Turned the Corner

 The return trip is underway.  We have moved back to the east coast of Florida and will be continuing north.

In  the last post I mentioned we were in Cayo Casta waiting out winds.  That evening as the winds howled I heard an unusual noise, a bump.  Not familiar with that sound I went investigating.  It seemed that when we anchored we were in adequate water depth but as we swung with the wind we were now in a shallow spot and as the swell moved through the anchorage we were bumping the bottom.   We had several options, none of them good.  We were almost at full low tide and we could stay put and wait for the tide to come up or move.  We didn't want to move at night in strong winds and since it was a sand bottom we chose to wait it out.  The bumping continued for several hours until the tide rose enough to no longer bump.  In the morning we pulled the anchor and moved to a spot that was a bit deeper.  After that we set off in the dinghy to go check out the shelling on the beach.  Since it was at high tide it was a bit disappointing.

The next day, Sunday the 4th, we decided to pull anchor and move on.  The winds had died and things were calm again.  We headed off to anchor next to Cabbage Key.  We swapped outboards and with the 15 horse we went off exploring.  The guidebook mentioned a spot called "Tunnel of Love" and we went looking for it.  We found it in a little bay, it is a small shallow river winding through overhanging mangroves leading to a small lake with a short trail over to the beach.  We walked this beach for a while finding it better for shells then the previous day.  The next morning we took the dinghy through Captiva Pass and pulled up on the beach for more shelling.  There were several boats there already and many more as the morning progressed.  The shelling was disappointing again, the tide was too high and there were so many other people collecting shells.  We called it quits and went to Cabbage Key for lunch.  There is a resort there that is reported to be the inspiration for Jimmy Buffets "Cheeseburger in Paradise".  Of course we had to order the cheeseburger.

The next morning we moved down to the north end of Sanibel Island hoping to go ashore for more shelling.  After letting the boat settle on it's anchor we headed out in the dinghy again.  On the way in the engine quit.  We have had this problem before, the fuel line disconnects at the fuel tank and it runs out of gas.  After reconnecting it we tried to continue but it would stall again.  If we pumped gas using the squeeze bulb it would run.  We turned back to the boat and pulled the outboard off.  We had fuel problems with a previous outboard and it turned out to be the fuel pump.  I am suspecting the fuel pump is not working properly.  Will find out later.  In the morning we put the 3.3 outboard on and slowly worked our way around to the beach.  We walked the beach for a while but again were disappointed.  Again, there were so many people and we were near high tide, low tide was at about 1:00 am.  We decided to move on planning to go to Fort Myers Beach to stage for our next move south.  On the way Cori's friend Rhonda sent a message inviting us for a few days again.  It also turned out that she was in Spearfish SD getting ready to travel back.  Cori arranged for her dad to meet up with her and give her our dinghy registration papers we were missing.  We changed course and headed back up the river to Fort Myers.  It turned out that she was delayed several days so we hung out in Fort Myers for a week.

Last time in Fort Myers we were inundated with the midge flies and assumed that they were now gone.  As usual we were wrong.  They were still evident but not as bad as last time.  Once again our boat was getting covered in green bug poop.  We spent several days helping Morgan and Jennifer with some projects on their boat Unplugged.  While Cori was helping them with some sewing on their sailcover I stayed on the boat and took care of some engine maintenance.  They loaned me their car one day and I made a run for some supplies and provisions while Cori worked on a sewing project.  We also spent some time checking out the various watering holes for beer and lunches.  With all of this running around using the 3.3 horse outboard it started to act up again.  I made a trip to find an in-line fuel filter and after cleaning the carburetor again I installed a filter.  That should take care of the dirty carburetor problem.  Once again, thank you to Jerald on Persephone for walking me through carburetor cleaning class.  The end of the week we got together with Rhonda's family and friends for a prime rib dinner, one of my favorites.  To avoid dinghying back at night we spent the night with them.  This is the first night we have been off the boat since we got aboard in Trinidad back in November of 2019.

It was time to move on, we hadn't  planned on staying for a week but it was fun.  Mid-day Saturday, the 17th, we pulled anchor and said good-bye to the bugs and our friends.  We once again motored down the river with the weekend boat traffic.  We moved out of the river and started into the harbor debating where to spend the night.  We were planning on fort Myers Beach but it would be easier if we stopped in the lee of Sanibel Island and it made for an easier departure in the morning.  In the morning as I pulled the anchor we found a seahorse attached to the chain, a first for us.  Of course we neglected getting a picture before setting him/her free.  We motored out of the harbor and started our way to Marco Island, directly into the wind.  We were greeted by dolphins when we arrived and anchored.  There was a weather front moving through so we planned to stay for a couple of days to wait out the rain and winds.  We didn't get as much rain as forecast, it seemed to go either north or south of us but we did have a couple of days of strong winds.  We were in a protected anchorage so we were able to ride it out comfortably and made several trips to shore.  Wednesday morning we pulled anchor and moved to the marina to take on fuel and water then going back out to anchor.  Later we went ashore to hit the grocery store.

In the morning we pulled anchor and headed out, bashing into the incoming tide.  Once out of the channel we turned, set the sails and we were off.  We were able to sail about half of the day until the winds died and we had to motor.  We stopped just past Little Shark River in the Everglades National Park and anchored for the night.   In the morning we took the dinghy to shore to check the beach for shells.  We collected a variety as the tide came up then went back to the boat to continue on.  Once again we were able to sail about halfway until we had to change course and had the wind on the nose.  We anchored for the night in the lee of Fiesta Key with several other boats.  In the morning we passed under the Channel 5 bridge and moved out into the Atlantic again.  We motored for several hours until we could get an angle to sail up Hawks Channel making way to Rodrigues Key.  We arrived about mid-day and decided to continue on to No Name Harbor outside of Miami.  As the day progressed the winds shifted around behind us and dropped off.  Once again we were motoring.  We arrived at No Name just as the sun was setting, we anchored and mixed cold rum drinks to celebrate.  One of the boats at anchor was Flying Loon who we met several years ago in Martinique.  The cruising world is actually rather small.  In the morning they headed out but we are staying for a couple of days.

We will be checking the weather forecasts for an opportunity to move north.  The ideal would be to leave Miami and continue nonstop to North Carolina but it is unlikely we will find that good of a window.  We will take whatever we get, stopping along the way when it is necessary.  There are a lot of ports along the coast that we can duck into if there is foul weather coming.

Starting the Return Trip

 Our plan for the season was to work our way up the west side of Florida to Tampa Bay then return.  We are beginning the return trip.  However a lot has happened in the meantime.

After leaving the boatyard in Glades we moved down to Fort Myers and picked up a mooring ball to spend several days.  Cori's collage roommate Rhonda Lohr Bindert, lives here and we were able to spend some time with them and their friends.  While here, we were able to experience a hatching of a bug referred to as midges.  These are small flying insects that look like mosquito's but do not bite.  They do however poop green stuff on everything.  They don't like direct sunlight and avoid the wind.  They swarm wherever they feel save and our cockpit was inviting.  One evening I heard a noise and went out on deck to investigate.  I didn't take a light and was barefoot.  The deck felt wet and strange and I was suddenly swarmed by the little creatures.  I hurried below deck and closed up trying to keep them out.  In the morning I could see my tracks on deck where I had been squashing them.  The cockpit enclosure was filled with thousands if not more of them.  Trying to drive them away didn't so any good and if squashed they left a nasty stain.  Before moving on we stopped at the marina and they let us hose everything off with dirty green water flowing off the deck.  We are still cleaning up areas that we missed.  Leaving Fort Myers we moved down to Pine Island hoping to make a side trip to Sanibel Island for some shelling.  We stopped at Pine for several days because there was a weather front coming and we would be protected from north winds.  Once the winds died down we chose to continue on our way.  We moved the next two days up the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) and moved out into the Gulf at Boca Grande Pass and sailed up near the entrance to Tampa Bay.  We spent the night along Anna Maria Island preferring not to make our way into the bay and finding an anchorage in the dark.  In  the morning we moved into the bay and made our way to the anchorage at Gulfport.

We had decided to come up this way for an opportunity to meet up with Hi Flites previous owner.  Unfortunately George passed away several years ago but we were able to spend time with Barbara as she treated us to lunch and she spent some time aboard going over the changes to the boat and hearing of their experiences sailing her.  We were also able to meet up with our friends Jane and Paul from SV-Peace.  We met them when we first got to Puerto Rica and met up with them several times in the Caribbean, last seeing them in St Thomas USVI.  From Gulfport we moved across the Bay to Apollo Beach to spend some time with Rick and Susan from C_Language.  C_Language is another 42' Pearson that uses the same hull as Hi Flite but is set up as a center cockpit.  We first met Rick in the Bahamas when he tried to find the problems we were having with our Single Sideband Radio and talk to him often on the radio.  Our stay at their dock lasted a little longer then we had expected but it gave us a chance to take care of some much needed projects and some time off the boat.  I even had an opportunity to go fishing which amounts to the first fish we have been able to catch in several years.

  We finally departed but not before going aground in the channel leaving their canal.  They came out with their skiff and lead us to the deep water channel that is about 6-10 feet deep.  We draw 5.5 feet and kept finding the shallows.  Once out in the bay we were surprised to find the wind favorable for sailing.  We were able to sail almost all the way across the Bay until the winds died off.  At one point we were surprised to have a couple of boats pass us and when looking back we found we were on part of the course used for sailing races and had a fleet of racers coming up on us.  Due to forecasted south winds we chose to take the ICW back rather then fight against the winds offshore.  We made good time motoring each day until we got to Boca Grande Pass where we had gone out but this time we turned in and worked our way to the southern end of Charlotte Harbor Bay and anchored by Pine Island intending to dinghy down to Matlacha Island.  My cousin Janet and several of her friends were vacationing at Matlacha and we were invited for a visit.  On the dinghy ride to meet up with them, about a three mile ride, we were stopped by Florida Marine Patrol officers for a check.  With the canvas chaps Cori made for the dinghy you cannot see our registration numbers.  They stopped to check our registration.  Everything was going well until they noticed that it was expired.  We thought it expired in June but it had expired the end of January.  We were lucky to get off with a warning.  We have heard many complaints and horror stories about how the Florida Marine Patrol treats cruisers but these gentlemen were pleasant to deal with.  We met with Janet and friends and spent the day visiting, making it back to the boat just as the sunset.  The next day Janet, Candace and Cindy came out to spend some time on Hi Flite.  We weren't able to take them out for sail but had a pleasant time introducing them to our lifestyle.

With the treat of strong north winds we pulled anchor the next day and moved to Cayo Costa and anchored.  This anchorage is next to one of the barrier islands but with the smaller islands around it we are protected almost 360 degrees.  It doesn't hurt that it is a State Park and just on the other side is reported to be some outstanding shelling.

This is where we are now.  The winds have been blowing over 20 knots since yesterday afternoon and we are just sitting it out waiting for it to move on.  We will spend a couple of days here before moving, working our way around the tip of Florida and moving back into the Atlantic Ocean and continuing north.

The sign we left at the boatyard. We felt that more people would be familiar with Sturgis than Spearfish.

The squashed bugs on the deck.

The bugs hiding out in our cockpit.

Cleaning the deck of bugs and their aftermath.