Monday: Ft Lauderdale to Elliott Key

I have spent almost four years at Marina Bay on the South Fork of the New River in Ft. Lauderdale. Since I retired on the last of January, I figured it was time to go cruising. There is a Trawler Fest over in Ft Myers the 29th through April first and that would make a good event to go to as the first part of a long cruise.

We had lunch at Rick's Tiki Bar at the marina. After that, I went to the office and checked out of the marina after almost four good years. I'm going to miss that place and there is a very good chance that I'll end up back there next winter.

There had been a lot of rain the past few days and the current in the new river was very swift. The tide was going out and I figured to wait until the current slacked off before heading down the river. Handling a single screw inboard with a tail wind in the narrow New River is no fun. Especially if you have to wait on a draw bridge. There are four automobile draw bridges and two railroad draw bridges between Marina Bay and th intracoastal waterway. Trident, with her mast, needs all of them opened. They shut down between 4:30 and 5:30 for rush hour traffic. The idea was to leave Marina Bay one hour after low tide which was at 2:30 PM. This would get us through all the bridges before 4:30. This all sounded good on paper but the problem was that all the recent rain had the river backed up such that even after low tide the current was still very strong. Oh well, might as well go for it anyway.

We cast off at 3:15 PM, a little ahead of plan. Just before we got to the CSX railroad bridge at I-95, we fell in behind a sport fisherman from Tennessee. He was having a very difficult time with the river and he had two engines! There was really no problems until we got to the Andrews Ave Bridge. There was a very strong outflowing current and the bridge would not go up. The sport Fisherman and I were trying to hold our position in the current while a catamaran tour boat full of tourists was trying to come upstream and dock. It was pretty hairy for a while but we all managed without hitting anything. Finally, Andrews Ave. bridge went up and he acted like he was doing us a favor in doing so. I wonder where they get those people from? We went on down to Third Ave. bridge which promptly opened for us. We made it through that one and breathed a sigh of relief. That was the last bridge on the New River and we were home free. There is a pump out station on the south side of the New River just past Third Ave. and we needed a pump out. There was a Canadian boat tied up there when we arrived so I decided to go on down the river, turn around and come back. By then he should be gone. We went clear down to the Intracoastal and turned back. Just as we turned around to head back, we met the Ft. Lauderdale floating land mark, the Jungle Queen. She was coming down the river and gave us a wave and toot as we met. Next came the Canadian boat that had been tied up to the pump out station. We went back and tied up the the pump out station and tried to pump out Trident's holding tank. The pump didn't't work!! I'd called the Ft. Lauderdale dock master a few days before asking if the pump out stations all worked and was assured that they did. What do you expect from a government operation? Politicians get points for installing all those facilities but they don't get any for maintaining them. Hence, no maintenance and nothing works.

Just as we were leaving the pump out station, Rosemary tried to heat some water for tea in the microwave and said that it wouldn't work. I checked, and sure enough, there was no 110v. Checking all the switches showed that the inverter wasn't working. Great! I'd check into it later. ( I was later to find out that we should have stayed in Ft. Lauderdale to get it fixed. )

We needed fuel so we headed down to Lauderdale Marina near 17th St. We tied up to the dock and a very nice attendant helped getting the fuel pump going and asked if we needed anything else. I said that we needed a pump out. The attendant proudly pointed th their brand new pump out rig and said he'd be glad to help. Everything went very well. I'd rearranged the fuel fillers on Trident the previous week and it was very easy to get fuel into both tanks. A great improvement. Sometimes, I do something right.

We headed down the ICW and had no problems at all. Even the draw bridge operators were nice all the way to Miami. Miami had put colored lights on their bridges and they looked very good when we went through in the night. One was lit in blue and the other in purple. Miami is very colorful at night. They have various colored lights shining on the down town sky scrapers plus the colored bridges. Quite a pretty sight at night. During the day you can see the multi colored buildings that are done with many colors of paint. Miami is not a plain gray place like New York or Chicago.

The Cuban navy was out shrimping as we went through Miami. They have a unique way of doing it. They rig large rigid nets that protrude from both sides of their boats. Then, they drive around at a high enough speed that any shrimp caught in the nets can't escape against the force of the oncoming water. Periodically, they will raise the nets and scrape the shrimp out of them into the boats.

After Miami, it was pretty uneventful all the way down to Elliott Key. It was a little breezy but nice and cool. Good sleeping weather, first day of spring, full moon and all!

Tuesday: Elliott Key to Islamorada

Woke up in the Keys!!! Since this is Tuesday and not a holiday, there are almost no boats here at Elliott Key. That's OK with me. The wind is at 6 mph and it's 76 degrees at 09:30 AM. Not a bad day at all. Slept late and didn't get underway until 10:30. We've got plenty of time to make it to Ft Myers for the Trawler Fest.

Going through Card Sound, the water was extremely clear. There wasn't a ripple on the water and it was very easy to see the bottom. There was a group of sponge fishermen out plying their trade. They have an interesting way of getting the sponges. Each man is in a small narrow boat with a small engine on the back. the fisherman stands in the bow and steers by shifting his weight around as the boat creeps along. He has a long pole with a spear on one end. He motors around and when a sponge is sighted, used his spear on a pole to get the sponge off the bottom of the sound. They don't even stop when spearing the sponges but keep moving along. They have a few mother ships around to offload the sponges from the small boats when they get full. They only use this method when the water is calm and clear.

Just before the card sound bridge, I saw a large Sting Ray or small Manta Ray jump out of the water. I didn't get a good look at it so couldn't give it a positive identity.

No problems all the way to Islamorada. Anchored just behind Lorelei's which is one of my favorite anchorages. After anchoring, we gave Trident a good washdown using salt water. Salt water will wash most of the salt off the boat.

Sitting out back in the cockpit after dark and before the moon came up, we saw a large green meteor. It flashed brightly, faded and flashed again before going out. The moon came up as a very red ball. It was only one day after full moon so it was still pretty large and round.

After the moon came up. we took the dive light and shined it in the water to attract fish. Not many fish showed up but one very strange little animal did. I'd never seen anything like it. Looked in the Audubon field guide and it wasn't in there either. Not even anything similar.

There was a band playing over at Lorelei's and they sounded good across the water.

Since we have plenty of time, I decided to stay at Islamorada and check out the Inverter tomorrow.

Wednesday: At Islamorada

The inverter not working is a major inconvenience. The computer battery went dead and I couldn't use the normal charger to get it going again. Figured out how to run it off of 12 volts. However, that doesn't get the microwave, vacuum cleaner, camera battery charger, TV, and other things going.

I figured the main fuse had blown causing the inverter failure but that was not the case. I ended up uninstalling the inverter to try and find out what was wrong with it. I called Heart Interface technical support three times and each time, they gave me different things to try. As it ended up, it is still not working. Heart Interface technical support said that it would have to be taken to a repair facility where it would be fixed under warranty. The nearest repair facility is in Ft Lauderdale!!. I called the repair facility and found out that they are located in a marina in Dania. Looks like we will be going back to Ft Lauderdale after leaving Ft Myers. That's OK by me. As long as it's not cold and I'm on a boat.

After diner, I took the dive light out to try and attract fish again. This time, there were plenty of them The light was attracting small bugs which fish near the surface would pop up and eat. The bug eaters were about 4 to 6 inches long. Down below them, there were a lot of fish about 1 and a half inches long swimming around. I don't know what they were eating. The water is so phosphorescent that when I turn the light off you can see flashes of light in the water caused by all the little fish darting around. A few seconds after the light was extinguished, all the fish would disappear only to return when the light was turned on.

Thursday: At Islamorada

Since we're not in a hurry, I decided to stay another day at Islamorada.

Last night, the wind shifted around to the north and started blowing pretty hard. The weather monitor recorded a peak wind of 29 mph at 05:30. The highest temperature today was 78 degrees at 00:02 AM. At 10:15 AM, it is 75 with a northeast wind at 20mph. The 45 pound Super Max anchor is doing a fine job so far. It hasn't moved an inch since it was set. Around noon, the wind died down to about 10 knots. However, it came back with a vengeance later on in the afternoon. The wind got up to around 30 mph for a while and the anchor broke loose and drug for about 200 feet. It caught again and seems to be holding fine right now. The wind is blowing to strong to do much about it. If it comes free again, I'll have to start the engine and try to reset it. I'll give it a chance and see what happens. It caught well enough to stop a drifting boat in a 30mph wind so it's probably set pretty well.

There is a nice looking green hulled Nimble Wanderer anchored about a quarter mile to the right. He is having a very difficult time with his anchor. It seems that every 15 minutes, or so, he is out resetting it. The Nimble Wanderer looks like a nice pocket cruiser from this distance. I have Never seen one up close.

The battery died in the weather station so I can't tell how fast the wind is blowing now. The battery is only used for backup when the main power goes off. It's been off, because of the inverter, since we left Ft. Lauderdale.

The sunset cruise sailboat out of Lorelei's is having a good time in the wind this evening. Yesterday, it was so calm that they had to motor out. Not so today!.

I checked the zincs with my corrosion meter and they are working just fine. I was going to go swimming and check the propeller for barnacles but the water feels too cold. The NOAA weather radio claims the water is 80 degrees but it doesn't feel like it to me. The boat is running so smoothly that the propeller must be in fair shape. I'll check it on the way back from Ft. Myers when the water will surely be warmer.

Friday: Islamorada to Flamingo

It's still very windy from the east this morning. That should'nt be a problem with where we are going today. We'll be going before it until we turn north. When we turn north, the shallow waters of Florida Bay will prevent the buildup of large waves from that direction.

The trip to Flamingo went without a hitch. The wind was no problem until we headed east just south of Cape Sable going into Flamingo. There the water is deeper and the waves built up pretty well. We were going into the wind and spray was flying everywhere. On days like today is when this pilot house really pays off. Just close the windows and use the windshield wiper to keep the windshield clear. Stay warm and dry. A Monk trawler, coming from the north, fell in behind up on the way into Flamingo. They were sitting on the flying bridge, all bundled up trying to stay warm and dry. They were following Trident because they thought I knew where I was going. I'd never been there either so the blind was leading the blind. The marina at Flamingo has a shallow entry channel. Only 4 feet of water at low tide. The tide was not low at that time. In fact, it was about half way toward high tide. I did feel the boat touch bottom a couple of times on the way in. Trident draws 4 feet 4 inches.

The staff at the marina was very helpful. I think all the employees at Flamingo are college students on a break from school. They all are young and seem bright and intelligent.

Took a few pictures around the marina before darkness fell. I kept waiting for the mosquitos but they never appeared. I'd been to Flamingo many times by car and always had mosquito problems. I don't know where they went this time. Not complaining though.

Had a nice seafood dinner at the Restaurant in Flamingo. They only have one. It was really a lot nicer than I had expected. Nice building, view and staff. Food wasn't bad either.

Flamingo to Everglades City

It was very cool when we woke up in Flamingo this morning. Since we had shore power, the weather monitor worked. The low temp as 62 and it was only 66 at 08:00 when we left the dock. Pretty cool for us south Florida types.

Left Flamingo and headed west for Cape Sable. On the way to the cape, saw a small shark near the surface. Also saw a few Dolphin on the way. They didn't pay us much attention as they were busy feeding.

There were a few people on the beach at Cape Sable. That is usually a very good place to get sea shells and I plan to stop there on the way back and collect some. The reason shelling is good there is that you can't get there by car. It's even difficult to get there by boat as it is so far from anywhere.

Just after passing the North West Cape, we saw a very large sea turtle basking in the sun on the surface. Trident must have woke it up as it seemed surprised and quickly dove out out of sight.

Went in at the Indian Key Pass to Everglades City. Tied up to the dock at the Rod and Gun Club in Everglades City. That is really a nice place if you like old. It is a wooden building built in 1864. The lobby is all varnished wood, floor walls, and ceiling. Who knows how many coats of varnish have been applied over the last 100 + years? It really looks nice though. It is supposed to be decorated as it was just after it was built. You couldn't prove it by me but it is really nice. If you ever get to Everglades City, FL make sure you at least visit the lobby of the Rod and Gun Club there.

We decided to walk around town before darkness. We ended up at a really nice restaurant called "The Seafood Depot". The seafood there was excellent! Everglades City has quit a few active commercial fishermen and the restaurant had good fresh seafood. It's been a long time since I've had fresh shrimp.

I've never been to Everglades City but am glad to have visited.

Everglades City to Naples

The fishing boats woke me up at 05:00 as they were going out for their daily catch. They must work long hours. Underway at 05:00 and back to the dock at about 5:PM. They came in at the same time as we did yesterday.

One problem with going to Everglades City is getting out of there and going north. Trident draws too much water to get through the inside passage to Marco Island. She has to go outside which is not normally a problem. The Cape Romano Shoal extends for miles south of Cape Romano and it is constantly changing. I took the chart and plotted the best course through it that I could, trying to miss the charted shallow areas. I'm using a differential GPS which is accurate to a few feet. Anyway, we were going across the Cape Romano Shoal where the chart said 17 feet. All of a sudden it was five feet. I slowed down and kept going. It never got shallower than five feet and we made it across the shoal with no problem but next time, I'm crossing the shoal quit a bit farther south or just going around it. When we go back, I think we'll just go from Marco Island straight to Cape Sable across open water and miss the shoal entirely.

Anchored in the Port Royal area of Naples. Nice quiet and protected anchorage. The anchorage is almost full of boats. I'd been here once before and there was only one other boat beside mine. This time, there must be at least 20.

Naples to Ft. Myers

The weather radio said that the winds were blowing from the south at 10-15 knots. The winds are expected to swing to the west and increase to 15-20 knots later in the day. I decided to leave Naples as early as possible so as to arrive in Ft Myers before the wind switched to the west and got stronger. As we would be traveling in a north north west direction, either a southwest or west wind would be pretty much on Trident's beam. I didn't want to wait another day as the weather might get worse and we'd be stuck in Naples and miss part of the Trawler Fest.

We left the nice quiet and secure anchorage at 07:45. I figured Gordon Pass would be rough but didn't know how rough. It was so bad that after we got outside I figured we were committed for Ft. Myers. I didn't want to have to try and go back into Gordon Pass in these conditions. After clearing the outer marker for Gordon Pass, I turned toward the north and things became much smoother. Still bad but better. It was 22 miles to the outer marker at Ft. Myers and I figured it would take about three hours. I can take anything for three hours. As we made our way toward Ft. Myers, the wind picked up and switched to the west. We must not have left early enough! We were running in beam seas that were around 4-6 feet. That would not be too bad except that the waves were short and steep. Trident sure rocked and rolled in those seas. I tried tacking to get a better angle on the waves and that helped. Tacking caused us to get near shore and I had to turn left and run directly into the seas twice to get room between Trident and the shore and surf. Powering into those short steep seas was interesting to say the least. Twice, Trident's bow almost went under water but never actually did. Sure threw up a lot of spray though!

At 12:15 we went through the Sanibel bridge and into protected waters. It took a lot more than three hours but we made it all in one piece. The only damage I could find was a ding in the tea pot where it had hit something during the passage.

I had planned on spending the night in Ft. Myers Beach but the weather was so bad that I went on by it. I didn't want to take a chance on haven't to go from Ft. Myers Beach to Ft. Myers in bad, maybe worse, weather. We went up the Caloosahatchee river to the marina where we had reservations for the Trawler Fest starting tomorrow. I called the marina on the radio and was told that I could come on in a day early. That sounded good to me. I was ready to tie up and relax for a while. It was very windy when we came into the Centennial Harbour Marina but the dockmaster had figured that out and gave us a place to tie up where the wind would not be too much of a bother.

Since we had arrived a day early, I figured we would be the first Trawler Fest people here. As I walked down the dock, to check in at the office, I spotted "Sadie B" tied up already. Guess we were not the first after all.

The End