Naples to Fort Meyers Beach Moss Marine

Saturday 3/3/2018
Depart: Naples Boat Club 11:30
Arrive: Fort Myers Beach Moss Marine 3:15
Distance: 30 nm

Being most concerned with the centerfielder issue related to the alternators, Clark decided to try to address this issue before leaving for our next stop. Since he bought the fuses last night, he replaced them and did some investigation into the problem. The two new fuses blew as soon as he started the engines.

Fortunately Clark bought two packages of fuses, so we could try again. He changed the fuses and had me just turn on the starboard engine - not start it. Wham! It blew again immediately. Clark grabbed his meter to take some measurements. While looking at the meter, he asked me to wiggle a wire on the starboard side. When I did, sparks flew, and I jumped back in a hurry!

As luck would have it, I saw where the sparks originated. This bit of information made Clark very happy. When I told him which wire generated the sparks, he thought about it for a moment and using knowledge gained when reconstructing the alternators to be externally regulated, he figured out what was shorting out. Now that he knew the root cause of the problem, he could put a fix in place. He pulled out his heat shrink material and heat gun to add some insulation.

Time, however, was not on our side. As he pulled out his tools, he sent me to find out about checkout time. He was dismayed to learn that checkout time was 11:00, and the dockmaster had someone coming in to our slip at noon. Working as fast as he could, he got the job done, the results tested (fuses did not blow), and had us out of the marina at 11:30. Amazing! As he pulled away from the marina, he was already on the phone with our Yanmar dealer discussing the part he needs for the oil leak. Our boat just wants to be sure Clark never gets bored.

Leaving the Naples inlet into the Gulf the waters were a little wild due to boat traffic.

Naples - heading out towards the Gulf

Once out of the inlet, everything settled down for a smooth ride to Fort Myers Beach. We have never been to this location before.

Coming into Fort Myers Beach, FL

Beach at Fort Myers Beach

Kayak - Peddle - Sail boat

Entering the Fort Myers Beach Inlet

Following a pokey sailboat into Fort Myers Beach

Clark managed to make a reservation at Moss Marine. They are currently under construction and offered no electric or water at the dock. Clark said he could do without, so they let us stay there.
Due to the lack of water and electric at the dock, Clark negotiated a reduced rate for a two-night stay. As soon as we had our lines tied, we walked to the part of Fort Myers Beach called "Times Square" for a look around the local sights.

"Welcome to Fort Myers Beach" Mural

We found Nemo
in a mural in Ft. Myers Beach

Nervous Nellie's in Ft Myers Beach

Road sign for Times Square

Kilwins' - of course we had to stop here for ice cream

Times Square in Ft. Myers Beach

We had a lot to see since we had not been here before.

Ft Myers Beach Fishing Pier

Beach at Ft. Myers Beach 

Boaters at Ft Myers Beach

Looking towards Times Square from the pier

Sunset Celebration band

Walking the streets we found some great local art on display.

Artwork - Pete's Timeout Cafe

The real Pete's Timeout

As sunset approached, the crowds moved towards the beach and so did we.

Selfie on the beach

Fancy sandcastle - buildings and elephants
(took artist two hours to complete)

Sunset Crowd!

As soon as the sun set, the crowd dispersed. Walking back through town to the boat, we saw some interesting street talent.

Young Violinist

Human Statues
(he never blinked! unbelievable!)

After our tour of Times Square, we ate dinner on the boat and enjoyed a relaxing rest of the evening.