by cruelly placing them on their backs aboard the turtle schooner ADAMS. Upon arrival in Key West, turtles were kept in dockside corrals called 'kraals' until they were slaughtered and processed into soup.  By 1970 the turtle population had been devastated. Through the courageous efforts of visionary conservationists, in cooperation with the Governor of Florida, the first catch size regulations were enacted on March 23rd, 1971, establishing that any turtle smaller than 41 inches was to be released. Turtle canneries went out of business, and the turtle trade came to an end in '71 with the passage of the Endangered Species Act.  The curator of the museum was a very friendly, knowledgeable individual.  He has written a book (available on kindle) that supposedly his agent is delivering a hard copy of to Michelle Obama.  He's hoping if she likes it that she will mention it to Oprah.  He said "hey, you never know.."  Now, back to the surprise for Vicky.....
Tim, Joe and I played a small role in keeping the secret and making arrangements for a 'surprise meeting'.  After the surprise we came back to the boat and ate a little supper.  The boys went up to the local Tiki hut and listened to the entertainment, and visited with some of the local 'crews' that work the snorkel/dive/cruise boats.  I stayed 'home' and worked on the blog and found a Royal's game to watch on TV.  Lucky, they are playing Tampa Bay for a 3 days series and I'm hoping I can catch at least one more game.


Tarpon

Sam and John

Turtle Kraal Museum Curator

Wednesday, May 1
Happy May Day!!  Well, the big wedding on the beach is today.  The guys are getting ready, as I type this.  We met John and Sam for lunch today.  It's been raining mostly all day, but about an hour ago things started clearing up.  The wedding is at 7, and it looks like it will be nice for the ceremony.
Well, we're back.  Decided to rent a 4 person electric car to drive to the beach and maybe do a little site seeing while we had it.  It was nice to not have to walk the 2 miles to the beach for the wedding.  The ceremony was very nice. Very nice, indeed.  Best wishes to Col and Mrs. Peter Seaholm!

Our little smart car

Colonel and Mrs. Peter Seaholm

Florida Keys or bust....

Wednesday, April 24th

Tim and I left KC (thanks Jeremy for the ride to the airport) and arrived in Fort Myers, FL by early evening. Thanks to Dave and Patt for a pickup and delivery to the boat (home on the water)! After supper at the marina, we settled in for the night. Much to do tomorrow, including leaving for southern water....


Dave and Patt

Joe, 'living the dream'.



Now bear in mind, Joe had been back at the boat since the 15th. After purchasing a round trip ticket when we all last departed FL, he determined that it would take a 'letter from the Dr.' to change his return flight without significant expense. So, he had a very leisurely week awaiting our return. Well, not too leisurely, as the boat was in tip top shape when we returned and clean as a whistle! One of the reasons....well, actually the ONLY reason we didn't come back when Joe did was because we were awaiting the arrival of our 2nd grandchild. God has blessed our family with a little brother for Jeremiah. Elisha Christopher Layden was born on April 22nd. He weighed in at a lofty 9lbs 2oz and measured 21 1/4" in length. All are doing well. Pam's mother is helping out for a couple of weeks and Aunt Jessica is coming up a little later to help out for a week. 



Jeremiah and sweet Elisha

Now, back to boating......

 

Thursday, April 25th

Dave and Patt came to get us bright and early for 1-breakfast, 2-another trip to West Marine and 3-a grocery store run.  All 3 steps completed in time for Dave's 11-ish tee time.  Thanks again to Dave and Patt for providing much needed support and great company during our stay in Punta Gorda/North Fort Myers!!  After returning to the boat and putting away all the supplies, I started a load of laundry (for some reason I had left a FULL hamper of dirty clothes (tmi?)), while the guys drove the boat over to the gas dock for a pump out and a fill up.  We got to visit one last time with our new 'buddy' Don Fortune.  His nametag says Don Fortunato. Who knew??  It's kind of funny. We all really enjoyed talking to Don and his co-workers couldn't understand all the fuss.  Don tells them that he was a "FBD"(Former Big Deal) in the KC area.  Whatever... WE had a great time talking to him!!




Joe, Don, Beth, Tim









After exchanging email addresses and saying our goodbyes, we pulled away from Burnt Store Marina a little after noon.  The waters were relatively calm heading into Charlotte harbor as we made our way up to Gasparilla Island, where we would head back south.  We saw a group of boats near shore. Some were anchored. Some were not. Some pleasure boats. Some fishing boats.  For those from Lake Perry, it sure beats our little Party Cove!  While heading back into the gulf waters, we saw a very large sea turtle.  The guys figured it's head was the size of an NFL football.  To date, we have seen 3 or 4 more, but they are very elusive and we've never been able to capture a picture.  We contined on to Sanibel Island where we intended to anchor for the night.  We had a beautiful sunset and a full moon and settled in for the night.  Now, bear in mind that the boat was positioned on the side of the island that would protect us from the NNE winds the NOAA 'weather people' predicted.  At about 23:49 (that's 11:49 p.m. for you civilians) waves started beating on the back of the boat...from the south...from the oppposite directed the weather 'experts' had predicted.  As a result, the boat was being pushed off anchor, towards land.  Tim and Joe jumped into action and quickly got us straightened out and underway.  We initially thought about heading to another side of land, but we would have had to travel approximately 6 miles south, a couple miles east and then another 5-6 miles back north to get behind protection.  Since we only travel about 7 mph we decided to go ahead and continue on south, as opposed to traveling several hours and getting nowhere.




Gasparilla (party cove)

Full moon at Sanibel Island



Friday, April 26
We ended up driving all night and finally anchored around 6:30 at Marco Island and got some sleep.  We anchored near shore, close to what appeared to be a white, sandy beach.  The guys got the dinghy out and Tim and I motored to shore.  Not a lot of sand, but did find some pretty nice shells to take back for the grandsons (LOVE the fact that that's plural now!!).   Had a fairly uneventful day, got plenty of rest, ate a little (we're all trying to lose weight..see picture above with Don :)), and went to bed.  When you're on a boat that is anchored out (no shore power), you have a tendency to go to bed when the sun goes down. 

Saturday, April 27
Arose with the sun (about 6:30ish), had morning coffee/diet coke and got underway.  On the tip of the island we saw these unusual, igloo-looking structures.  They turned out to be someone's private home. It is known as the 'dome home' and is located right on Romano beach, at the tip of Marco Island. It sustained severe damage in hurricane Wilma/2005 and has not been 'restored'. Photo courtesy of 'The Marco Times'.  From Marco Island we set a course to Key West.  20 miles later, we changed course, due to bad seas, and ended at Sandy Key.  If you look on a map, it's easy to miss it.  It's in a group of small islands, 85% of which are underwater at high tide.  Made for some tricky maneuvering and anchorage, but we've got the best Captain, so no worries!!  He even steers without a steering wheel (more on this later).  As the sun set, we got out the cards and our little battery operated lantern and played some Hearts.  Everyone was pretty tired though, so we retired after 3 hands. Tim was ahead....


Cape Romano's Dome Home



 

 

After wiping 2' of boat rail...salt anyone?
 

When hats are below...improvise

Sunday, April 28

After another calm night, we arose with the sun and headed for Marathon, FL.  Arrived a little after noon and had to determine whether to go 'outside' or 'inside' to Key west.  The difference is miles and days it takes. Outside is much shorter and much quicker.  Going out to the Gulf you cross under the famous Seven Mile Bridge.  In an effort to save time, we decided to attempt the outside path.  Forecast called for SSE winds at 10-15 knots with 3'-4' seas.  This time, they were right and "golly bob howdy vern" HANG ON!!  The deal is, once you're outside, you stay outside until the next cleared passage back in.  In this case it was 7 miles.  The seas were at our back, which is known as 'following' seas. In other words, the waves pushed you wherever they wanted to....up....down....left....right....high....low.  Tim piloted the entire way. Joe had a blast and I held on for dear life.  We reached the bridge (thank you God) and headed back inside.  Upon further review, we decided that the seas we were in were no more rough than ones we had experienced before.  The difference being the direction they came from.  It's pretty difficult to steer/control the boat while being pushed.  Somewhat similar to why airplanes take off and land INTO the wind. 

Seven Mile bridge

The path through the 'inside' is very narrow in many places.  Overall, the depth of the water surrounding the keys is amazingly shallow.  We saw many fishermen, some pleasure craft and 'millions' of crab pots.  Ever since reaching the Gulf, crab pots have been a part of life.  They do tend to break up the monotony at the helm, dodging left and right around them.  On our way to our evening stop we passed many areas where it looked like the water was neon blue/green.  The channel took us close to one such area only one time.  We decided that this phenomenon was a result of pure white sand/rock on the bottom, reflecting the blue sky.  We took several pictures, but they in no way accurately reflect just how beautiful it was/is.  That night we stayed at Jewfish creek.  It was pretty windy and we had quite a time setting the front anchor.  We were finally successful on the 3rd attempt.  But not before Tim noticed his bare feet getting dripped on.  Turns out that hydraulic fluid was dripping from the steering column. It only dripped when being used, so what do you do? You don't use it.  Not a big deal for Tim because he is very adept at steering with the transmissions and throttles. Joe and I just use Gary (the autopilot) and leave all the difficult situations to the Captain. :) After we were all settled in and supper was eaten, we played a few hands of Hearts and retired with the sunset, once again.

Our favorite! The crab pot!

The neon seas



Helm, minus steering wheel.

Monday, April 29

We awoke to a very beautiful red sky. This is not a good thing for those at sea, but it was awfully pretty.  As always, we monitored the weather and had plans to drop anchor, let out lots of line, and go below to allow any bad storms/lightning to pass.  As it turns out, we only got a little rain. Not enough to really worry about.  As we were leaving Jewfish Creek, a pair of dolphins swam right up on our port side, stayed along side and then took the lead out front.  One of them jumped/played about 50' in front of the boat.  It was like they were saying "good morning". Beautiful!  We love it when we see dolphins. Next time you see Tim, be sure to have him do his 'dolphin call' for you. We only had to go about 15 miles to reach Key West and could see it from many miles away.  There was a Carnival cruise ship in port when we came in.  The local folks tell us they are here 5-6 days a week.  We pulled into Galleon Marina and Tim skillfully snaked us in and around 1-5 million dollar boats and into our slip for a few days.  It's hot, hot, hot, but we are loving it.



Beautiful morning sky

 



Our escorts
 

Finally, A Day at Sea

Friday, 22 March 2013

Today the seas were forecast to be semi-smooth and the winds tolerable,though the temperature would only get into the high 60’s.

The new sea water pump had arrived this morning so I picked it up and Joe and I installed it.  Patt and Dave arrived so we headed out to Boca Grande Pass and Gasparilla Island. 

This was about 11 miles away.  Seas were indeed smooth.  We tied up at the Boca Grande Marina and rented a 6 person golf cart to travel around the island.

Many very pretty high dollar homes.   We went to the south end of the island to an appropriately named bar and grille called “South Beach Bar and Grille”. 

 After lunch we walked out on the beach and people watched and collected shells. 

Then, we rode the golf cart around for a short tour of the rest of the island before departing back to our marina.  The pier full of resting seabirds:

 One of the amazing things we saw were these Banyan Trees. 

Seas were still smooth and we encountered several more dolphins. 

We encountered this fine vessel, “Little Toot”. 

Included For Kevin Newman

On our return to the marina I prohibited Joe from looking in the engine room.

Lazy Day

Thursday, 21 March 2013

One of the things Joe discovered after we got back from our aborted attempt to go to sea on Wednesday was a leaking sea water pump on the port engine. (I told him to quit looking in the engine room, no good ever comes of that) So, with Dave’s assistance, we removed the pump and disassembled it.  It had a leaking seal which we found to be available on line, but not handily, and till we got it fixed, we were dead in the water.  Dave conferred with the Marina Maintenance Man, who declared these pumps to be non-repairable, (which prompted Joe and I to come up with our pump overhaul business plan).  Chuck and his associate, Merlyn, the maintenance men, were happy to order us a replacement pump for $400.00 and it would arrive here by 0730 the next morning. So order it we did.  Now, having nothing better to do since we could not go to sea, even if the winds allowed it, we launched the dinghy to motor up to the end of the marina cove, where there were many Manatees swarming.  We were able to get to within about 6 feet of them.

Beth and I went first, then Joe and Patt. 

Joe had worked up such a lather that he had to get into the water to cool off. (water temperature of 67 degrees).  

While he was in the water he caught the “crabs”.

 

 Don Fortune, the former Kansas City area Sports Broadcaster came down and visited with us for another hour or so.  He visited with Beth while his dog “Skipper” visited with Joe.  He advised us that we were entitled to use the marina pool and hot tub during our stay so off we went to the tub.  Returning from the tub we noticed that the Marina Lounge was having a Karaoke event. Joe and I went to this event to evaluate the talent.  We found plenty of talent, none of it good.

Rough Sea

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Temperature was going to be ok for today, but the winds were still blowing.  We attempted to go to Boca Grande, but after battling 3-4 foot waves for 3 miles we turned around and went back to the marina.  Then we went to Joe’s friends house in Cape Coral to explore the possibility of leaving the boat at their house (they live on a boat road/canal).  They have a very fine house. They were discussing the plans to demolish this fine home to rebuild it 6 inches higher to meet “code”.  It was either that or do a $400,000 remodel. After visiting them we went to the historic downtown district of Fort Myers waterfront and had lunch at Fords Garage. 

After lunch we walked over to the actual waterfront which is on the Caloosahatchie River.  There, much to our surprise/shock/amazement, were the Nina and Pinta, two of Christopher Columbus’ ships from his discover America Cruise. 

These two replica ships have been many places where we have been. Wherever we go, there they are! (quite amazing). Now it had started raining.  So in this rain, the five of us went to Cactus Jack’s for dinner. They initially seated us under a thatch roof, which was dripping all over us, so we moved.  The live jazz music was good and the food tolerable.

Wasting Away in Punta Gorda Ville

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Our original plan for this segment of the journey was to get to the Florida Keys, visit Key West, The Dry Tortugas, get around Miami and across to the Bahamas.  Since we have lost so much time due to weather delays, we have decided to leave the boat at Burnt Store Marina (Punta Gorda, FL) and return home for several weeks. But before departing for home we will visit several of the outlying islands in this area and sight see. 

While we were tiding up the boat, an official marina person approached us and asked if we were the people with the boat from the port of Perry, Kansas.  We said yes, and suddenly Beth shouted, “I know you!”. I did not know if this would require a fisticuff engagement or not.  This “celebrity” marina person is Don Fortune, a Kansas City area sports announcer/commentator for the Kansas City television and radio markets.

We visited and caught up on old times.  Don had a sailboat on Lake Perry at the Perry Yacht Club Marina during his time broadcasting in the Kansas City area. He had retired from broadcasting and moved to this area and whiles away his time working at this marina.  He told us he was working 4 days this week, through Saturday, so we would have many opportunities to visit more.

Dave and Patt came to pick us up and we went to breakfast at John Skis’s House of Breakfast in Punta Gorda.  A menu to behold. Then it was on to West Marine for another couple hundred dollars of stuff, then Walmart, Bealls, then to Dave and Pats home.  Dave, Joe and I rested while Beth and Patt went out to do even more shopping.  Dave and Patt had been invited to a Hors d'oeuvres event at Carl and Linda’s condo at our marina, so we dressed in our finest and away we went.  Carl is a retired Harbor Pilot from the New York Harbor area and entertained us with many interesting sea faring tales.

On to Burnt Store Marina

Monday, 18 March 2013

Omission, before I talk about today, I forgot to include a couple of items from Sunday.  Our route took us through Tampa Bay.

Approaching the Tampa Bay Sunshine Skyway Bridge



Under we go!

The Coast Guard was broadcasting that a moving security zone would be in place beginning at 1600 hours while a cruise ship moved out to sea from the Tampa Cruise Ship terminal so we were in quite a hurry to get out of the way before we were shut down for a couple of hours.  We were successful.  Now, back to today.

Under way again, today headed to Burnt Store Marina, located in Charlotte Harbor, Florida. About 58 miles by water, we traveled through the Venice Florida area. Many, many, many high dollar homes and condo developments along the waterway and recreational boat traffic is increasing with many boats piloted by not so skilled or courteous skippers.  The first thing we encountered after getting underway was the U.S. Corps of Engineers Dredge Murdock. I hailed him on the radio to coordinate passing instructions and he advised me that the channel was 100 feet wide and he was using the right hand 50 feet of it, so I should pass close alongside.  It is quite a vessel!

It is dredging sand up from underneath itself and depositing it in the interior of the ship.   The channel clearly needed it since we showed only 4 feet of water.

Soon after passing through the Venice area, we received a severe thunderstorm alert warning of "deadly air to sea lightning" so we headed to the nearest marina to park next to something taller than us.  We found the Palm Island Marina and called them for tie up instructions. They were most helpful.  This marina is located in Englewood, Florida and must have been the favorite place for lunch and extended lunches on this coast.  It was packed.  After a hour, it quit lightning and the rain had eased up so we got under way once again.

This was the last obstacle blocking our access to Charlotte Harbor.

It opens on the half hour and hour, so after a 9 minute wait we were through.

We arrived at the Burnt Store Marina about 1800 hours and were met by Beth's brother Dave and his friend Patt.  Once secured, we moved to the marina lounge for celebratory stuff.