Marco Island to Marathon

Christmas morning we pulled the anchor in Marco Island headed to Indian River, near Everglade City.  This will position us a third of the way to the Keys.  If all goes as planned, we should be in Marathon on Wednesday!  

We knew it was going to be a bumpy ride so we gave Roxie a Dramamine.  We didn't know if Toulouse would get sick or not, so decided to not give her any medication and hope the bumpy ride didn't bother her.  Turns out, yes she does get seasick. 🙀  

The anchorage we settled in was Russell's Pass just off the Gulf in the Everglades.  Once inside the mangrove islands the wind disappeared and the water was flat.  What was really cool was the tide currents that came and went every 6 hours!  It was a 3 1/2 foot tide and the current went about 2-3 knots!  Bill took Roxie for a 3 mile ride to Everglade City in the rain for a potty break while I stayed on board pulling Christmas dinner together. 

Tuesday morning was calm sunny and warm.  We took Roxie back to Everglade City before heading to our next stop.  Then it happened.....we've heard lots of stories about how bad the Mosquitoes and No-seems are in Florida, but we had yet to experience it until I stepped into the grass with Roxie.  I got ate up!  I got at least 20 mosquitoes bites in less than 10 minutes!  

The Rod and Gun club in Everglades City.

White Pelicans!

Our next stop is Shark River.  Reviews say that the wildlife is abundant, including the bugs!  I'm armed with plenty of Thermacell cartridges and spray repellent!  As we made our way to Shark River the fog rolled in so thick we could not see a thing!  Thank goodness for our electronics.  The fog didn't lift until after dark....so we didn't see any wildlife there!  

The next morning we were up before sunrise and pulled anchor for our next leg to Marathon!  Thank goodness the skies were clear and we were looking forward to a pretty smooth ride.  

Early morning in Shark River anchorage 

Sunrise in the east on the port side of the boat....

Moon setting in the west on the starboard side of the boat.....

Coming to the 7 Mile bridge

We made it into Safe Harbor Marina on Wednesday the 27th with plans to stay until Saturday morning, then we will anchor somewhere in Marathon for a few more days before making our way to Key West!

Punta Gorda to Marco Island

Wednesday morning we left Punta Gorda headed to Marco Island.  Our first stop along the way was an anchorage called Pelican Bay.  The bay was large but well protected and very good holding in 7ft of water.  We were just off of Cayo Costa State Park, which was closed due to damage it sustained by hurricane Ian in 2022.  

The beaches in the bay were made up of crushed shells and mangroves.  

We took a ride to the ocean side of the park and the damage to the palm trees was evident. 

 

 

Thursday afternoon we dinged to Cabbage Key for an early dinner with a couple who are also headed to the Bahamas.  It's fun meeting new friends and hearing other's adventures!

Great sunset!

Friday morning we pulled the hook on our way to our next anchorage, Ft. Myers Beach.  

Toulouse enjoying the ride!  

After cruising into Ft. Myers Beach, we found the anchorage to be chocked full of boats.  We tried to secure a dock, but the docks were limited due to hurricane damage.  

We ended up out on Bunche Beach just outside of Ft. Meyers Beach.  This was actually a good anchorage with winds from the east.....AFTER all the boats and ferries stopped running in and out of Ft. Myers Beach for the evening.  From a mile away a wake from a large fishing boat hit us directly on the side and we were rocked for a solid 30 seconds....maybe a minute!  The lamps hit the floor, Bill caught the fridge door before if flew open.  Luckily the cabinet doors remained closed.  Everything inside was all tossed around but I didn't find anything broken.  After that, we enjoyed a wonderful evening.  😉

Saturday we started heading to Marco Island for a couple nights.  There appeared to be docks available, but at $5 a foot plus electric, we decided to anchor in the Factory Bay.  It was a very nice anchorage with access to land for Roxie.  We also took the dingy to Smokehouse Bay, where there is a Win-Dixie that has it's own dingy dock!  We grabbed some last minute items for Christmas dinner and headed back to the boat for a quite Christmas Eve.  

Nice ride to Marco Island!

 

Heading into Marco Island.

Anchored in Factory Bay.

Next up, Christmas day and our journey to Marathon. 

 

Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda

We made it to The Fisherman's Village Marina in Punta Gorda just before 1pm on Wed 12/13.  Coming into the marina was a bit of a challenge.  There was a strong northeast blow pushing the water out of the bay and the channel into the marina had shoaled in places less than 5ft.  Needless to say we found those areas and came to a stop!  After call to the dockmaster we were directed to deeper water and we made it in.....almost!  The stern came to a stop about 10ft from the dock and wouldn't budge.  Luckily the tide was on it's way back in and after a couple of hours we were able to pull boat all the way into dock.  

Fisherman's Village was very nice!   Located right in the marina is a resort with rooms above restaurants and shops all decorated for Christmas.  We had a great stay!  Our daughter Ashley came to visit for 4 days, we spent time with our good friends from our home port in Ohio and caught up with fellow loopers!

Lunch with Jim, Suzie, Gary and Jane

Christmas party with looper pals! 

Oh, and we cannot forget the very special gift Ashley brought with her.  Toulouse!  This little queen will be staying with us for awhile!   She's loving the boat life!!

Next up, were on our way to Marathon!