Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Fort Myers Beach!


Tuesday, February 3-



Here's our home for the next month, Fish Tale Marina at Fort Myers Beach.  We left Sarasota as planned on Friday, January 30.  The trip through Lemon Bay was easy and uneventful.  We had planned to stop for the night at Caya Costa...but, as a backup, had also considered Cape Haze anchorage.  When we saw Cape Haze, we decided to stop there for the night.  A nice little cul-de-sac right off the ICW and surrounded by quiet residential property.  We've been to Caya Costa and decided a change was in order.  ;-)

After anchoring we launched the dinghy and followed a canal through the residential section to a bridge where we could "park" the boat and walk Lucy.  Lucy gets excited when she hears the dinghy engine start up.  In spite of blindness, she knows what's coming when we take off in the dinghy with her life jacket (aka "handle) on her body.



Oh, the things we get into getting Lucy to shore!  This is the bridge.





Here's the concrete "step" around which our dinghy is tied...and upon which Wayne hoisted himself to shore.  We then use Lucy's "handle" on the life jacket to lift her up from dinghy to Wayne.




And Wayne removes life jacket and puts on Lucy's halter and leash for a walk...



Notice the waterproof pants, handy for those early morning runs in the dinghy when dew has settled on the seats...Oh, yeah, and when you're going to be crawling out of a dinghy onto a bridge drainage structure.  

After Lucy's walk we continued on the canal to the ICW and doubled back to take the small channel to Don Pedro Island Park.  We went all the way up to a dock, but decided to head back to the anchorage due to the time of day.  Here we are, all snug in the Cape Haze anchorage.



Saturday morning we repeated the Lucy event...then pulled up anchor and headed for Ft. Myers Beach.  This part of the trip involved going through some open waters and past the Boca Grande Pass.  The channel is narrow with shallow waters to each side.  We got tossed and rolled by waves and boats for most of the trip...but survived with only one casualty: my favorite wine glass. ;-(  Oh, well...an opportunity for a new wine glass!

We got to Fish Tale Marina around 2:30 in the afternoon.  The trip in through Estero Bay took us through some low readings on the depth finder...read: under 3 feet.  We have a draft of 3.5, so must have been polishing the keel part of the time.

So far, we love the marina and the setting!  There are only about 4 boats here with people "living aboard."  Very quiet, very sheltered...little wake.  May be our new favorite marina in Ft. Myers Beach.

We're right behind a shopping center with a drug store, retail shops and restaurants, a laundromat, and bars.  The beach trolley stops in front of the shopping center so it's convenient to get to the Art Center or to the Publix.  And...the best part...we're within an easy walk to the beach....



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