Clearwater to Fort Myers

Monday, October 31, 2016

We are rested and ready to head south today.  Our run to the Bradenton area will be 48 miles, taking about 6 hours.  This area is characterized by mostly shallow bays protected by barrier islands.  Here you can see the mid-rise condos in the background that front on the beach.

Lots of high dollar real estate along this coast. 

These older homes are typical of "Old Florida".  Most have given way to newer and grander construction where land costs are high.

The ICW along the west Florida coast is mostly shallow, heavily developed, and littered with bridges connecting the mainland with the barrier islands.  We will pass under 16 bascule and 2 swing bridges as we cruise south, in addition to very tall major highway bridges.

In preparation for the 18 low-clearance bridges we must pass, we have lowered our antennas and light mast.  We will be able to clear most, but not all, of the bridges without waiting for them to open.  Here we squeeze under with about 2 feet to spare.  Yikes!  May ask the next one to open for us.

Extensive canal systems have been dredged into the barrier islands and the inland areas, connecting to the bays.  All are lined with homes and boat docks.

As we cruise into the very large Tampa Bay, we see downtown St. Petersburg in the distance.

Downtown Tampa is barely visible on the horizon.

We pass under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, part of I-275.  I remember driving on the original bridge in the 1950s on a summer vacation with my parents.  Dad was very impressed that this new bridge, at 4+ miles long, was (one of?) the longest in the world.  Funny what sticks in the mind.

Finally we stop for the night at the Seafood Shack Marina in Cortez.  This stop is nothing special, but it is convenient and has dock space for us.  We are right beside our next bascule bridge and can time leaving tomorrow when it opens (every 20 minutes).

 




Tuesday, November 1, 2016

We get a late morning start for our 30 mile run to Venice.  We wait for the tide to rise to insure we have ample water depth.  But higher tide also means less clearance under the bridge.  The bridge operator told us we wouldn't have made it under the bridge if we had tried to go with it closed!

As we move south, we start to see lots more mangrove swamps along the shores. 
 







Pricey real estate is everywhere.  We enjoyed our stop in Venice, even though I didn't take any photos.  Met several other boaters, some local and some passing through.  We could walk to the beach at Venice Pass, but we could not take Boka.  We are finding very few dog-friendly beaches in Florida.



  Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Another late start to wait for higher tide this morning.  We will cruise only 20 miles to our next stop in Cape Haze.  Along the way, vegetation is becoming much more lush.

Tied up at Palm Island Marina, we can see the barrier island looking west toward the Gulf.

This is a pretty spot but was a very tight space to maneuver to our dock.  In addition, today Robert noticed a slight fuel leak on one of the engines, so he spent considerable time making sure we can proceed to Fort Myers without causing damage.





Thursday, November 3, 2016

Finally, our last leg to Fort Myers.  We will cruise 53 miles today, crossing a couple of open bays and into the Caloosahatchee River.  We pass more houses, more mangrove swamps, boats everywhere.


Marker 101 in this photo is at Mile 0 of the Gulf ICW and marks the beginning of the Okeechobee Waterway mileage numbering system.  The skyline is Cape Coral and the bridge goes to Sanibel Island.  We have now completed the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway!

This is the "Miserable Mile", so named because it is a very narrow channel with strong cross current and lots of boat traffic.  Everyone must go slowly here, so we slogged along with a variety of craft in close quarters for the mile stretch.  Did I mention it was very windy and choppy, too?

 Some nice real estate lies along the shore in Fort Myers.  We are pummeled by headwinds as we move upriver, under 3 tall bridges, and into our slip at the City of Fort Myers Yacht Basin.  We will stay at least a week here.  Will need to hire a mechanic to replace 1 fuel pump and may do some other preventive maintenance while here.