Sometimes Ya Gotta Get to Shore

 Punta Gorda

On Tuesday morning as we all three boats readied to pull anchor we knew we were going to deal with a bit of a chain rats nest. We tensioned the middle anchor chain and sure enough we were all crossed as a result of the boats spinning 360 degrees while at anchor. So we boarded our respective dinghies and went into Tug mode. We swung all three boats in the direction we thought would untangle us. Thought was the operative word. Now we were 720 degrees out so back in the dinghies to rotate the boats twice in the opposite direction. We only had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. Oh well it was fun pushing the boats around with the dinghies. Shortly we were all on our separate ways. We headed to Punta Gorda were we desperately needed supplies and laundry. We had been at anchor several days so we needed to get to shore.  It was a short 25 miles up Charlotte Harbor to the City marina where we would get shore duties accomplished.

Punta Gorda was a fairly nice town with a small downtown within walking distance of the marina. There was also a bike path along the Peace river that led to a shopping and entertainment complex called Fisherman’s Village. We could definitely see residual hurricane Ian damage here. Of interesting note is that because of where Punta Gorda was in the path of the storm it actually sucked all the water out of the Peace river and Charlotte Harbor.

It must have been a sight. After Sue handled the shore duties and I cleaned up the boat we went for a bike ride to the village. We stumbled across a group of ten guys playing the bag pipes at the Sunset Tiki Bar. They were amazing. I’m generally not a Bag Pipe fan but theses guys when playing in unison were hypnotic. What a treat to listen to them as we watched the sunset and the sky catch on fire. We headed back to the boat where Sue did her usual magic in the galley. 

Boca Grande

Wednesday morning we made a leisurely departure for Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island which was 23 miles back down Charlotte Harbor to the west. The name Gasparilla comes from the last of the Buccaneer Pirates, Jose Gaspar who pillage the Florida coastline. Lore has it that before he died he hid his vast treasure somewhere on the Florida coast. Sue and I are keeping a keen eye our for any clues to find the treasure.

God knows we need it just to cover our fuel! Anyhow when we arrived we pulled into a very narrow channel which made for a challenging anchorage. We had to set our anchor in the middle of the channel then back down to the shore and tie off a stern line to a Mangrove tree to keep us from swinging across the channel blocking outer boaters from transiting the channel.

Sounds easy but we spent almost an hour getting it just right. We were then off to explore the island. It had a very nice feel to it in that it was much less refined in the small village area. Just enough shops and restaurants to keep folks entertained. One notable was the Gasparilla Inn.

It had two centers, one was the Beach Club and the other was the Inn on the golf course. This place dates back to the early 1900’s with families returning for generations each season. If you stay at the Inn and you book the same time the following year you are guaranteed a reservation in the same room! Another old world Florida place perfectly appointed. We know our friend Betsy Temple would love the place.  

One of many beautiful homes  at Boca Grande

                                                                                                 Gasparilla Light

These guys were soooo good. 

The dinghy tug service