Hello Everyone,
A much needed vacation was in order after such a difficult year so far. Liz and I had hoped to go to the Dry Tortugas again this year with a similar itinerary to last year. Unfortunately as most of the world heard the BP oil spill in the Gulf was threatening the Florida coastline and we didn't want that in Moosetracks engine intake or plastered all over the hull not to mention the smell of the stuff if it got all around us. Now the possibility was not great but why take risks, prudent mariners avoid such things.
So it was with some re-planning that we set off for more of a coastal route keeping much closer to the West coast of Florida and near shore in the gulf. Our first stop was an over night to Fort Myers Beach. A pleasant sail down in light winds which died later in the evening. We motored maybe 30% of the way but had some nice quiet sailing most of the night. We managed to put out a lure in the morning and catch a few Spanish mackerel and a Jack, some were big enough to keep so made it on the plate later.
We arrived in FMB and found a nice mooring ball in the outer field and settled easily into our spot. We dinghied over to Matanzas Inn to pay our fee and freshen up in the luxury of their shower facilities. The FMB stop included bus rides to both ends of the beaches and some light retail therapy as my dear Mum would have said. We used the pool at the Inn and had a now famous fish sandwich at the Smoking Oyster Brewery (SOB) bar. We managed to stay 3 nights and it was all very relaxing.
We moved on Tuesday morning to Captiva Island to stay in Roosevelt channel, anchoring out opposite the Green Flash restaurant. We love this spot and try to put in a night or two if we can so that we can sample the local restaurants and walk the beautiful beach on the gulf side of the island. Liz managed to get her picture taken with her favorite frog "contemplating kisses".
Devin celebrated his 50th birthday here and had a lovely surprise from Liz when she sneaked out of bed to decorate the cabin with a big sign and lots of cards and presents. Then it was ashore to have a long walk on the beach and a beer at the Mucky Duck followed by lunch at RC Otters and later by a retail therapy session in his favorite t-shirt shop, just the one t-shirt for the record.
After such a nice stop, on Thursday it was onto Pelican bay and some really authentic Florida state park. This is our all time favorite place to relax. We had planned several days here and were eager to explore the island and fishing again. After our sailing trip up the ICW we were surprised to find several boats were in the anchorage but most cleared out the next day and it was only lightly occupied. Our friend Jack Fisher came in on "Pura Vida" a sister-ship IP45. We invited them over that evening to share drinks and food. Jack had his son John as crew and they were spending a bit of time whilst John had a break from college. We managed several walks on the beach and a fair bit of unsuccessful fishing, although a small hammerhead shark was caught right next to us! We also had a visit to Cabbage Key restaurant for the world famous cheeseburger in paradise. We also had a surprise weekend visit on Saturday from Skip and Jo who were out fishing from their local holiday cottage nearby on a flats boat. We talked a while and noticing all the bait fish around Moosetracks, Skip got a little excited and we had to try to catch some. Well the first attempt with a Sibiki rig failed as Devin had used them before and the very small hooks had rusted so much the fish broke them off! Putting on a new Sibiki rig solved that and soon Devin hauled in 2 at a time, the triple hook-up alluded him however. Skip left very happy with a fairly full bait well.
On Monday we decided to leave as this was the best wind forecast for the next few days and headed out the Boca Grand pass cut into the Gulf and up to Vince inlet then via the ICW to Sarasota. We were interested in what was happening with the new Sarasota Mooring field but were disappointed to find nearly all the balls had failed testing and the field was not operational, but we could still anchor there. On Tuesday we walked into Sarasota to take a look around and explore. We found lots and lots of nice restaurants as well as a local organic market (expensive though). We bought some needed fruit and vegetables but passed on the restaurants in town. We spent a few hours catching up on news by stopping in the local library to read the papers. Sarasota has a very fancy library if you're ever there. Before returning to Moosetracks we stopped for lunch at "O'Leary's" beach side bar and had great food and conversation.
On Wednesday we decided to move on to Longboat Key. We had emailed friends about being there for the weekend and wanted to ensure we had time to get a great spot and do some of our own exploring. We motored up Sarasota bay to due to very light winds and to recharge batteries. We anchored and stayed aboard the first night to delicious galley fare. The next day we decided we need just a few provisions of fresh vegetables. So we walked to the local deli, unfortunately it was closed, we were stunned as a friend had been there only the week before! In any case we got directions to the nearest place, a 2 mile walk down the main road. Well as we had lots of time we decided to walk. We just missed the bus on the way back so we walked back too, 6 miles for tomatoes and a pepper and very expensive ones at that. On the way back in the dinghy we introduced ourselves to Fred and Natilie (Bunny) on "Natilie" their beautiful Choy Lee 42 and stopped for a cold beer.
On Thursday Herman came into the anchorage and we had some company for dinner. We arranged to have a evening meal at Mar Vista restaurant with Herman, Fred and Bunny after drinks on "Que Vida Boa" a Gulfstar 47 motor sailor, with Stuart, Mary and guests. The next day Herman talked Devin into attempting to find a sunken wreck in the Longboat anchorage by SCUBA diving for it. Apparently it's a great fish haven. The water was far to clouded and we had no luck finding it so it still alludes us! Later our friends George and Rene arrived on another sister-ship IP45 "Tiki Hut". we all arranged lunch at Cortez fish market for some authentic Florida seafood. The food and atmosphere was excellent and everything was just as you like it, well until Rene slipped crossing from our dinghy to theirs and took a cooling dip, managing to keep her iPhone dry by holding her handbag above her head. What poise and grace, I hope I can do that when it happens to me! That night Herman, Rene & George met on Moosetracks for dinner and drinks and we all had great conversation to catch up on.
On Saturday Tiki Hut left us for their 2 week vacation and places south. Herman then agreed to teach Devin some Florida flats fishing skills, much needed due to Devin's earlier failures. We spent several hours catching Sea Trout and had 2 large enough to keep and YES the bigger one was Devin's!!! After washing off and cleaning gear we saw "Believe" a Hylas 49 come in with friends Rick and Julie. They struggled to get into to our tight anchorage as space was now scarce but eventually found a secure spot to settle into. We had Herman, Rick and Julie over for some freshly caught sea trout and some tall fishing stories washed down with some lovely red wine.
On Sunday everything came to an end and we pulled the anchor for the sail home to the dock. We were fortunate to get a NE wind to sail out behind Egmont key and then once there the wind cooperated and changed to NW to see us into the Pass-A-Grille channel and the bridges before our house. A very pleasant sail home to end a wonderful 2 week sojourn.
We hope you all have a wonderful summer vacation whatever you do.
Love to all
Devin & Liz.
So it was with some re-planning that we set off for more of a coastal route keeping much closer to the West coast of Florida and near shore in the gulf. Our first stop was an over night to Fort Myers Beach. A pleasant sail down in light winds which died later in the evening. We motored maybe 30% of the way but had some nice quiet sailing most of the night. We managed to put out a lure in the morning and catch a few Spanish mackerel and a Jack, some were big enough to keep so made it on the plate later.
We arrived in FMB and found a nice mooring ball in the outer field and settled easily into our spot. We dinghied over to Matanzas Inn to pay our fee and freshen up in the luxury of their shower facilities. The FMB stop included bus rides to both ends of the beaches and some light retail therapy as my dear Mum would have said. We used the pool at the Inn and had a now famous fish sandwich at the Smoking Oyster Brewery (SOB) bar. We managed to stay 3 nights and it was all very relaxing.
We moved on Tuesday morning to Captiva Island to stay in Roosevelt channel, anchoring out opposite the Green Flash restaurant. We love this spot and try to put in a night or two if we can so that we can sample the local restaurants and walk the beautiful beach on the gulf side of the island. Liz managed to get her picture taken with her favorite frog "contemplating kisses".
Devin celebrated his 50th birthday here and had a lovely surprise from Liz when she sneaked out of bed to decorate the cabin with a big sign and lots of cards and presents. Then it was ashore to have a long walk on the beach and a beer at the Mucky Duck followed by lunch at RC Otters and later by a retail therapy session in his favorite t-shirt shop, just the one t-shirt for the record.
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| Captain turns 50! |
After such a nice stop, on Thursday it was onto Pelican bay and some really authentic Florida state park. This is our all time favorite place to relax. We had planned several days here and were eager to explore the island and fishing again. After our sailing trip up the ICW we were surprised to find several boats were in the anchorage but most cleared out the next day and it was only lightly occupied. Our friend Jack Fisher came in on "Pura Vida" a sister-ship IP45. We invited them over that evening to share drinks and food. Jack had his son John as crew and they were spending a bit of time whilst John had a break from college. We managed several walks on the beach and a fair bit of unsuccessful fishing, although a small hammerhead shark was caught right next to us! We also had a visit to Cabbage Key restaurant for the world famous cheeseburger in paradise. We also had a surprise weekend visit on Saturday from Skip and Jo who were out fishing from their local holiday cottage nearby on a flats boat. We talked a while and noticing all the bait fish around Moosetracks, Skip got a little excited and we had to try to catch some. Well the first attempt with a Sibiki rig failed as Devin had used them before and the very small hooks had rusted so much the fish broke them off! Putting on a new Sibiki rig solved that and soon Devin hauled in 2 at a time, the triple hook-up alluded him however. Skip left very happy with a fairly full bait well.
On Monday we decided to leave as this was the best wind forecast for the next few days and headed out the Boca Grand pass cut into the Gulf and up to Vince inlet then via the ICW to Sarasota. We were interested in what was happening with the new Sarasota Mooring field but were disappointed to find nearly all the balls had failed testing and the field was not operational, but we could still anchor there. On Tuesday we walked into Sarasota to take a look around and explore. We found lots and lots of nice restaurants as well as a local organic market (expensive though). We bought some needed fruit and vegetables but passed on the restaurants in town. We spent a few hours catching up on news by stopping in the local library to read the papers. Sarasota has a very fancy library if you're ever there. Before returning to Moosetracks we stopped for lunch at "O'Leary's" beach side bar and had great food and conversation.
On Wednesday we decided to move on to Longboat Key. We had emailed friends about being there for the weekend and wanted to ensure we had time to get a great spot and do some of our own exploring. We motored up Sarasota bay to due to very light winds and to recharge batteries. We anchored and stayed aboard the first night to delicious galley fare. The next day we decided we need just a few provisions of fresh vegetables. So we walked to the local deli, unfortunately it was closed, we were stunned as a friend had been there only the week before! In any case we got directions to the nearest place, a 2 mile walk down the main road. Well as we had lots of time we decided to walk. We just missed the bus on the way back so we walked back too, 6 miles for tomatoes and a pepper and very expensive ones at that. On the way back in the dinghy we introduced ourselves to Fred and Natilie (Bunny) on "Natilie" their beautiful Choy Lee 42 and stopped for a cold beer.
On Thursday Herman came into the anchorage and we had some company for dinner. We arranged to have a evening meal at Mar Vista restaurant with Herman, Fred and Bunny after drinks on "Que Vida Boa" a Gulfstar 47 motor sailor, with Stuart, Mary and guests. The next day Herman talked Devin into attempting to find a sunken wreck in the Longboat anchorage by SCUBA diving for it. Apparently it's a great fish haven. The water was far to clouded and we had no luck finding it so it still alludes us! Later our friends George and Rene arrived on another sister-ship IP45 "Tiki Hut". we all arranged lunch at Cortez fish market for some authentic Florida seafood. The food and atmosphere was excellent and everything was just as you like it, well until Rene slipped crossing from our dinghy to theirs and took a cooling dip, managing to keep her iPhone dry by holding her handbag above her head. What poise and grace, I hope I can do that when it happens to me! That night Herman, Rene & George met on Moosetracks for dinner and drinks and we all had great conversation to catch up on.
On Saturday Tiki Hut left us for their 2 week vacation and places south. Herman then agreed to teach Devin some Florida flats fishing skills, much needed due to Devin's earlier failures. We spent several hours catching Sea Trout and had 2 large enough to keep and YES the bigger one was Devin's!!! After washing off and cleaning gear we saw "Believe" a Hylas 49 come in with friends Rick and Julie. They struggled to get into to our tight anchorage as space was now scarce but eventually found a secure spot to settle into. We had Herman, Rick and Julie over for some freshly caught sea trout and some tall fishing stories washed down with some lovely red wine.
On Sunday everything came to an end and we pulled the anchor for the sail home to the dock. We were fortunate to get a NE wind to sail out behind Egmont key and then once there the wind cooperated and changed to NW to see us into the Pass-A-Grille channel and the bridges before our house. A very pleasant sail home to end a wonderful 2 week sojourn.
We hope you all have a wonderful summer vacation whatever you do.
Love to all
Devin & Liz.
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