NM Today: 28
NM Total: 3665
We timed our departure from Cabbage Key to arrive at Kitty's dock in Cape Coral around high tide. Kitty Nicolai is a member of the Great Loop Cruising association and as the harbor host graciously offers the use of her dock to fellow loopers.
As Clark needed to see an eye physician in Fort Meyers, he contacted her about a place to stay. She not only offered the use of her dock but also offered to drive him to his appointment. Later, when he found he could not get an appointment at the eye doctor's he planned to visit, Kitty recommended hers. Clark made the appointment and arranged to stay at Kitty's dock.
The trip from Cabbage Key took just a few minutes over 3.5 hours. Strong winds made departure from the Cabbage Key docks, shall we say, interesting. We coordinated our departure with Joe on Firebird since we were coincidentally both heading to Kitty's place. Kitty had told Clark that we would be sharing the dock with Firebird and that we would need to 'raft' together for a night.
As I mentioned in my last post, Joe is single-handling his 36-foot Grand Banks. I just cannot imagine doing that for the whole of the Great Loop. He has no hands on deck and relies on himself and any kind soles who help him along the way. I told Clark that Joe was a bit concerned about how he was going to 'get off the dock' since the wind was pushing him hard against it. When Joe was ready to leave, Clark and a dock hand lent assistance to help him get on his way.
A few minutes after Joe departed his dock, we left ours. Clark was a little concerned with turning against the wind and told me to pay particular attention to the piling on our starboard side. When it came time to pull out, however, he navigated perfectly and we were on our way as well without incident. As we left Cabbage Key, Clark snapped a picture advertising the Inn to be open.
Although he had pulled away from the docks before us, Joe let us pass him and lead the way to Kitty's place.
We see some odd things on the water, but the picture below is certainly an oddity. I've heard of having a place on the water, but seriously ...
We arrived at Kitty's dock just around 2:00 as hoped. Even so, upon arrival, we learned from Joe that he had his something in the channel with a definite ca-clunk and felt a vibration from his prop when in reverse. He traveled almost exactly the path we traveled, but he requires six more inches of water than we do. Six inches can make a world of difference. Of course Kitty felt terrible that it happened in her territory although it could happen to anyone anywhere. We have had a lot of high winds and who knows what has been blown into the water or capsized.
Joe has only a very short distance, perhaps 6 or so miles to Fort Meyers, to travel to his destination where he will stay for the next few weeks. He plans to have the prop checked when he gets there. I guess he will limp along that short distance. The only other choice is to dive under at the dock here at Kitty's place but with night temps in the 40's, no one is anxious to go diving.
Kitty was waiting at the dock to greet us as we pulled up, and she assisted us with tying our lines. Kitty is a very interesting person with Navy experience and her experience as part of the Coast Guard auxiliary. She has been with the Coast Guard for a number of years - first in the St. Louis, MO area and now here in Florida. She is a Coxswain with the Coast Guard and said she is an adrenaline junky. Over the years, she has helped many folks in need having made many rescues of boats and boaters in her time.
After we were settled at the dock, I mentioned to Kitty that I needed groceries and asked if there was a place within bicycling distance. She immediately offered to drive me to the local Winn Dixie. I had offered to cook dinner for Joe and Kitty, and so I had a few extra items to buy at the store. Specifically I decided it would be nice to have dessert, and Clark thought we needed to offer cheese and crackers up front. Neither of these courses are normal fare for us, so I had practically nothing on hand in these categories.
When we got back from the grocery store, Kitty pulled her giant SUV into the vacant lot next door for easy unloading of the groceries to the boat. Since she had mentioned photos, I thought she had pulled in just to get a picture of our setup in her backyard. She suggested nicely, however, that I should get out of the vehicle and take my groceries with me. I was off in la-la land somewhere, so it was good she gave me a subtle push out the door. Clark was already out of the truck but with camera in hand - not bags of groceries.
With 6:00 as my proposed dinner time, I barely had time to put away my groceries before I saw it was time to start cooking. Where did the afternoon go?? I used my rice cooker and my wok to put together stir fry chicken with vegetables. The good thing with that menu was that with the inverter problems on the boat, Clark was concerned about my use of too much electricity simultaneously. I was able to give Clark the rice cooker and tell him to plug it in somewhere in Kitty's kitchen. That took one appliance out of the equation leaving sufficient amps for me to use the wok on board.
All-in-all I think dinner was a success. besides the appetizers, salad, and stir fry, I made dessert by combining a blend of frozen fruits into a compote and serving it with pound cake. Kitty contributed vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Voila - a feast!
Somewhere around 9:00 I announced that I had to get back to the boat as I was very sleepy. I think just sitting at the table was doing me in. I drank the beer Joe had given me the day before with dinner, and I blame the beer for my extra tiredness. Fortunately, by the time I walked back to the boat and had washed all the dishes created by cooking dinner, I was awake enough to sit and read for a while.
I borrowed a book for my Kindle called The Humbug Murders from the e-library. It has taken me an inordinately long time to read this murder mystery, and I got a notice yesterday that my two-week loan will expire shortly. Since it was a murder mystery, I had to finish it! In the novel Scrooge and Charles Dickens team up to solve a series of murders.
During the course of their investigation they met characters like Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Bill Sikes, and Nancy. Of course since it is Scrooge as the hero of this story, Jacob Marley was included in the story line as were a number of famous expressions from A Christmas Carole. I found the character weave and quotes entertaining. I found the plot rather complex and convoluted. Of course there were multiple surprise twists and turns at the end to further confuse and surprise the reader, i.e. me. Unlike the last few mysteries I read, this one was definitely not geared towards a younger audience.
With my tired (long day) and bewildered mind (convoluted story line of my book), I decided to be rebellious and skip the blog entry for the night. My brain could not form any words that I thought would be of interest to anyone including me. However, after a good night's sleep, I was able to make my update.
The trip from Cabbage Key took just a few minutes over 3.5 hours. Strong winds made departure from the Cabbage Key docks, shall we say, interesting. We coordinated our departure with Joe on Firebird since we were coincidentally both heading to Kitty's place. Kitty had told Clark that we would be sharing the dock with Firebird and that we would need to 'raft' together for a night.
As I mentioned in my last post, Joe is single-handling his 36-foot Grand Banks. I just cannot imagine doing that for the whole of the Great Loop. He has no hands on deck and relies on himself and any kind soles who help him along the way. I told Clark that Joe was a bit concerned about how he was going to 'get off the dock' since the wind was pushing him hard against it. When Joe was ready to leave, Clark and a dock hand lent assistance to help him get on his way.
A few minutes after Joe departed his dock, we left ours. Clark was a little concerned with turning against the wind and told me to pay particular attention to the piling on our starboard side. When it came time to pull out, however, he navigated perfectly and we were on our way as well without incident. As we left Cabbage Key, Clark snapped a picture advertising the Inn to be open.
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| Last reminder of Cabbage Key as we move on to Cape Coral, Florida |
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| Joe on Firebird following a safe distance behind |
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| House quite literally "on the water" |
Joe has only a very short distance, perhaps 6 or so miles to Fort Meyers, to travel to his destination where he will stay for the next few weeks. He plans to have the prop checked when he gets there. I guess he will limp along that short distance. The only other choice is to dive under at the dock here at Kitty's place but with night temps in the 40's, no one is anxious to go diving.
Kitty was waiting at the dock to greet us as we pulled up, and she assisted us with tying our lines. Kitty is a very interesting person with Navy experience and her experience as part of the Coast Guard auxiliary. She has been with the Coast Guard for a number of years - first in the St. Louis, MO area and now here in Florida. She is a Coxswain with the Coast Guard and said she is an adrenaline junky. Over the years, she has helped many folks in need having made many rescues of boats and boaters in her time.
After we were settled at the dock, I mentioned to Kitty that I needed groceries and asked if there was a place within bicycling distance. She immediately offered to drive me to the local Winn Dixie. I had offered to cook dinner for Joe and Kitty, and so I had a few extra items to buy at the store. Specifically I decided it would be nice to have dessert, and Clark thought we needed to offer cheese and crackers up front. Neither of these courses are normal fare for us, so I had practically nothing on hand in these categories.
When we got back from the grocery store, Kitty pulled her giant SUV into the vacant lot next door for easy unloading of the groceries to the boat. Since she had mentioned photos, I thought she had pulled in just to get a picture of our setup in her backyard. She suggested nicely, however, that I should get out of the vehicle and take my groceries with me. I was off in la-la land somewhere, so it was good she gave me a subtle push out the door. Clark was already out of the truck but with camera in hand - not bags of groceries.
 |
| Sea Moss and Firebird side-by-side at Kitty's lovely dock in Cape Coral, FL |
All-in-all I think dinner was a success. besides the appetizers, salad, and stir fry, I made dessert by combining a blend of frozen fruits into a compote and serving it with pound cake. Kitty contributed vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Voila - a feast!
 |
| Kitty, Joe, and Clark at dinner (my turn to take the picture) |
I borrowed a book for my Kindle called The Humbug Murders from the e-library. It has taken me an inordinately long time to read this murder mystery, and I got a notice yesterday that my two-week loan will expire shortly. Since it was a murder mystery, I had to finish it! In the novel Scrooge and Charles Dickens team up to solve a series of murders.
During the course of their investigation they met characters like Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Bill Sikes, and Nancy. Of course since it is Scrooge as the hero of this story, Jacob Marley was included in the story line as were a number of famous expressions from A Christmas Carole. I found the character weave and quotes entertaining. I found the plot rather complex and convoluted. Of course there were multiple surprise twists and turns at the end to further confuse and surprise the reader, i.e. me. Unlike the last few mysteries I read, this one was definitely not geared towards a younger audience.
With my tired (long day) and bewildered mind (convoluted story line of my book), I decided to be rebellious and skip the blog entry for the night. My brain could not form any words that I thought would be of interest to anyone including me. However, after a good night's sleep, I was able to make my update.
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