Depart: W.P. Franklin Lock Park 10:00
Arrive: Fort Myers, FL anchorage between the bridges 12:00
Distance: 13 NM
Locks: W.P. Franklin Lock
Given our dock from last night was next to the lock, we arrived to lock through 5 minutes after we dropped our lines. Clark called the lock master before we pulled away from the dock to be sure we would not have to wait for an opening.
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| W.P. Franklin Lock Park |
On our trip to Fort Myers, we saw what looked like a small island, but to me, it looked like it was under power. Looking through the binoculars, Clark confirmed it to be an island. Still I was not sure as it definitely appeared to be causing a wake.
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| An island with a wake??? |
I suggested Clark take another look, and he confirmed the island was "under way".
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| The island "under way" turned out to be a boat carrying chopped down trees. |
Otherwise, the trip into Fort Myers was uneventful. So uneventful in fact, it was downright boring. We had to travel through a long stretch of "Idle Speed - No Wake" for protected manatees that took forever to transit.
The entry to the anchorage was definitely a hair-raising experience. The channel is extremely narrow, and the water depth is shallow. With winds shoving us to and fro, Clark had his hands full keeping the boat in the marked channel. As he controlled the path of the boat, I called out depths to give advance warning should it start to look precarious. All I could see was one sailboat after another in the anchorage, and I had to wonder how the heck they got themselves into the anchorage. According to everything I read on Active Captain, the way we came in is the only way into this anchorage.
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| Fort Myers, FL - "between the bridges" anchorage |
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| Sunset at Fort Myers, FL |
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| Fort Myers, FL - evening sky |
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| Fort Myers, FL at night |
Tuesday 11/28/2017
Depart: Fort Myers Anchorage 9:30
Arrive: Kitty's Private Dock 10:30
Distance: 5 NM
This morning the winds had calmed down considerably, and the channel out of the anchorage did not present the same level of challenge as it did on the way in.
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| Skinny channel into / out of the "between-the-bridges" anchorage in Fort Myers, Florida |
We needed to travel the channel into the lagoons in Cape Coral where Kitty lives at high tide, so we hung out at the anchorage to pass some time before getting underway. Even though we arrived at the channel at the appropriate time, Clark traveled the channel at dead low speed to keep an eye on the depth and carefully search out the deepest water in the channel.
The lagoons are like a maze. Clark wove his way in but made a slight miscalculation on directions. We ended up getting to visit one extra lagoon on our way to finding Kitty's dock. When we finally arrived at Kitty's dock, she was waiting on the dock to help with our lines and electric. She is a wonderful harbor host!
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| View from Kitty's Dock in Cape Coral, Florida |
After settling in and grabbing a quick bite for lunch, Kitty invited us to join her for a swim in her saltwater pool. We spent the rest of the afternoon with casual talk in her luxurious 87 degree pool.
Later, we joined forces and had a pot-luck dinner on Kitty's screened-in deck. She cooked on her grill, and I provided a pasta side dish. As a special treat, Kitty whipped up an amazing Key Lime Pie dessert complete with a banana split side including ice cream, fruit toppings and whipped cream.
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| Sunset in Cape Coral, Florida |
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