Log 85; Day 233; Jan. 9, 2009; Marco Island, FL

The dolphins we leading the way as we left Legacy Harbor

Just outside the harbor we say this boat owned by Hooters

This is a shot from the condo's just next to Legacy Harbor

This was our last night in Legacy...another pot luck!!

Not only a potluck...they had a meeting as well. Great people.

Log 85
Day 233
Friday, January 09, 2009

5:45 PM EST
Location: Marco River Marina, Marco Island, FL.
Weather: 75 with very light winds

We left Legacy Harbor at 9 AM this morning and had a great cruise to Marco Island. The first 10 miles took us a little over an hour to cover, as we followed the Caloosahatchee River towards the Gulf. The water was calm, and the tide was going out, so we got a 1 to 2 MPH help. It was a great ride.

As we got to Mile 0 on the ICW we turned South and headed under the Sanibel Island Beach bridge...towards Fort Myers Beach, and out in the Gulf. The weather predictions were correct and the Gulf was in good shape, with just a 1 to 2 foot swell from the West. With a light winds out of the East and a swell out of the West it was just a little uncomfortable to go slow, so I picked it up a little, and found that the best speed was at 2000 RPM...17.6 MPH. There is a 3 mile rule that says you can’t (or maybe should not) put any crab traps inside the 3 mile line, which is on all charts. Seems like a great rule to me...too bad the fisherman don’t know that, or pay attention to it. So for the 35 miles from Fort Myers Beach to Marco Island we were in and out of crab traps...a real pain for me. We arrived at Marco Island inlet about 2 PM, and we were pushed in the inlet by a nice swell, but had no issues. It’s about a mile from the inlet to Marco River Marina, where we sit as I write this. The sun is just going down and the winds are dead calm. Perfect.

Tomorrow...we plan to head out about 8 AM and (depending on the waves) head directly for Key West. If for some reason the waves are to uncomfortable we will either turn a little towards the east and hug the barrier islands (actually the Everglades), or turn around, and stay another day in Marco. The forecast says it should be fine...we’ll see tomorrow.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 84; Day 231; Jan. 7, 2009; Legacy Harbor

We hired a diver to go under our boat and check to see how much growth we had accumlated while we were sitting at Legacy Harbor

Log 84
Day 231
Wednesday, January 07, 2009

6:25 AM EST
Location: Legacy Harbor, Fort Myers, FL.
Weather: 71 and humid...forecasted to be 80 today with 50% chance of rain

It reached 83 yesterday, and it only got down to 71 last night. There’s a cold front about 1/2 way across the gulf right now, that is supposed to bring a windy day with 50% chance or rain later this afternoon. When the front passes a high pressure area tomorrow will again bring sunny skies, and also calm down the winds which should mean we can head for Key West on Friday.

The last couple of days we spent working on boat projects. You can see from the picture the diver we hired to clean the bottom. He said the bottom looked good, but we did have growth on the trim taps; shafts; and props, so he cleaned that up and we’re good to go. If you’re wondering...he charges $2 per foot to do this. Along with the bottom, we did a very thorough cleaning on both the outside and inside of the boat, and installed new wipers. We also made a trip to the grocery store, and CVS for some supplies. While we were out walking we went downtown and had lunch at a nice pub we ate at before. We will miss this place.

On the dock we have some new neighbors we have enjoyed meeting. Right next to us is a boat called Double Trouble. 2 couples and 2 dogs in a 46’ Carver are making the loop. Deb and I love when folks visit...but not sure we could do the entire trip with another couple on board. You’d have to be very good friends (at least when you start out). The other new boat couple we met is John and Barbra from “Emery-L”, a 49 foot DeFeever that they just bought this summer. This is their first time with a big boat and the stories they have are very interesting...to the point it’s a wonder they are still on their boat. I just got back from having coffee with John at a coffee shop just across the street. He is a very smart and interesting guy, with a lot of great stories. Like I’ve said before...every boat (boat owner) has a story.

The weather window for Friday continues to look promising for us to leave Legacy Harbor and head south. I moved up our reservation in Key West for us to arrive Sunday...and it looks like we will make this, with no problem. All of the weather sites I monitor say it should be good traveling weather on the Gulf from Friday to Sunday.

Today...I need to make some calls for marinas on Friday and Saturday night. Not a lot of choices. Fort Myers; Naples; and Marco Island are all within the first 50 miles. From Marco, it is about 100 miles to either Key West or Marathon...both cruises out in the open Gulf. Also this is my day to go in the engine room to organize, and make my last minute checks before we head out. And finally, I am going to Boaters World with Don (on Double Trouble) and John (on Emery-L). I don’t need anything...but you never pass up a chance to go to a boat store.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 83; Day 229; Jan. 5, 2008; Fort Myers

In the backround is Rum Runners...great boat stop off. (Kevin...I'm wearing the M&K hat)

This will give you an idea of how calm the water was yesterday

Another shot of the entire Cape Coral complex at Rum Runners...great spot to own a condo

Not sure if you can see it very well (click on it to enlarge it) but boats were everywhere

Log 83
Day 229
Monday, January 05, 2009

7:45 AM EST
Location: Legacy Harbor, Fort Myers, FL.
Weather: 66* and foggy...forecasted to be mostly sunny and 83 today

The average temperature for Fort Myers this time of year is 75...but we officially got to 83 yesterday...and the next two days are forecasted to be the same. Late Tuesday night there is a cold front coming through so it will be back in the mid 70’s starting Wednesday. This morning it’s a little foggy...but still very nice.

Yesterday...it was such a beautiful day we decided to uncover the dinghy and go for a ride to get some lunch. Just across the river are two restaurants we can dinghy to, and up river just a couple of miles is another (we’ve been to all 3), but we decided to take about an hour ride towards the Gulf to a place called Rum Runners. I’m not sure if you can tell by the one picture, but there were a lot of boats out yesterday, so we had to fight the waves in the dinghy, but it was a great ride. One of the other pictures shows just how calm the water was. When there were no boats going by is was almost flat calm. Rum Runners is a great spot. It’s located just off the Intracoastal Waterway in Cape Coral, and we have been there several times over the years because this area is where Deb’s sister (Annie) and husband (Les) along with another couple (Darrell and Donna) rent a home for 2 months each year and we have spent a week with them for the last few years. Darrell and Donna bring their 29 foot go fast boat with them, so they have covered this entire area over the years, and we have been with them for part of it. Anyway it was a great dinghy ride, and we had a great lunch. Back at the boat we had a lazy afternoon where Deb read her book, and I watched the football playoffs. Dinner was just a light snack (too full from Rum Runners) and too tired for a movie.

Today...we are back on the to do list. Most of the major things are done (except some dinghy canvas work that will be done today), so it’s more putzing and organizing than anything. There’s always something to clean, and always a project to do. In this case, we are getting ready to move in a few days, and getting the boat ready for the waves. When the boats sits for a week or so you don’t worry about things unsecured, but when it’s time to go again, you need to be sure everything is “ship shape”. That’s what we’ll be doing the next few days.

Travel plans...as of today it looks like the weather window is to leave Legacy either Thursday or Friday. I studied all the weather maps of the area and it looks like the front will pass early Wednesday...so the hope is the Gulf will lay down enough to go Thursday. The Gulf looks great on Friday and Saturday...but it’s a narrow window that seems to close on Sunday.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 82; Day 228; Jan. 4, 2008; Back at Legacy Harbor

Log 82
Day 228
Sunday, January 04, 2009

6:30 AM EST
Location: Legacy Harbor, Fort Myers, FL.
Weather: 63* and clear...forecasted to be mostly sunny and 81 today

I’m not sure what to say about this weather...except it’s great. A crystal clear day with light winds yesterday...another one today. Back home it’s in the 30’s...here it’s in the 80’s. I guess that’s why folks come to Florida in the winter.

We’re back on the boat after a couple week trip to Illinois. A few words will cover our trip. It was a high of 11* the day we landed, and the next day we had an ice storm. Downed trees; flooded rivers; closed roads; lots of folks without electricity. When we visited my Mom she did not have electricity...which we thought was bad...until she fell (in her house) at 10 PM and broke her hip. Which meant that several days of our trip home was spent in the hospital, where she had surgery. In between all of this, we had some great times with friends and family. Then made it out of town just before another weather system came through.

We arrived back to our boat at about 11 PM on December 30th. It was still above 60 when we went to bed that night. New Years Eve day was spent washing the boat, cleaning things, and airing out the boat after being closed up for 2 weeks. On New Years Eve we ate at Joe’s Crab House (right next to our marina) and then walked a few blocks to downtown Fort Myers to their celebration. It was 70* and a beautiful evening. They had closed off several of the streets downtown and had 2 bands playing as well as a DJ. They also had several street vendors selling lots of things, and it was a very festive mood. Although it was fun, we managed to be back to the boat by 9:30, and I was in bed before 10.

After a relaxing New Years Day, where we just sort of laid around and relaxed, we were back at it on Friday January 2nd. I have a rather long to do list, and it is time to start working on it. Deb has the same kind of list for the inside. One of the things to get done was having the hull of the boat waxed by the folks at the marina. I have been checking on the kind of work they do, and decided to have them do ours...they did an awesome job. I waxed the hull myself back in July...but when the boat is in the water full time, and in salt water, you need to have it done a couple of times a year. While they were waxing the hull, and the sides up to the deck, I waxed all the stainless, and Deb cleaned the helm area. The boat is really looking good at this point. I also installed a (removable) side ladder on HQ. When we are on floating docks, we can get off the swim platform, and on fixed docks we can usually get off the side of the boat, but with 1 to 3 foot tides sometimes you can’t get off the swim platform or the side...so we need a ladder hanging off the side to help in those situations. The last thing we need to do before leaving Legacy is get the bottom cleaned. In this area, and at this time of year, they recommend (if you’re not moving) to get the bottom cleaned about every 4 to 6 weeks, to keep “critters” from growing on it. It’s not so much of an issue with the bottom itself, but really the running gear (props and shafts). So I have talked to a diver who will come either today or tomorrow.

At this point I am starting to monitor the weather very closely in order to get a couple of nice days to make it to either Marathon or directly to Key West. From Legacy it’s about 35 miles to Naples...and another 10 miles to Marco Island. Both of these places have nice marinas and both runs require us to be in the Gulf for about 1/2 of those miles. From Marco Island it’s about 100 miles to Marathon...and/or 90 miles (due south) to Key West...both runs are totally in the open Gulf. Our reservations in Key West start on January 15th...so hopefully we can find a weather window to get there by then. Right now the forecast does not look good for the next several days. A cold front with high winds (in the Gulf) are predicted late Tuesday and Wednesday. It will take a few days after that for the Gulf to lay down to a point where we will feel comfortable making a run for it.

Till then, we’ll suffer here in Legacy. Today (Sunday) we plan to take a long dingy ride and find a spot for lunch and watch the first half of the football game. It’s a perfect day to do that. Sunny...not a cloud in the sky...and very light winds. By the time we head out it will be almost 80. As one of my friends said...”enjoy your Jimmy Buffet lifestyle”...and we are.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob