Total
Miles Traveled 1883.2
Unfortunately
we have had to postpone our adventure to the Chesapeake Bay area until next
year. The decision to hold up at Fort
Myers for a couple of weeks shed more light on the seriousness of the
coronavirus pandemic and the fact that it was probably going to get worse before
getting any better.
We
enjoyed our stay at our friends dock, about 11 miles from downtown Fort
Myers. We had power and water at the
dock and about a mile from a grocery, CVS, and a Dollar General. I rode the bike in once to pick up a couple
of things but our friends David and Barbara took us to the grocery and a
farmers market before we left, okay now we have to reset the fourteen day quarantine
clock. During our stay we waxed on the boat, changed the oil and filter on the
generator, and watched the gators swim about the boat looking for a handout.....or a hand.
Moni turned this wine bottle into a decorative water bottle.
We
were also amazed at the fishing skills of the local marine life. I can’t believe they can catch a fish this
size, but also swallow it whole! It will
catch the fish, keep shaking it, dipping it in and out of the water, then with
one quick jerk, gets the fish straight in line with its neck, then gulp….okay
maybe a couple of gulps to get it all the way down.
We
departed Fort Myers on Friday April 3rd and cruised 48 miles to
Punta Blanca Island. We normally travel
on weekdays to avoid the weekend congestion of boaters but during social
distancing and many businesses being closed, we didn’t see much
difference.
Our
friends Mike and Jan on m/v Trust Me left Key West and caught up with us at our
anchorage. They had a battery charger fail
and I have a spare, so they were going to use our spare until their new one
could be shipped to Mobile. We were
going to raft up together but as they were pulling alongside of us a Florida
marine patrol boat followed them in and informed us that the social distancing
rules in Florida required boats to be anchored at least 50 feet apart????? The rules also say no more than 10 people on
board, so we can’t raft up and stay on our boats but a pontoon can have 10
people on board? Oh well, it’s a new
experience for everyone. The officer
said we could exchange the needed part, but would have to anchor apart.
We
had some unexpected entertainment while anchored here; we had five Manatees
swimming around our boats all afternoon.
We have only seen two here during previous anchorages so this was a real
treat.
Back Stroke?
Moni caught a couple of Puffer Fish? When she caught them they were the size of a catfish but when we took them off the hook, wow!
We
weighed anchor April 6th and cruised 53 miles to Sarasota. We had to pass through eight bridges but only
two of them had to open for us. We
anchored close to the Ringling Bridge and Mike and Jan continued on to visit
family near Gulfport, FL.
On
April 7th we cruised 57 miles to an anchorage at Clearwater Beach,
FL. This is a well-protected anchorage and with possible scattered
thunderstorms predicted for the next week or so, this will be a good place to
wait for a Gulf crossing opportunity. We
were treated to a “Pink Moon” the second evening we were anchored.
Tadaaa!
Mike
and Jan arrived from their visit at Gulfport yesterday, looks like we’re complying
with the 50 foot rule. Now, if we go to
the Clearwater Beach Marina, we can be in a slip next to each other without
being 50 feet apart. J
It
looks like we may be here a couple of weeks, waiting on calm waters in the Gulf
before we can move north. Our preference
is to cross in three days instead of a 22 hour overnight crossing.
