Friday, September 25, 2009

Day 7 - "There are those that HAVE and those that WILL" Ft. Myers to Venice, FL

Friday dawned beautifully in Ft. Myers. We made a later than usual start since we were feeling pretty good about ourselves having come all the way from Islamorada the day before and with problems in the process.

First order of business was fill the tanks since we got in after Moss Marina had closed. (By the way these are very friendly and accomodating people - highly recommended). After filling the tank I needed to pay. Unfortunately the Marina office was quite a walk but there was a bicycle right there at the fuel dock. How thoughtful and convenient! I rode the bike to the office to pay only to be chased down by the boater who owned the bike, thinking I was stealing it.


First off, I wouldn't do that. Second, who would steal that wreck?! (And Moss Marine SHOULD keep a bike at the fuel doc. That seems very thoughtful to me. ) Anyway, Smokey wasn't called, we all had a good laugh, I paid and we left Moss Marina, Estero Island, Ft. Myers beach bound for points North.

Turning the point at Ft. Myers Beach to cross the mouth of Charlotte harbor and go under the bridge to enter the Intracoastal Waterway the Sanibel Point lighthouse comes immediately into view. Beautiful in the morning sun!


My comment on departure was that we would be irresponsible to miss the opportunity to travel the Intracoastal on this stretch. Passing behind Sanibel, Captiva, North Captiva, Cayo Costa, Boca Grande and other beautiful barrier islands is a treal enjoyed by too few people. The sea life was thick. We passed a small boat circling in the channel with a passenger leaning over the edge petting the Dolphins running along side their boat. How cool is that? The stretch from the mouth of Charlotte Harbor at Ft. Myers to above Boca Grande pass is as pretty as anything we have seen so far. THAT is saying something!

BossSea is running great. I finally figured how to trim her for best performance. We are running along at 23mph, the wind is fresh and cooling and all is right with the world from our vantage point. As we approach the next set of markers there is a sign. As I strain to read it (being the only person on the deck watching the water) I manage to steer left as the channel truns about 30 degrees to the right. Ever wonder what a 19,000 lb boat feels like as it runs aground at 23mph? It would take too long to write the description. Suffice it to say it is a gut wrenching, alarming and somewhat violent event. What is it they say about crashing a plane? It isn't the crash so much as the very sudden stop. The similarities between boating and flying planes is eerie and in this case true. Dusty, laying in the front berth taking a break managed to twist his knee as he was wrapped up in a sheet. (We did notice a nose print on the mirror over the berth that wasn't there before!) Poor guy. Everyone wanted to know what happened. How was I going to tell them that I plowed the boat into about 2 feet of sea grass and muck? They figured it out on their own and were a gracious bunch. So there we were, run agound, not able to move. The props were dug in enough to kill the engine when put in gear. How does such an event look? Well.....anyone who knows Candy knows she does not have long legs...and she is standing in a deep spot! To steal a phrase, "who ya gonna call?" TowBoat US!




TowBoatUS is like AAA on the water. If you own a boat in Florida coastal waters but aren't a member with them or SeaTow you are certifiably crazy. Fortunately I had purchased an unlimited membership. The financial consequences of having not done so would make the gas bill for the trip look like chump change. So there we were, just beyond Red Marker 21 (the turn I missed) glued to the grass and muck at the bottom of Lemon Bay. It is always good to find humor in even the most challenging things.

A quick call on Channel 16 to TowBoatUS and they had a great guy, Captain George, on the way from Englewood. He arrived at the boat within 30 minutes. He said he thought the paperwork would take longer than freeing us. About 3 hours later, yes 3 hours of constant churning and pulling, he had managed to work us loose. THAT was an experience! An he too was gracious reminding me that in these parts there are two types of boaters, those who have run aground and those who will. I felt better and don't feel the need to ever do that again!

Dusty, being the type to eagerly walk through doors that get opened to him, did some fishing as we waited for the tow boat and managed to land a nice size snook. Too bad the telephoto wasn't on zoom, it was a nice fish.

We baked in the sun from around noon to 3pm while Captain George shallowed out a bowl under the boat with his tow boat engine. With much coaxing he managed to pull us free. Then the question. What was bent or broken? Remember, 19,000 pounds x 23mph = a lot of momentum! Fortunately, everything seemed to work fine. Dusty dove under the boat to check the props and rudders. Looked good. We were underway but physically and mentally exhausted. While planning to make Sarasota or even Clearwater before the side trip to the sand bar, we decided to stay the night in Venice, FL at the Crow's Nest Marina and Restaurant, right in the mouth of Venice Inlet. This is some 25 miles from Sarasota. We fueled up, showered and had dinner in their fantastic restaurant. As we finished dinner the sun was setting at Venice Beach. Corinne took this beautiful shot right at sunset over Venice Inlet.

Look what we would have missed if I had been more responsible!

We set out in the morning for Clearwater (again). 63 statute miles, roughy 3 hours and we are there. (We won't be taking the Intracoastal. (I am not likely to run aground out in the Gulf.) The next challenge is that our slip is not ready. We are supposed to have a temporary berth ready across Mandalay Channel from our place. The specifics of that aren't yet finalized with the company that was supposed to have our slip at the condo prepared to receive us.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Live life to its fullest today and be glad!

2 comments:

  1. Well at least you got it out of the way. You've now officially run aground so you won't ever have to do it again! You've had just about every experience imaginable on this trip haven't you? Love you guys and glad you'll make it home today!

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  2. Yep, it is out of the way. As the tow boat driver said, there are 2 kinds of boaters. Those who have run aground and those who will. Richard handled it well. No need to practice that again. Even with the bumps, this trip has been great. It has far exceeded our expectations. We have had incredible weather. We almost hate to see it end. We will start planning our next big trip for next summer. There are a couple of things I have learned. The first is that there are NO good hair days on a boat and the second is that you will go home with numerous bruises on your body. I am so grateful that Dusty and Corinne went with us. (I would have had to go down and check propellers and rudders) BossSea has given us a week of wonderful memories.

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