December 15 & 16, 2009

December 15 & 16, 2009

Venice, FL to Boca Grande, FL to Ft. Myers Beach, FL

We left Venice around 9:30. We planned on going approximately 30 miles (halfway to Ft. Myers Beach) with a total of 6 bridges. Three of the bridges were in Venice and as we approached the first one we asked for an opening. They asked what our clearance would be with the antennas down and said that they would not need to open if we would drop them. Well, we could do that and under we went. All went well until we came to the third bridge with 26 feet vertical clearance at center. We lined up and slowly went through at center. We had forgotten about the flag that we mounted on the radar arch so the passage was much closer than intended. As it turned out we were able to pass under all the rest of the bridges without waiting for them to open until the last bridge which was a low swingbridge.

Along the way we waited for the car ferry which transported cars to Palm Island – about 150 feet across the ICW. He literally backed away from one shore, turned and parked on the opposite shore - pretty quick operation. Again we had dolphins with us. One stayed with us for quite awhile. We noticed that he probably had been too close to propellers – he was scarred and his dorsal fin was mostly gone. Nevertheless he rode our waves and enjoyed.

We had made reservations at the Boca Grande Marina because it met the requirements of being just off the ICW and it had plenty of depth on approach and in the harbor. We arrived there around 1:15 and had lots of help to land and tie down. The question I hadn’t asked was how much it would cost and found out that it was our most expensive stay at $2.75/ft. However, we had a great view.

Tom & Lyn have bicycled on the island and said it is quite enjoyable, so we rented a golf cart to see the sights. First we took Port to the beach and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. After bringing him back to the boat we drove out to the point, checked out the shops, and stopped for refreshments at the Loose Caboose. Sherm and Donna live near Boca Grande so they joined us there. Dinner was at the Dockside Grill at the marina – I tried Bayou Stew that was filled with all sorts of seafood including oysters.

We took our time to leave the following morning with another visit to the beach with Port. Tom got an assortment of scones and muffins from a bakery in town for breakfast. Again, we only had 30 miles to go to reach our first long term destination – Fish Tale Marina at Ft. Myers Beach.

Our trip was easy and we had another beautiful day. Dolphins kept us company much of the way. Fish Tale Marina is located further south on the island so we approached from the Gulf through Big Carlos Pass. Although we were cautioned regarding shoaling at this pass, we had plenty of depth and we were traveling at high tide. We arrived at the marina around 3:00. There was some confusion about who we were and where to put us, but it was straightened out quickly and by the time we arrived at our slip, there was 6 guys to assist us.