Port Charlotte to Islamorada - Part 1

Well before dawn, my brother Brandon and I awoke in Port Saint Lucie, FL. We finished loading a rental car and began a 2 hour drive to Port Charlotte. Once in P.C. we made a last minute visit to West Marine and also filled our diesel and ice capacity. Let the grand adventure begin.

Departure: 10:20 a.m.
Winds: 10-15 knots from the SW
Our heading: SW

As we sailed into Charlotte Harbor, I was impressed once again by the vastness. I cannot see the far shores of this river. We spent hours tacking back and forth against the wind and finally turned south onto the Intercoastal Waterway as the sun slipped behind Cayo Costa State Park. Going inside was everything we had hoped. The choppy seas abated, and the wind finally cooperated. Near Captiva Island we hit a new record top speed of 7.1 nautical miles per hour for Miss Marisol. This was on a beam reach plus 1000 rpm's from the diesel.

Corn on the cob and pork chops hit the grill while couscous with okra and corn was prepared in the galley. We capped it all off with a swig of rum from the bottle, in honor of Miss Marisol's previous owner. Norm recently passed away, and his widow Frances gave me his last bottle of Rum. We sailed on into the night with the on our beam, arriving in Fort Myers Beach at 11:30 p.m. We took a mooring ball there (it's like an anchor, only it's permanent. Boats can tie up to them out on the water) and slept about 6 hours. On Day 1, we sailed 62.5 nautical miles.

Day 2 we departed Fort Myers beach with the sunrise. Winds were slight and we motored mostly, towards Naples. We used our AutoHelm (autopilot) for the first time. It's incredible and makes long voyages better. Wind picked up past Naples and we motor sailed on to Marco Island where we topped off our ice, diesel, and water. If I were to name the place, I would have named Marco Island "Baby Dolphin Bay." We saw at least 12 Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins and most were babies. ADORABLE.

From Marco Island, we sailed on into the night with plans of rotating the watch and sleeping in shifts to make Shark River by dawn. Don't miss my next post for the exciting conclusion.