April 18-19th, 2017
Our anchorage at McKay Point was pretty roly-poly but uneventful, and we slept well. Tuesday morning we weighed anchor, left the Manatee River, and returned to the Gulf Intracostal Waterway (GIWW). Continuing south we passed Long Boat Key – where the Pirate Jean Lafitte was said to have been shipwrecked, Sarasota – winter home of the Ringling Brothers, and Venice – shark tooth capital of the world. The scenery on this portion of the GIWW was comprised of amazing homes, lots of birds, dolphins, and people having fun in the sun. At the end of the day, we anchored at Manasota Key – home to beautiful white sandy beaches.
Wednesday we weighed anchor at sunrise and continued south past Gasparilla Island – where, in the late 1800’s, phosphate was loaded onto schooners for worldwide shipment, Cabbage Key – home of the cheeseburger that inspired Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise!”, and Cayo Costa State Park – accessible only by boat. We continued south to Mile 0.0 on the GIWW, thus completing the GIWW portion of our trip. Turning east we headed towards the Caloosahatchee River, which is the beginning of our passage across Florida through the Okeechobee Waterway (OKWW).
Tonight, and for the next few days, we have a slip at Legacy Harbour Marina in Ft. Myers, we will do the 500-hour maintenance on the engine and try to solve a couple of new problems (i.e. house batteries that are draining too quickly, an electrical cord that won’t unscrew from the outlet, and a thruster that is not working). We will also take the time to enjoy the city.
See you on the water!
- Sunrise 7:01 am – Sunset 7:56 pm
- Temp 85 F Hi – 65 F Low – Mostly Sunny
- Day 177