Finally Headed NORTH On Florida's West Coast!

December 10

Left this morning from Ft Myers.  Granted, a little late.  Renne' had an appointment this morning with the Ships Store to show her books.  This lady works everybody!  If she is ever famous, it will be because of her undying efforts to sell her books!!  I am so proud of the effort she puts into this!  She is a better sailsman (oops!) than I!  www.sailadybooks.blogspot.com

The trip west out of the Caloosahatchee River, into San Carlos Bay, and north into Pine Island Sound was interesting.  It demanded constant attention to the channel.  Much of the water in this are is less than 4' outside of the channel, and in many places 2' or less.  The old saying, "Don't Go Where The Birds Walk" was very appropriate today!  

We passed the mouth of Charlotte Harbor and saw a few boats.  The current coming in was a bit stiff, but the depth of the water was sufficient, we didn't have to worry about being blown too far off course.

Just ran across these pictures from the past few days from Caroline McDonald.  She was always taking pictures!

Night Shot from our anchorage that first night at Merritt Island (Caroline McDonald Photo)

Just one of me trying to figure out how to make this thing go straight.  We were in the locks at Port Canaveral! (Caroline McDonald Photo)

The Locks into and out of Port Canaveral (Caroline McDonald Photo)

The Okeechobee Waterway (Caroline McDonald Photo)

Night Shot of Sea N' Stars at Roland Martin's Landing just off the South End of Lake Okeechobee (Caroline McDonald Photo)

Due to the late start, we didn't get as far north as we wanted, and stopped as we passed Stump Pass Marina, in Englewood, Fl.  We called as we were passing by, realizing we weren't going to get much farther north than here prior to sunset.  We were warned with the outgoing tide, the depth could be an issue, so we inched our way into the marina to the fuel dock, as we sure weren't going to get inside the docks!

http://www.stumppassmarina.net/p7-fuel-boat-marine-diesel-stump-pass-marina-full-service-englewood-fl.html

It was close, we had about 1/2 a foot below us, but we were able to get in.  The interesting thing will be in the morning when we leave!!

We had problems with the generator shutting down today.  Warren thinks it is the fuel pump.  We were able to order one from the service department here at the marina, and by 5pm, we had a new pump and $125.00 less in our pockets.  It only took about 15 minutes to change the pump.  Now we keep our fingers crossed we found the problem.

Dinner at the Stump Pass Grille this evening.  Not bad!!

So we should be in Clearwater tomorrow.  Meet us there!

Roland Martin - Ft Myers

9 December, 2014

We left Roland Martin Marina, at the south end of Lake Okeechobee enroute for Fort Myers, Fl.  We were out by 0630, through the lock onto the Waterway headed west.  The water on the lake yesterday was excellent - so was the temperature

Coming across the lake, the generator (genset) gave up the ghost, and we spent the rest of yesterday without AC power.  That meant the refrigerator, freezers, and cabin heaters weren't working until we arrived at the marina.  Warren was troubleshooting the system and found the ground wire was a bit loose.  After tightening that down, the genset ran.  Simple fix!  Voila'

When we left this morning, the gentleman who threw our lines asked which way we were heading.  When we told him westbound, he said that was good, as the lake was scheduled to have 3-5 foot waves.  Guess we got lucky enough to find the one day to make the crossing!

The water is very smooth, and westbound is the same as the east side of the Okeechobee Waterway, except for the oxbows that lead off to the north and south.  This is a meandering route!

The trip has pretty much been uneventful.  The ladies are having a great time

Warren is about as happy as he could be!

This afternoon, the temp began to drop into the low 60's with winds building.  The autopilot is active only in the upper station.  I finally decided to see what it would be like to pilot the boat from the lower station.  The autopilot went into standby, and I moved below to get out of the cold and wind.  That lasted only about an hour, as I was steering manually.  Boy am I glad I went ahead and purchased and installed the autopilot!!

We got into the Fort Myers Yacht Basin just at sunset.  We were able to get docked and refueled before the marina closed down.  Renne' has an appointment in the morning to talk with the marina store about stocking her books.  So we won't get out early tomorrow.  May not make Venice as I would like.

In the meantime, come on down to the docks this evening for Sundowners!  Look forward to seeing you.  We are easy to find!  Just watch for the dachshunds on the deck!

J&R