Things to See in SW Florida

angus99 said:

We're anchored in Pelican Bay after a slow cruise up from Sanibel in the rain. I trolled a couple of lines behind us and picked up a nice Spanish (supper) and small Jack Crevalle (released). It's really nice here--several other boats, but not a crowd, and no problems getting in. As soon as the thunderstorm chances taper off we're going to see if we can take the dingy around the point of the island for some exploring. I could get used to this.

Click to expand...

Glad you are enjoying Pelican Bay. You can dinghy to the state dock and walk across the island less than a mile to the Gulf of Mexico. It's a great beach only accessible by water. The park has a $2/person fee, which in my opinion is a bargain. The park is operated only with fee income. Also, there are some hiking trails .

If you take the dinghy just south of the state dock, there is a little cove that you can go into...you may see manatees in there. Go slow and watch for the manatees to surface. We usually cut the engine and paddle around in the cove so we don't hit one.

Enjoy your stay!

Gina

Gina

Thanks, Gina. Haven't seen any manatees in the bay yet, but we saw several feeding (along with some dolphins) off our stern in the Sanibel Marina this morning.

Today the weather cleared and we took the dinghy around the north end of Cayo Costa to the front beach for some shelling and non-productive fishing. In the channel between the islands, a large shark went gliding by us about 12-ft from the dinghy. My wife and I try to be conservative about things like this, but there's no way that thing was any shorter than the 9 foot inflatable we were in. Lots of goose bumps, but a glorious afternoon.

How was the entrance channel going into Sanibel Marina and Grandmas Dot's? It had shoaled so badly that we just about had to kiss the seawall going in. But the lunch was worth it.

You are in one of my favorite places. Will you get to Boca Grande. If you anchor there let me know. I will tell you how you may be able to land a dinghy.

If you go into Boca Grande Marina. Ask for slip 3,4,or 5. If not try the face dock. You do not want to back up to the seawall with no finger pier.

Have a great cruise.

Moonstruck said:

How was the entrance channel going into Sanibel Marina and Grandmas Dot's? It had shoaled so badly that we just about had to kiss the seawall going in. But the lunch was worth it.

You are in one of my favorite places. Will you get to Boca Grande. If you anchor there let me know. I will tell you how you may be able to land a dinghy.

If you go into Boca Grande Marina. Ask for slip 3,4,or 5. If not try the face dock. You do not want to back up to the seawall with no finger pier.

Have a great cruise.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Don. Don't think we'll be getting that far north today. I have an early flight out Sunday, so we need to be back in Ft Myers and buttoned down tomorrow afternoon. Still a lot we'd like to see on the way back.

I have the book "Over Florida" and enjoy it once and a while. I kept clicking on this thread to see beautiful pics of Florida.

THANK YOU THANK YOU timjet for finally posting pics and great pics at that. With all the heat, bugs and other critters including humans I'm not too eager to go to Florida again but I love seeing the pics. Thanks timjet.

Moonstruck said:

How was the entrance channel going into Sanibel Marina and Grandmas Dot's? It had shoaled so badly that we just about had to kiss the seawall going in. But the lunch was worth it.

Click to expand...

The entrance was tight--very shallow on port. I noticed it in time to move toward the sea wall. The shoal seems to be a popular spot for manatees, so maybe that's why it hasn't been dredged. Tight maneuvering all around in there, especially with a weak bow thruster. But, as you say, Grandma Dot's is worth it--great food.

manyboats said:

I kept clicking on this thread to see beautiful pics of Florida.

Click to expand...

Sorry to keep you hanging on, Eric. The better shots are on a camera we have no way to download here. In the meantime, these are the most "beautiful" Florida pics we can dig up.

Hooked! congrats

Summarizing

We ended up spending 2 nights in Pelican Bay, rented bikes and did a lot of exploring, shelling and fishing. A wonderful place.

Random things I learned or had reinforced on this trip:

• Day-dreaming about cruising is different from the realities of cruising. I actually enjoy boat maintenance, but somehow I didn't factor enough maintenance and logistics into my day-dreams. Lots more time spent here than watching sunsets, but it's all still good.

• Handling a heavier displacement boat like a Krogen is different than a sailboat that will turn in its own waterline. More specifically: making a 180 in a 42-foot single screw with an underpowered bow-thruster, full-length keel and enormous windage in a canal with 90-feet of water between docks on either side and a viscous, howling wind pushing you is not fun. I missed the first approach to our slip during a brief lull (which I never should have attempted from upwind anyway), got caught sideways and had a hell of a time getting the bow to turn upwind. My wife kept calling out the room we had astern, which allowed me to get the nose around into the wind on our third try. From that point it was easy, but definitely some white knuckles getting there. (Some of the locals wandered over from the bars after we tied up and said they were taking bets on whether we'd make it in.)

• In that vein, teamwork makes everything easier. This I already knew from our years of boating together, but it was especially true on a boat and in cruising grounds we weren't familiar with. I'm blessed with a wife who is gung-ho and capable. (Think I'll keep her.)

• There are some big frickin' sharks in Florida.

• Krogen 42s are great boats, but maintenance--as so many of you have said--is everything in a boat built 25 years ago. This one was well-equipped, but probably neglected at some point in her life. Mostly pumps and non-safety items that were aged out or just not maintained along with some terrible roof leaks and soft-spots in the foredeck that I'm sure the new owner will address. If she were mine, I'd also consider a 24-volt bow thruster and a rear-view camera. if we ever buy one, we'll probably hold out for an island queen.

Final score: we ran about 80 mies over 4 days; nobody hurt; never touched bottom and got a great introduction to the "cruising lifestyle." And we liked it. While being live-aboards is not in our future, extended cruising has major appeal for both of us. We'll continue to learn all we can, experience different boats and hopefully spend a lot of our retirement years doing this.

(Ignore wrong date/time stamps)

Congratulations on your successful trip. Enjoyed the pictures. Pelican Bay gets our vote as a favorite place to hang out. KK 42s are amazing boats, of course, I'm a little prejudiced!

Chris

Thanks for letting us tag along. It really is a great cruising area. Short distances, sheltered waters, good destinations----it's hard to ask for better. I vote for the Pine Island Sound area over the Keys. They are both nice, but the more relaxing cruising puts it over. The Keys have prettier water though, so have to get down there now and then also.

Glad your trip was successful.

Moonstruck said:

I vote for the Pine Island Sound area over the Keys. They are both nice, but the more relaxing cruising puts it over. The Keys have prettier water though, so have to get down there now and then also.

Click to expand...

Don, that's an interesting comparison. We were planning a Keys cruise this month but boat issues and money got in the way. We will instead head down to Pelican Bay and maybe Tween Waters

Anguss99; glad you had a great time. From your pictures looks like the weather wasn't too bad. You're comments on sharks was interesting. I was going to go down to my boat and take a good look at my props tomorrow, hmmmmm ............

Agree with Don. The Keys have their own magic and Key West is a unique spot. I would opt for Pine Island, very peaceful, unique and very enjoyable spot.

Come to think of can't go wrong with either. For the record I enjoyed Marathon far more than Key West.

John

Sortie said:

For the record I enjoyed Marathon far more than Key West.
John

Click to expand...

John, what did you like about Marathon? I didn't find anything interesting there and planned to skip it next Keys cruise.

angus99 wrote: Day-dreaming about cruising is different from the realities of cruising. I actually enjoy boat maintenance, but somehow I didn't factor enough maintenance and logistics into my day-dreams. Lots more time spent here than watching sunsets, but it's all still good.

I have been wondering about the comment you made above. It sounds like you did maintenance during your 4 day charter. What did you really mean by this comment?

You're right, I could have been clearer on that.

On the maintenance part, it was mostly the realiziation that a 25-year-old boat with many more pumps and mechanical systems than I'm used to can require a lot of attention. I don't mean to trash the charter we had, but maintenance in some areas was lacking. The shower sump and salt water washdown pump both were inoperabe, as was the autopilot (not that we'd have used it anyway down there). The windlass needed a lot if coaxing, the starter solenoid on the generator needed to be manually engaged half the time (which meant a trip below) and the horn didn't work. The brand new heavy duty hoist (which is responsible for the slight list to port you might notice in the bow-on photo) leaks hydraulic fluid. Plus a couple of serious cabin leaks when it rained and one of the heads didn't dry-bowl. I spent more time than I should have trying to find the causes of problems and doing work-arounds where possible. I could probably repair or replace any of that with my own tools, but I didn't want to root through the owner's tools and spares and take on that liability. As I mentioned, I like working on boats and it's always bothersome to see one even slightly neglected. I saw a ton of other things I would fix or replace and it just became dialed-in for me how much maintenance is involved with bigger, more complex boats.

On the logistics piece, I was mainly referring to knowing all of the things that go into planning a route, knowing where you want to anchor that night, verifying bridge clearances (we had to drop the radio antenna going under "C" span heading north out of Sanibel) finding a good spot in a crowded anchorage, waiting for the wind to die before you attempt a complicated docking. Looking for reasonably priced diesel fuel (I used 20 gallons a year in my sailboat) and fitting the max amount of boating into 4 days on the water. Stuff like that. All things that most of you do reflexively . . . and that I look forward to learning.

Thd key takeaway here is that none of this discouraged us. We had a blast. Hope that answers your question.

angus99 said:

You're right, I could have been clearer on that.

On the maintenance part, it was mostly the realiziation that a 25-year-old boat with many more pumps and mechanical systems than I'm used to can require a lot of attention. I don't mean to trash the charter we had, but maintenance in some areas was lacking. The shower sump and salt water washdown pump both were inoperabe, as was the autopilot (not that we'd have used it anyway down there). The windlass needed a lot if coaxing, the starter solenoid on the generator needed to be manually engaged half the time (which meant a trip below) and the horn didn't work. The brand new heavy duty hoist (which is responsible for the slight list to port you might notice in the bow-on photo) leaks hydraulic fluid. Plus a couple of serious cabin leaks when it rained and one of the heads didn't dry-bowl. I spent more time than I should have trying to find the causes of problems and doing work-arounds where possible. I could probably repair or replace any of that with my own tools, but I didn't want to root through the owner's tools and spares and take on that liability. As I mentioned, I like working on boats and it's always bothersome to see one even slightly neglected. I saw a ton of other things I would fix or replace and it just became dialed-in for me how much maintenance is involved.

On the logistics piece, I was mainly referring to knowing all of the things that go into planning a route, knowing where you want to anchor that night, verifying bridge clearances (we had to drop the radio antenna going under "C" span heading north out of Sanibel) finding a good spot in a crowded anchorage, waiting for the wind to die before you attempt a complicated docking. Looking for reasonably priced diesel fuel (I used 20 gallons a year in my sailboat) and fitting the max amount of boating into 4 days on the water. Stuff like that. All things that most of you do reflexibly . . . and that I look forward to learning.

Thd key takeaway here is that none of this discouraged us. We had a blast. Hope that answers your question.

Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying. We we've looked at a few boats and really like the KK 42. We hope to charter one in the not too distant future. It's kind of disappointing to hear that it wasn't in the greatest of shape. I suppose a charter is pretty hit and miss.

We enjoyed the laid back style, the sunsets and the waterfront eateries. Had a nice relaxing stay, not for everyone, but after the bustle of key West it was the perfect time.

John

Angus: I've been watching the thread from afar and having read several other blogs about Charters on the very same boat, it was interesting to hear your perspectives. We're retiring in July, and Longboat Key will be our new home and base of operations for our cruising. This will include the SW Florida area and Keys for the rest of 2013, and then hopping on the loop (at least that's the plan) in the spring 2014. The comments in the thread have given us much more insight to cruising our new home grounds. Thanks

Congrats on getting to the finish line, healhustler--we're one or two years behind you, but it's starting to look real. Hope you enjoy the area as much as we did. As for the boat problems, I think it must have been an anomaly. The charter company seems to have a very solid reputation and they could not have been more helpful and pleasant to work with. The boat joined the fleet a year and a half ago and, while the new owner (who is several hundred miles away) has obviously spent time and money on her, there's still more to be done. It's a boat, right?

healhustler said:

We're retiring in July, and Longboat Key will be our new home and base of operations for our cruising. This will include the SW Florida area and Keys for the rest of 2013, and then hopping on the loop (at least that's the plan) in the spring 2014.

Click to expand...

I will be about 2 years behind you, you can be the pathfinder

Where will you be on Longboat? One of our favorite local anchorages is locally called Moores, located on the north end of Longboat Key, just before the bridge in front of the Moores and Mar Vista restaurant. An hour and a half from our slip in south St. Pete.

angus99,
Thank you. Finally some pics. Thank you.

I really like the first one and that cute girl has a cute fish too.

timjet said:

I will be about 2 years behind you, you can be the pathfinder

Where will you be on Longboat? One of our favorite local anchorages is locally called Moores, located on the north end of Longboat Key, just before the bridge in front of the Moores and Mar Vista restaurant. An hour and a half from our slip in south St. Pete.

Click to expand...

Our home is just south of Longboat Key Club Moorings & Marina, with a deep canal back into the center of the island. Probably the most protected slip on the island.

We might spend the first month or so living aboard our boat in the Marina, while we do some upgrades to the house. At least initially, it won't feel like retirement.

healhustler said:

Our home is just south of Longboat Key Club Moorings & Marina, with a deep canal back into the center of the island. Probably the most protected slip on the island.

We might spend the first month or so living aboard our boat in the Marina, while we do some upgrades to the house. At least initially, it won't feel like retirement.

Click to expand...

Larry, you picked a superb location. Do you mind telling why you preferred that to Key Biscayne? Just curious.

Moonstruck said:

Larry, you picked a superb location. Do you mind telling why you preferred that to Key Biscayne? Just curious.

Click to expand...

Two reasons, primarily. One, taxes and two, they speak English on Longboat Key. Secondary reasons are the low level of expectations, and therefore the quality of work.