The Casstaways Cast Off

On a chilly Friday, February 1st, 2019, these two casstaways waved goodbye to Regatta Pointe Marina, our home for the past two years, to set sail on our first extended cruise. Heading down the western coast of Florida to the Keys, then on to the Bahamas, where we intend to island-hop throughout March and April, returning to US waters in early May. Not a long time to be away, but it makes our previous three-night weekend anchorages pale in comparison. Many thank-yous to all our RPM friends who sent us off with food, hugs, gifts, help with lines, and love – we will miss you all!

Our first stop was Crows Nest Marina in Venice, where we spent three days visiting friends, giving tours of Casstaway, and taking care of last-minute details. In particular, we updated our wills, POAs, and advance directives. That scared the hell out of our families, but it’s the best way to guarantee our safety – everyone knows that when you prepare for the worst it doesn’t happen.

On Tuesday, February 5, we raised the sails and made our way from Venice to Charlotte Harbor and our three-night anchorage in Pelican Bay. Getting into Pelican Bay is a little tricky, and while we had been prepared for the extreme shallows it was still a shock to see our depth meter reading 1.0 feet below our keel and feeling like we could reach down and touch the rocks we saw beneath the boat.

On a side note, there are not just Pelicans in Pelican Bay – we unexpectedly found our hook for the night right across from an RPM acquaintance who sails Casstaway’s twin sister, and the following afternoon looked up to see our friends Captains Jeff and Jean dropping anchor right beside us. Cruising really is a small world!

A three-mile dinghy ride took us to Cabbage Key, where we hiked and visited the National Historic Register’s Cabbage Key Inn, whose restaurant and bar claim to be the original home of the Cheeseburger in Paradise and whose walls are decorated with dollar bills placed by thousands of pat
rons. Not sure how legit the cheeseburger claim, but it was definitely delicious! Some time spent hiking the island’s trails afterwards helped us walk off lunch.

After three nights we pulled anchor and headed for Salty Sam’s Marina in Ft. Myers. We soon discovered that not only have the Florida snowbirds invaded land, they have taken highway hell to a new level on the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway). Power boats everywhere, all of which seemed to be intent on proving that a) they could make bigger waves than anyone else, and b) they are totally ignorant of the rule on passing port-to-port. Both a and b made it a rough ride for us. Now I know why we appeared to be the only sailboat making the trek that day.

Two nights at Salty Sam’s. Also a little tricky to get into – a high traffic area and no prior knowledge of their dock set-up. Grateful in hindsight, I ended up overshooting our original slip assignment which would have had us wedged next to a HUGE pirate cruise tour ship. We ended-up in a better location and I had no problems backing her in. For those that may follow us, a few recommendations: Salty’ s has a great bar for passing the time while doing laundry, there are only two showers but they are nice, and DON’T bother walking all the way to Ft. Myers Beach only to take a trolley ride that goes to basically nowhere and back.

On to Marco Island, where we planned to anchor out the first night, then spend a night in port so that we could visit with snowbird friends from Indiana. There were three marina options to choose from. We chose the least expensive option – ‘nuf said. The anchorage was small and a muddy, difficult hold requiring three attempts. And high winds and strong current made pulling into our slip the next day a nightmare. Finally, a rainy, windy front prompted us to extend our stay by two nights. On the up-side, our friends were fun and gracious and showed us a wonderful time!

And the journey continues…