Home Port in the Conch Republic

 Sunset Marina

 

On Tuesday morning January 17th we headed 32 miles down the north side of the keys to Sunset Marina in beautiful tropical colored water. We pulled into the marina after a bit of a tense approach in a very narrow channel across a flats area where they had dug out the coral to create the channel. The fun wasn’t over when we arrived. When we found our slip and began our approach. 

As I sized it up it looked pretty tight. Well that was an understatement. I literally had to press the boat in. We were bound by the piling on one side and the dock edge on the other. We temporarily tied the boat off  and went into the office. We explained the problem after which they said, “That’s the only slip we have you may need to find someplace else.” If you know anything about the keys dock space is impossible to find and we did not want to be on anchor for a month. I kept very calm but persistent. Fortunately that paid off. They ended up swapping with the slip next to us that was slightly larger. The boat that was in it moved into our slip. Still tight but it worked. Phew! The marina has nice floating concrete docks and is like being in an aquarium. It is full of sea life and gin clear water. There is a resident school of giant Tarpon that patrol the basin along with schools of grey snapper, Yellow Tail, Parrotfish and others. We watched a Cormorant chase and catch fish. They fly through the water like a guided torpedo. There was a Manatee that passed thru also. We got settled into our small little piece of paradise. 

Duval street is a little more than 4 miles from the marina so a bit of a hike on the bikes. We are getting the local intel on ways to get down fast and easy. On Wednesday we made our first hike into the conch republic. It was a beehive of activity just like days gone by but even more so.

Cruise ships now make regular stops in downtown just down from Mallory Square adding to the hustle and bustle. Sue and I had last been to Key West over 20 years ago for a Jimmy Buffett Parrot Head Festival.  It has grown a lot since we were last here. Our first trip to Key West was, no kidding,  almost 40 years ago.

We had come down to visit Sue’s parents and then came down to Key West for a weekend. We tent camped at Boyds Camp ground which is still here and just a short distance from the marina we are at. 

We have already made friends with the guy who runs a fishing/pleasure ride charter business out of the marina. On Thursday morning he stopped by the boat in one of his boats and asked if I wanted to go on a short boat ride. I have always lived by a policy to never turn down a boat ride, especially where I get to just be a passenger. So I grabbed my sunglasses and  jumped on board. He was taking one of his flats boats to a local marina to adjust the 300 hp Mercury Racing Series engine! We cleared the marina and he lit the thing up. 75 mph across 2’ of crystal clear water. What a ride! 

                                                              Front Street

Believe it or not a Hard Rock Cafe

                                      Key West Historical Museum

Resident Tarpon. If you dare you can hand feed them shrimp. I like all 10 of my fingers!

                            Oh look another tourist

Sunset Key

                                              Sunset at Sunset Marina

No Sharks Here

 Little Shark River

On Sunday morning the weather cooperated and the winds dropped and were forecast to continue to subside through out the day. Seas would be on our stern so a comfortable 44 mile cruise along the coast was ahead of us. The weather was sunny and cool with temps in the low 70s. We were on the lookout for dolphin, turtles and manta rays that jump out of the water.

No luck on the last two but we did see dolphin. We arrived at the anchorage about 2 pm. There was another boat in the anchorage when we arrived but before night set in there was two others. This place was pretty remote pretty 50 miles from the nearest point of civilization. We did the usual exploration on the dinghy and actually spotted a small alligator hanging out in the sun but no sharks. That night I spent about an hour up on the Sundeck staring into the brilliantly lit heavens realizing what a tiny speck we are in the overall scheme of things. Shooting stars were plentiful. 

Johnson Key

On Monday morning we hauled the anchor after a leisurely morning and made our strike across the Gulf to Johnson Key about 54 miles to the south east. This would be only the third time we would loose sight of land in all directions. Neptune smiled on us and granted us a smooth passage. We saw a couple of turtles, dolphin and one ray that jumped out of the water a good distance away.

The further south we travelled the more tropical colored the water became. We reached the channel where we cut through the reef and weaved our way 3 miles in to a beautiful anchorage. We set the anchor and admired the beautiful tropical waters that surrounded us. Johnson Key is just North of Cudjoe Key. We were a short 32 miles from our final destination, for the next month, at Sunset Marina on Stock Island. 

Back to Old World Florida

 Marco Island

Tuesday night we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out at one of the Italian restaurants on 5th Ave in Naples. We did our usual and sat at the bar in this very trendy restaurant. People watching was at a premium. It is safe to say that the locals of Naples do not cook in their million dollar kitchens. They go out not only to eat but to be seen. We had a great meal and enjoyed the evening.

The Wednesday morning we decided to do a delayed departure so Sue could do some provisioning. Fortunately she was able to share a Uber with another Looper doing the same. By Noon we were off headed the short 15 mile cruise to Marco Island. There was a backup in the laundry department so we had to hike the dirty duds on the dinghy and then on the bikes to the local laundromat. While the clothes were doing there thing in the machine we rode over to the beach and took a long walk. We came across a whole flock of Skimmers, a local threatened shore bird.  Marco Island isn’t missing a variety of shorebirds, but it is said that is missing a “soul”.  It does not have any type of city center or downtown. Just one high rise condo after another. It was not our favorite Florida town but the skimmers were very much at home on the shoreline and our duds got cleaned.

LuLu Key

The next morning we headed out of port to run down the coast to LuLu Key located 37 miles south just inside the Everglades National Park in an area called “The 10,000 Islands”. It was a beautiful day on the water. The cloudless skies were deep blue with light winds and warm temps. We set anchor in a choke of a narrow channel with two Sandy keys on either side. The term 10K islands is accurate. Getting lost in the maze of islands is easy as one mangrove island looks just like the rest. We spent the day exploring and shelling on a couple of the remote beaches. The dusk sky looked like it was set ablaze followed by an appearance of the Milky Way.

Everglades City

On Friday January 13th, so that’s why the batteries went dead!  We pulled anchor and went to port at Everglades City to the once famous Rod and Gun Club. The forecast was not looking good as winds were supposed to pick up just shy of gale force. We choose to seek better shelter as the mangrove islands provide some limited protection.

Even though it was only 15 miles we left first thing as conditions were deteriorating. Everglades City is know for its world class fishing, airboats and eco tours of the Everglades. Duck and boar hunting were also popular years ago. The Rod and Gun Club is an old world Florida vestige of that time. Unfortunately it has fell on hard times. Lack of funds to restore the building and significant understaffing of the restaurant.

It has so much potential for the right investor with a big vision. We enjoyed a drink there and then went to another waterfront restaurant for dinner. When we transited the channel coming into Everglades City Friday morning we found two spots where the water depth was right at 4.5’. Our boat needs all of that to not hit bottom. I was concerned about the winds blowing the water out of the flats leaving us trapped.

So Saturday morning we left early to take advantage to the high tide to get past the two low spots before the wind had a chance to blow the water out. That meant we had to find cover so we were reasonably comfortable and safe at anchor. Going down the coast was not an option as seas were 6-8’. Fortunately we were able to tuck into a narrow area in Russels Pass to weather the winds. Our night on the hook was comfortable although a bit chilly. We survived quite well. 

On the wall at the Rod and Gun Club

                                     Entering Everglades City

Flock of Pelicans

                         Exploring the 10K Islands

Beach on LuLu Key

It wouldn’t be any fun if there wasn’t challenges

 From One Extreme to Another

After getting an on the ground view of the utter devastation in Ft Meyers we headed 32 miles to Naples. Now for those of you who don’t know Naples it is the land of plenty. It is probably one of the highest concentrations of Uber wealthy.

We are talking homes in the tens of millions where each one has at least one exotic car in the garage. They have a general aviation airport where the end of the approach runway is right at Naples City dock where we picked up a mooring ball for 4 nites. Heck at $16/nite it was hard to beat. The airport  caters to the Lear, Gulfstream and Citation jet crowd. On Friday there was one landing about every three minutes! 

I bet that costs a whole lot more than what we paid for a mooring ball. The marina has a great restaurant onsite called appropriately The Dock and is a walk to both Historic down town and 5th Ave. We were very excited to have Kevin and Tina make a repeat visit for the weekend. Yep you read right. We now have guests that have visited twice! The rest of you are really missing out! 

So they arrived right on schedule so  the weekend was off to an early start. First thing was to pack provisions for an amphibious assault of the interior waterways to gawk at the opulent waterfront homes. All I can say is WOW! Later we wandered into town for a late dinner after which we called it a night. 

Saturday morning we walked back into town where there was a great farmers market going on. After sampling all the offerings we decided to walk over to 5th Ave where the Annual Naples Art Show was going on. It was 10 blocks of some of the most high end art you could imagine.The pieces had a price to match.

Kevin invited his Uncle Glen who lives in North Naples for lunch. Really nice fellow from Rochester, NY. 

Dinner was another event that is hard to describe. We went to this grocery store Called Oak Farms Seed to Table. No we did not shop and cook on the boat. We actually ate and danced in the grocery store. I kid you not. 

This place is a big store that also has a couple of micro restaurants inside along with an option to pick out a protein of your choice then select a couple of sides to go with it.  Then they cook it to order for you.You can then go buy a bottle This place is a big store that also has a couple of micro restaurants inside along with an option to pick out a protein of your choice then select a couple of sides to go with it.  Then they cook it to order for you. You can then go buy a bottle of wine or a six pack of beer and bring it to wherever you want to sit. They have a small stage and a dance floor upstairs where you can work off those calories from the delicious prime steak you just devoured. We just cracked up!  

Sunday we made the trek to Stans Idle Hour and Buzzard Bar in Goodland just below Marco Island. It is an iconic place where several hundred people show on a Sunday to listen to music and drink cold beer. In February they have the famous 3 day Mullet Festival where a 1000+ gather. We returned to the boat and said our goodbyes to Tina and Kevin as they were jetting back to VB.

What a fun filled weekend. Back on the boat I had been monitoring a low voltage issue with the house batteries. I did a little checking and found a dead cell in one of the four batteries. So I disconnected it from the bank and ran the generator for a couple of hours to recharge.In the morning the house bank had dropped again to 11.7 volts enough to know that’s too low.

That meant that we needed new batteries. So Tuesday morning we moved the boat to the dock and began the process of changing batteries. Now our boat takes 4 8d batteries. Don’t need to know what that means other than each one weighs about 120 lbs. To make matters worse they live in the lowest part of the boat. So how do we move each battery from the engine room, up the stairs to the sundeck, down the stairs to the dock, from the dock into a truck? So after giving Sue a pep talk we went at it with a can do attitude. The two of us were able to remove the old ones, put them in a Home D truck, get new ones and put them back into the boat by 2pm that day, all without anybody getting hurt! Can you say Team Work! If it wasn’t for theses challenges that happen to everybody it just wouldn’t be as much fun. OK you caught me that was a line of crap. BUT! It is all part of the adventure.

                                                                                         Meeting new friends

In the grocery store Seed to table. I just don’t know what to say. 

                                              Stans Idle Hour

Downtown Naples

                                                  City street Naples                       

Beach front Naples

The Awesome Power of Mother Nature

 Ft Meyers Beach

On Thursday we headed for an anchorage right off Ft Meyers Beach. You all probably remember that this was the epicenter of where hurricane Ian rearranged the landscape. It was about a 35 mile cruise along the intercoastal waterway. We were on high watch to keep an eye out for any debris in the water or changes in depth due to shoaling. Fortunately all was clear. It was very appearant from the water that the devastation was great.

Where we got to shore it was more clear that this an apocalyptic event of incredible magnitude. Most of these barrier island towns there is simply no open lots. The sand space is simply used up by development of one kind or another. Well I would say that at least 30% of the land was now vacant. We were told that it was greatly improved since it happened.

After the event the streets were lined with wreckage of all kinds the was 10’ tall by 10’ deep. It was like driving down a tunnel. That was all cleaned up when we got there. We were also told that the storm surge hit 22’ across the island. Boat wreckage was everywhere. Ft Meyers is know for being the shrimping capital of the world. Not any more. The shrimp boat fleet looked like somebody picked them up and made a big pile.

But signs of life are returning. A few restaurants were opened some of the hotels had lights on and some home/condo owners had returned to enjoy what they could. There is an interesting dynamic here. A number of folks who suffered a total loss have owned the property for years if not generations. So IF they had flood insurance that’s where FEMA comes in. It only covers $250K. If that is not enough to cover the replacement then they are forced to sell. A local told us that the “official National Weather Service” report for sustained wind speed was 154 mph, just 1 mph below a Cat 5 hurricane. If it had been officially a Cat 5 then the insurance companies would have been on the hook for 100% of the property damage value no questions asked! Many said the wind gusts were well over that. Maybe the government was trying to save some of the insurance companies from declaring bankruptcy? 

Now here is another crazy part. There is not a piece of land on Ft Meyers beach for anything less than about $1.2 million. Very few if any paid that. So do you feel sorry for these people who lost their home? Is it the assumed risk for living in paradise on the edge of the ocean? What we walked away with is that the feel of Ft Meyers beach will change. It will likely loose it’s old beachy feel. Many of the Mom & Pop places will not return. It will likely become another over developed ritzie Florida destination where the average Joe can’t afford to go. Maybe we are wrong in our assumptions. We certainly hope so!

Open space

Anybody for some prime real estate?

Not a good place to dock!

                            Note the new yard ornament