Caloosahatchee River to Fort Myers Beach



Drum Replacement



Day 5:  March 4, 2013

Yes it was cold!  It indeed got down to 42 degrees.  But we were both comfortably warm with our alcohol heater, thermal undies, and down comforter. 







Panache and Damn Dink in Ft. Myers Yacht Basin



We started the day with steaming coffee and sausage gravy and blob biscuits and V-8 juice.  What a great way to start the day!  We straightened up the boat a bit, carried a few last items from the truck aboard, bought some ice (which from this marina costs zero) and paid our dock tab.

We had a few items to pick up before we got under way so we motored out of the Fort Myers Yacht Basin at about 10:30.  The wind was light so we motored for about an hour when we passed another sailboat.  We slowed down and talked to the guy and he asked why we weren’t sailing.  I told him that we were heading for a mooring field near Fort Myers Beach and he said that we would be able to sail there in plenty of time.  So we cut the engine and spent the next hour or so sailing.



We stopped sailing because we ran into a very interesting phenomenon.  As we were traveling in a fairly narrow channel, I noticed that I could hear waves and looking off to the port side of the boat, there was a strange zone of choppy water.  I looked around and between the choppy area and the smooth area was a narrow band of white choppy water.  That band ran ahead and then across in front of us.  When we crossed into the choppy water, our forward progress  came to zero.  We had run into a tidal bore, the area where an incoming tide runs into the still waters of a river or bay.  I would estimate that the flow speed of the front was about 3 or 4 mph.  It was fast enough that we were unable to make forward progress under sail so we dropped the sails and proceeded to motor on.  With the motor running, we could still make only about 3mph. 



Little homes along the way

We were travelling down the Caloosahatchee River/Okeechobee Waterway from Fort Myers to Fort Myers Beach.  Our goal was to pull into a mooring field in Ft. Myers Beach.  The River is winding, quite narrow and shallow with a number of areas controlled by idle speed regulations.  That doesn’t bother us but the big power boats and cruisers must throttle back.  The reason for the slow zones is the frequent presence of manitees throughout the area.  These endangered fellows are frequently injured by propellers.  I feel that it would be really hard to see them even though you are traveling slowly especially if the water is even the least bit choppy.



Along the way, Janine fixed our standard fair lunch of PBJs for her and delicious spam slathered with horsey sauce on bread with a side of Chex Mix and a butterscotch pudding cup for dessert.  I knew something wasn’t quite right with the main entrée and Janine told me that she had made the sandwich with “light” Spam!  Oh my!



From the Caloosahatchee River, we moved into the open Gulf for several miles before we entered the Matanzas Pass and the back side of Estero Island and the heavily populated area of Fort Myers Beach.  The tour book says that this area is “one of the most intensely developed areas in Western Florida.  The mooring field we were heading for consists of, I’ll bet, 150 anchored floats most of which have boats tied to them.  Many of these boats are old run down sail boats.  I project that this is a cheap way to mo or a boat and many of them have been abandoned. 

We motored through the field and found a quiet river to the southeast of the moored boat where we dropped an anchor next to thick mangrove.  It was a pleasant setting.  The waters were calm and the sounds were of nature even though we were just a short way from the highly populated area of Ft. Myers Beach.

Damn Dink in the mangroves

Our hors doeuvres for the evening were Kipper Snacks served on crackers and accompanied with a glass of Gnarley Head lodi zinfandel.  We grilled some hamburgers and served them with mac and cheese.  I would call this “fine living.”

We were tired and fell into the bed at around 8:30.