The wind died during the night and it looks like a good morning to head up Charlotte Harbor to Punta Gorda. After returning the rental car and pumping out we departed about 9:45 (readers really do not need to know every time we pump out, but it is a major activity that needs to be planned and carried out while cruising, especially with our small holding tank, so it’s part of our life aboard!). We had a very nice trip of about 21 miles with sunny skies (but cool), very light wind, and an open body of water that did not require precise steering. I even took a short nap after lunch while Captain Benmar steered and Nancy kept watch. We arrived at the mooring field in Punta Gorda about 2:00, picked up a mooring and dingyed into the marina to check in and take a walk. Less than two hours later we had a bumpy ride back to Dubhe as the wind had picked up. Then when the tide changed and the current began to run in the opposite direction of the wind, it became quite choppy and Dubhe began dance around. We had to hold on as we had drinks and prepared dinner. Today is Ash Wednesday, my favorite day on the church calendar. I had looked online for Lutheran churches and found none within walking distance and although there was an Episcopal church, it did not look like we could make the trip to and from the mooring in the dark in this weather. Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. Fortunately, the wind died in the evening and we had a quiet night. The only problems with this mooring field are that it is out in the open and about ½ mile to the marina, but that’s cruising.
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| Punta Gorda mooring very exposed. Dubhe in the center. |
February 11, 2016
Laundry Day. We slept late (7:00) and had a leisurely breakfast then dingyed to the marina for showers and laundry. Fortunately there is little wind which makes the long dingy rides easy, but it was 41 degrees this morning! We returned to Dubhe about noon for lunch, nap, and run the generator to charge batteries. It is a beautiful sunny day and beginning to warm up. Nancy even changed to shorts. About 2:00 we went into Punta Gorda to explore, had ice cream and a few beers along the waterfront and back to Dubhe for dinner and an early night. One problem we have is that we have nothing to do in the evening. We do not have a TV (although we never watched TV at home either), so we read or catch up on my blog, but we always seem to go to bed very early, and get up early.
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| Favorite cruising stop. |
February 12, 2016
I was up at 6:00, warmed up the cabin by making coffee (48 degrees outside), and did my morning surfing. Although we are quite a way out in the river on the mooring field, my wifi Bullet extender can bring in a signal, but slow (not enough to stream a movie). When we are closer in to a marina, I can get excellent wifi. After breakfast, we dingyed in to take advantage of free loaner bicycles that the city provides. We had a great time riding around Punta Gorda and the weather is great; warming to the 70’s and not a cloud in the sky. Nancy wanted a drink with ice so we stopped at a convenience store (where I also bought a Florida Lotto ticket, but that is another story) that also had hot food. It was almost lunchtime and the aroma was too much. They had some of the best looking fried fish I have seen so we got an order of fish and fries to share, then sat outside at a concrete picnic table and had lunch. It was excellent! This is not something most spouses would go along with, but Nancy is not most; she’s always up for a challenge. And right next door is a Salvation Army Thrift Store! I had been thinking about trying to find some DVD’s so we could watch movies on Dubhe, and what better way than old, cheap DVD’s. We bought 5 DVD’s for $10. On the way back to Dubhe, we stopped by the hardware store for some PVC pipe to make a tiller extension for my dingy outboard. There’s always something that needs to be done. This afternoon, Nancy finally got an opportunity to lie in the sun in her bikini.
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| Great outdoor lunch! |
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| Free bicycles in Punta Gorda |
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| She will kill me when she sees this! |
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| Long dingy ride to get gas for the generator; good we took some beers. |
February 13, 2016
Back on the road. We left the mooring at 7:00 for a short 21 mile trip back to Cayo Costa State Park where we had the wind (and Super Bowl) last week. It was a quick trip as we had a good current with us, arriving at 10:20 and anchoring very near where we did before. After lunch and some minor maintenance, we dingyed over for a walk on the beach. The wind picked up in the afternoon and it is still in the 60’s so it seemed quite cool. I had a great plan to watch a movie after supper tonight. It would be simple, just pop the DVD into my laptop and watch. We selected “The Whole Nine Yards” but it was a close tie with “Trading Places”. After getting all set up in our forward vee berth (we had to put our heads the opposite way that we normally sleep) we were ready to go! Ugh, not so fast. Last year, I installed Windows 10 in my fairly old laptop and it has worked very well, BUT the new Windows Media Player does not play DVD’s. You’ve got to buy a separate App for that! Of course, that has to be done on line and we are about as far from wifi as you can get. So now Microsoft makes a few more dimes and although I have always prided myself in my tech savvy nature, this has made me feel old and behind the times. It is hard to describe how down I felt over this. So I will finish my book and go to bed early again. I will probably wake up at 6:00 (unless the wind keeps me up) with not much to do.
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| Cayo Costa beach |
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| Buoys are a lot bigger close up. |
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February 14, 2016
Valentine’s day. As feared, I was up most of the night with wind at 20 to 25 with some gusts to 30. In the higher gusts, Dubhe shudders and the sound goes to a higher pitch as the wind whistles through the rigging. All was well but I just do not sleep when the wind blows like that. The good news is that Nancy and I are together for Valentine’s Day. Not anything really different, but I appreciate her more than ever, as she is absolutely necessary for me to most anything I try, especially cruising. We took a long dingy ride to the “tunnel of love” which is just a creek through the mangroves that grow together overhead so it looks like a tunnel. Once inside, I was uncomfortable because it was shallow, so I had to push along with the paddle and there was a following current…how would we get back out without the engine? There were a lot of sticks and stumps of mangrove around that could easily puncture an inflatable dingy…and we were miles from anywhere, especially Dubhe. Oh well, a good idea. We got the hell out of there and rode around in the dingy to a small beach and explored some. The afternoon was beautiful, sunny and warm. I made a somewhat feeble attempt to fish a little but no luck. Another couple coming into the anchorage admired Dubhe and we wound up having drinks on their boat. A fun day and we had steaks for dinner.
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| We always eat well. |
We had a good restful night and headed out about 8:00, with the intention of anchoring just north of Venice. However, we arrived at about 2:00 so we pressed on and glad we did. We picked up a mooring at Sarasota municipal marina (Marina Jacks) about 4:30. Very nice day but still not warm enough to ride on the fly bridge. As we were coming into the mooring field, we were called on the radio by Andy and Julie on “Fruitcakes” to come over for drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Have I mentioned how social cruising is?? We dingyed in to register for 4 nights. We are looking forward to a break and some sightseeing.
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| Sarasota |
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