Surprising to Beth, but not to me, Charlotte Harbour was smooth.
"How could it be this smooth out here and so rough at the marina?" she asked.
As I so slightly puffed out my chest and pulled my shoulders back, I replied, "Must be the good skills I'm developing predicting the wind and waves!" I exclaimed. (Thinking in the back of my mind, "!@#$%[ rhymes with mole], this statement is going to come back and bite you on the ass!).
In truth, with the WX radio weather system linked into my Nobeltec navigation system, computer access to NOAA (our national weather prediction source---finally government money spent that really helps people!), and four times daily broadcasts from NOAA updating the local weather, it is possible to maximize the probability of going cruising in good weather.
Sunny blue sky, fresh humidity free breeze, cool blue smooth water, made for an easy ride all the way to the entrance of Cayo Costa state park. The entry was somewhat difficult.. Narrow and shallow, stay within 50 feet of the shore read the review on the Active Captain web site....and they meant it! Now, you have to understand that after dinging the props several times and how stressful it is to take a large boat next to the shore if one is not landing, my reluctance to get close to the shore. As I began to stir up mud with the depth finder reading 2.9 feet, a small boat captain who was leaving the anchorage waved me in closer to the shoreline, where we found the deeper channel. Whew! Stirring up sea grass is a big NO! NO! (read - penalty of a fine) and the possibility of dinging a prop was behind us, so we drifted past the Park Ranger's dock and set anchor in 7 feet of water.
A frightening 50 feet offshore
I immediately launched the dingy and even though it was only 11:30 reasoned "it must be 5 o'clock somewhere and I'm on vacation!" poured a healthy gin and tonic, sank in to the forward sun pads (usually referred to by me as the "thong check station") and basked in the warm sunshine.
Beth was anxious to see the park and the beach on the gulf side since her best friend, Diane and husband Larry, had relayed to her a description of a tranquil island with a beautiful soft white sand beach. Catching the tram (a truck pulling a wagon with bench seats), we were transported the mile across the island to the gulf side beach. We laid out the beach towels and quickly fell asleep soothed by the rhythmic washing of the waves against the shore. It was pleasant and I thought, "Is this what its all about? Is this the relaxation and solitude I have been searching for? Not quite. Pleasant enough, but too many boats in the anchorage (we counted 26 and lots of room for more!), too many campers, and even though sparsely placed because of the length of the beach, too many people. As we walked the mile back to the dingy dock we talked about the difficulties and stress involved with cruising, and our lives. We have some issues to address which call in to question our ability to get Doc's Holiday to Maine .
Cayo Costa Beach
The wind shifted at midnight. I jumped out of bed to check the anchor. Everything had changed. All the boats were shifted to the new increased wind direction and it looked like maybe we had dragged anchor. The anchor alarm sounded. Was it just that we had swung wider or were we indeed likely to drift into another boat? The boat beside us was now on the opposite side and we appeared to be about the same distance away. The boats behind us appeared closer. Was it that my chain was further stretched out because of the wind pressure or were we sliding toward the other boats?? On and on I questioned, repeatedly checking the anchor alarm and our position to all the other boats as the wind increased to 15 to 20 mph.
At dawn a bleary eyed Beth rose up the spiral staircase from the aft stateroom with an angry tone questioning,"What are you banging around about? You've kept me awake all night!" She took one look around in the daylight and said, "The boat hasn't moved, I'm going back to bed."
"It didn't look that way in the dark, " I pleaded.
As soon as I saw other boats starting to leave, I yelled for Beth to get up. We were hauling anchor and getting out of here. With a good weather prediction for the gulf, I was anxious to get Doc's Holiday secured in a slip at our condo in Naples. The wind had subsided a little as we followed the other boats out through the narrow passage. We turned into the ICW heading toward Fort Myers and the open gulf. Apprehensive about the gulf passage, I was relieved to see calm turquoise water as we exited the Fort Myers causeway bridge into the Gulf of Mexico. Travelling just 3 miles offshore we could see the the high rise buildings on shore and the parasailers floating hundreds of feet in the sky.
We passed the occasional sailboat but mainly concerned ourselves with dodging lines of crab traps and discussing the travails of cruising. This was the perfect weather for cruising. Not too hot or humid. Clear sky and calm water with just enough swell to let one know you are on a boat but not enough to disturb ones equilibrium. Maybe it was because I was up all night or because of our strained relationship or maybe it was the joy of finally getting Doc's Holiday to our home in Naples, but I felt a tenseness in the pit of my stomach and a tear welled up in my eyes as we entered Gordon's Pass into Naples bay and turned into the entrance to Southpointe Marina at Windstar.
My friend Cliff, the dock master at Southpointe greeted us with a big warm smile as he helped us with the dock lines and said , " You've been talking about getting this boat here for 10 years., welcome home."
Docs Holiday at Southpointe in Windstar
