Weather forecast for July 2, 2018:
Safe Cove, Port Charlotte, Florida
Low 85 high 95, High humidity
Southwest winds, 5 to 7 kts
Captain’s Log: June 5, 2018 thru July 1, 2018
Shirley’s very good friend Di lives in Englewood, Florida, and our dock at Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda is less than 20 miles from Di’s house. Being so close, Shirley and Di were very anxious to spend some quality time together so, on June 6th, we headed over to Di’s where we spent the next five days.
Di is an accomplished painter and several of her efforts adorn the walls of her beautiful home. Shirley expressed an interest in learning how to paint so, during a day when we had nothing planned, Di gave Shirley a painting lesson. The girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves and it quickly became apparent that Shirley has talent. Her first effort now adorns a bulkhead in Perfect Love.
My buddy Al Nichols has sailed Charlotte Harbor and the waters of southwest Florida for many years. One of his favorite destinations is Cayo Costa State Park on Cayo Coast Island, which, together with Boca Grande Island, protects the Charlotte Harbor Estuary from the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the Park’s website:
“This unspoiled Gulf Coast island evokes images of wind-shaped trees, dunes, beaches and the freedom to explore.
Accessible only by boat or kayak, this former fishing ground of the Calusa Indians features nine miles of undeveloped shoreline for swimming, snorkeling, shelling, fishing, birdwatching and exploration along several walking and bicycling trails through the island’s interior. Shorebirds are numerous and one might spot manatees, porpoises and sea turtles offshore”.
On the morning of June 11 we left the dock at Fisherman’s Village and headed for Cayo Costa.
It took us approximately four hours to work our way down Charlotte Harbor to our anchorage behind Punta Blanca Island. Punta Blanca was our only option as the main anchorage close to Cayo Costa could not accommodate our 5’10” draft.
Having only a foot or two of water under our keel, we dropped our main bow anchor and then set a stern anchor to ensure that we didn’t swing and run the stern aground. We were the only boat in the anchorage and, with the main anchorage located around the far point of Punta Blanca, there were no other boats in sight. We were alone in Paradise.
After securing the boat I hopped into the dinghy and began to scrub the scum off of the waterline. While doing this I saw what I thought was an alligator loitering not too far from the dinghy. I called to Shirley and pointed the creature out to her but, from her higher vantage point on the bow pulpit, she could clearly see that the sea demon was actually a manatee.
We saw many creatures native to the land, sea and sky during our stay; bobcats, racoons, dolphins and osprey to mention a few. Unfortunately, we also saw a lot of dead fish as the red tide was just beginning to take it’s toll.
The next day we rode the dinghy over to Cayo Costa and explored the beach and the island. We saw less than ten people as we walked the beach for several miles; not a building, telephone pole or paved road anywhere in sight. It was absolutely beautiful.
The days were hot and humid with little wind. We constructed a make-shift awning out of tarps, towels and beach blankets to shade the deck from the relentless sun (the sub-tropical Florida sun will turn a Yankee’s skin bright red in two minutes flat). By the third day we lost all sense of decorum and began to take deck showers in broad daylight.
In the evenings, before the sun had completely set, we were plagued with no-see-ums (those tiny, almost invisible, blood-sucking nats whose bite can drive a poor soul crazy). Paradise was beginning to get a little tedious.
In the afternoon of our fourth day on the hook at Punta Blanca Shirley received a call from her son Josh; Shirley’s nephew Stephen had suffered a massive heart attack while at work in Pontiac, Michigan, and died; he was 51. We immediately weighed anchor and headed for Fisherman's Village. We were on a flight to Detroit two days later.
Shirley’s relatives came from near and far and it was good to see everyone but the circumstances could not have been worse; the funeral service was very emotional for everyone. We left Detroit on June 25th feeling drained.
On June 27th we departed Fisherman’s Village heading for Safe Cove Boat Storage located on a canal off of the Myakka River. Safe Cove would be our on-the-hard storage yard for the duration of hurricane season. The Cattle Dock anchorage, just outside of the manual lock leading to the canal, was our spot for the night. We took a dinghy ride over to the lock to check it out before retiring for the night.
The next afternoon, after running aground in the South Gulf Cove Waterway, just past Interceptor Lake, we tied up at the Safe Cove dock. That evening we saw two alligators swimming lazily around our boat; Shirley fed crackers to them.
On July 1, after a solid week of back-breaking work in sweltering heat and humidity, Perfect Love was buttoned down and ready for her stay at Safe Cove. We leased a brand new Ford Explorer and embarked on a four-month road trip to points north and west. To recharge our batteries before hitting the long road, we drove down to Cape Coral and spent two wonderfully lazy days at our friend Bebe's condo. Her's is a beautiful place with a gorgeous view down a private canal facing the sunset. There are very nice condos and single-family homes along the canal, most with boat docks.
We had visited Bebe several weeks prior and almost bought a condo in Ft. Myers during that visit. We actually put in a low-ball offer thinking that the seller might be desperate, but no go. It was a two bedroom, two bath layout on the 8th floor of a high rise overlooking the Caloosahatchee River and downtown Ft. Myers. The view was spectacular and the condo needed a lot of work (which is what we prefer as I need projects). The problems: the Caloosahatchee’s water is almost as murky as the Ohio River due to the annual release of water from Lake Okeechobee, which is very polluted from fertilizer runoff, the red tide is terrible and we were just not sure if we want to live in the area. Sanibel and Captiva islands are very close and very beautiful, but also spectacularly expensive.
Many thanks to Di and Bebe for their excellent hospitality and to Al for his sage advice!
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas.