Weather forecast for November 14, 2018:
Boot Key Harbor - Marathon, Florida
Low 74 high 79
East winds, 10 to 12 kts
Captain’s Log: November 10, 2018 thru November 13, 2018
We departed Cabbage Key at 8:00am on November 10th and followed Al down the ICW towards Ft. Myers. For most of the day, as we cruised south on Pine Island Sound, we made only about 5 knots/hour as 6 knots was OKbayou's top speed and Al didn't want to push her too hard.
With Pine Island to our east and Cayo Costa, North Captiva, Captiva and Sanibel Islands slipping by to our west, our leisurely cruise took us past many multi-million dollar homes with expensive boats tied up to private docks on our port side and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on our starboard side.
Just past St. James City we entered the dreaded "Miserable Mile".
Just off of the southern tip of Pine Island and the north-eastern end of Sanibel Island lies this stretch of the ICW affectionately known as the "Miserable Mile". It runs east-to-west from intra-coastal marker 101, just past Shell Point, to just past Picnic Island. The Miserable Mile was named because of the strong cross-currents flowing south from the Caloosahatchee River into the Gulf of Mexico, making maneuverability in the narrow ICW channel very difficult for sailboats, especially when the water is rough due to powerboat traffic. From green marker "1" to red marker "10", a distance of approximately 1 mile, the helmsman has to be extremely careful. If the boat strays outside of the markers by as little as one foot, it stands a good chance of running aground.
Al had warned us about the Miserable Mile over yesterday's dinner at Cabbage Key and, as we approached, my anxiety grew. I had visions of our 50,000lb boat hard aground, blocking dozens of flashy power-yachts, with scowling captains and bikini-clad hotties staring holes through us or pointing and laughing at our expense.
Fortunately, there was very little powerboat traffic and the currents did not appear to be very strong as we followed Al down the channel. We cruised right through the Miserable Mile without even slowing down; the transit was completely uneventful. I was left wondering "what was the big deal"?
Soon we passed under the Sanibel Causeway Bridge and pulled into San Carlos Bay. With Little Sanibel Island and the Sanibel Lighthouse to our west and the Bunche Beach Preserve to our east, we dropped anchor in 7 feet of water. Al later came over for dinner and conversation and then, after Al returned to his boat, we took showers on deck before retiring for the evening. Tomorrow we head for Marco Island!
Sunday, November 11th, gives us a beautiful day with favorable winds. We are sailing south, offshore, past Naples, towards Marco. Buddy-boating with OKbayou provides the opportunity to capture some great photos of both boats under full sail.
With Coconut Island to starboard, we followed Al into Marco Bay and then we made a hard right into the shallow Collier Bay channel. The cross-current coming off of the Marco River was severe and we were almost pushed into the sea wall on our port side. Once past that challenge Al started to provide depth readings to Shirley via the VHF radio; she passed the readings onto me as we hugged the port side of the channel. After a few twists and turns, and after the XO sighted a few dolphin, the channel opened into Smokehouse Bay, our destination for the night.
Perfect Love and OKbayou set our respective anchors in the middle of the empty bay. We then splashed the dinghy, picked up Al, and motored under a low bridge to the dinghy dock right next to the local Publix grocery store. After a walking tour of the surrounding area, we picked up some provisions from Publix and headed back to the boats for the night.
Throughout the cruise south from Port Charlotte Al had been concerned about a knocking sound coming from his engine and, with the weather forecast for November 12th calling for 12-15 knot winds and 4-6 foot seas, he decided against making the jump from Marco Island to Cape Sable.
So, as both boats left Smokehouse Bay on Monday morning, Perfect Love headed south towards the Everglades and the Keys while OKbayou turned north bound for Charlotte Harbor and Burnt Store Marina. Our buddy-boating adventure was over; it had been a lot of fun.
We lost all cellular connectivity just south of Marco Island. This unfortunate circumstance made the XO very irritable as she could not check her e-mail or her phone messages. As the day grew longer, so did Shirley's irritation, and the Captain suffered the consequences. We would not have a cellular connection until we reached Marathon.
With the southeast wind and waves on our bow, we pounded through choppy seas all day. At 6:45pm we pulled into the lee of Cape Sable and dropped anchor in 10 feet of protected, calm water. Shirley saw a manatee just off of our starboard bow.
We were completely alone and the night was absolutely beautiful. After the sunset there was not a single cloud in the sky nor a single artificial light to be seen in a 360-degree arc.
The waining moon sank into the sea at around 10:00pm. Soon after, the Milky Way spread from horizon to horizon in all of its mysterious beauty.
After Shirley fell asleep on the port-side settee I went topside, stretched out on the quarterdeck couch and stared into the void; millions of stars slowly emerged as my eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas!