AquaFennatic Great Loop Blog: Cayo Costa Island FL to Boot Key FL

Feb 3^rd – It was a warm and sunny day today. The weatherman was calling for low winds thus we got up early and decided to spend the day traveling. We left the Pelican Bay anchorage at 7am and headed south on the Gulf Inter-Coastal waterway to Fort Myers where we went out into the Gulf of Mexico. We gave the boat a good run in the Gulf as we headed down to Marco Island traveling 70 miles today and we anchored in Factory Bay. Maria and I went for a dingy run to check out an alternate anchorage since we were exposed to boat wakes in this anchorage. When we returned to the boat “Over Ice” caught up with us and another Looper, “Chica”, anchored in the same bay. We went for cocktails on “Chica” until the sun started to go down and then we went back to our own boats to prepare dinner. By the way, Rob on “Over Ice” has a cannon on board and fired off a blank at sunset. It scared the Sh!t out of me!

Feb 4^th – It was a warm and sunny day. We decided to stay another day to explore the area by dingy. Rob and Brenda on “Over Ice” joined us in their dingy as we headed deep into the river system in the area and then we pulled in to a launch ramp and found a great Tiki bar in Goodland FL, however their docks were around the corner. We left the girls at the bar while Rob and I tried to find their dock. We were amazed at how far we had to go to actually get there. Thanks to Rob for asking multiple locals directions to the bar … we finally made it! The girls wondered what happened to us! After a cold one we continued our dingy ride and travelled down unknown rivers covered by mangroves … we felt like explorers! Rob and Brenda ran over a sunken boat and got stuck in the mud. I learned to follow Rob from a long way back since he is very adventurous! We went back to the boat to quench our thirst and then headed out once again to Winn Dixie to do some shopping. When we returned to the boats we were all very tired from all the fresh air, sunshine and activity thus we relaxed for the evening with a plan to leave early in the morning for our next anchorage.

Feb 5^th – It was a hot and sunny day. The weatherman was calling for low winds again thus we got up early to travel south. We left the Factory Bay anchorage at Marco Island FL and headed out in the Gulf of Mexico and travelled 68 miles to the Little Shark River anchorage in Everglades National Park in Florida. We ran quickly across the Gulf while our boat buddy “Over Ice” has a much slower cruising speed thus they joined us later in the day. We travelled slowly for the last few miles so I could test our Watermaker. It seemed to be working OK, however I found a leak due to a loose fitting in the membrane housing thus I’ll fix it when the engine compartment isn’t so hot. Two other Loopers “Morning Star” and “Chica” were also anchored in the same bay. I noticed that my rudder shaft logs were leaking again thus I tightened them and all is well again. I also completed a couple of small boat jobs before “Over Ice” arrived. By the way, did I mention that the water temperature is 75 degrees F? When “Over Ice” arrived they said we’d be having fish for dinner since they caught a 2 ½ footer on the way to the anchorage thus Maria added Caribbean rice to the fish and we had an Exxxcellent dinner while we listened to the Superbowl on satellite radio. Before sunset Rob shot off his cannon which most likely startled everyone in the bay ;) Brenda’s team lost in overtime and she wasn’t very happy about it ;) Unfortunately I’ll miss my blog posting tonight since there is no cell phone signal here.

Feb 6^th – It was a hot and sunny day. It’s Maria’s birthday today … Happy Birthday! We went for a long dingy ride with Rob and Brenda from our Shark River anchorage to Flamingo Florida through Everglades National park. Our ride was 20 miles each way through lakes and rivers filled with mangroves and wildlife! Flamingo Florida had cell service thus Maria was busy thanking everyone that sent her birthday wishes as well as letting the kids know that we will have no cell service for the next day or so. We had pizza for lunch at the on-site restaurant and then checked out the little museum they had. We saw our first American Crocodile just floating on the top of the water. Apparently Flamingo Florida is the best place in the US to see a crocodile. Once we got back to the boat we were parched and had to have a cold one to hydrate. Rob and Brenda joined us for Maria’s birthday dinner which consisted of a BBQed steak dinner and a Reeses Peanut Butter pie for desert plus the traditional “Happy Birthday” song followed by Porn Star shots.

Feb 7^th – It was a hot and sunny day. We got up early to travel 52 miles from our Shark River anchorage to our Sister Creek anchorage in Boot Key Florida in the Florida Keys. When we arrived a helpful boater in the area helped us tie our boat back to the mangroves. Over Ice arrived a while later and we helped him get setup as well. Once we were settled we headed over to the dingy dock to register which provides us with weekly pump-outs, dingy dock access, showers, laundry, etc. Afterwards we went to the marina to get some gas for the dingy. When we returned to the boat we got caught up on our internet related things since there was no cell service in our last anchorage.