Marco Island to Fort Myers

We pulled out of our slip at Marco Island Marina at 7:00 on Tuesday morning (1/31/17) and headed for a northerly Gulf passage to Fort Myers located on the Caloosahatchee River. The outgoing tide in Marco Bay had us zipping along at over 9 mph, warp speed for Overtime. Fifteen minutes later we reached the Pass where we were met with some head-on rolling waves which made for an interesting ride, but once we were a few miles offshore things settled down and we had a pleasant ride up the coast. We scooted along at 7 mph or so past a ten mile stretch of isolated beach followed by thirty miles of high rise buildings consisting of Naples, North Naples, and various other locales. Five and a half hours later we were crossing under the Sanibel Causeway Bridge and back on inland waters, but inland waters mean narrow channels and a considerable number of inconsiderate boaters. However, this was a Tuesday and traffic was relatively light and we had little trouble traversing the next twenty miles. As we approached Fort Myers Yacht Basin I was jammed-up behind a tour boat, a fishing boat and a manatee while in a narrow channel but they all maneuvered out of the way allowing us to plow on through. With no wind or current, I had no trouble backing into my slip where we were met by a small contingent of Loopers eager to help. The docks at this marina are fixed, meaning they don't float up and down with the tide, but with the small fluctuation, it's not that big of a deal. We've heard great things about the area and are planning to spend the entire month here, come March 1st we'll head east across the Okeechobee Water Way to the east coast of Florida.

Kim’s Korner:

We are now at Fort Meyers Yacht Basin which will be our home for the month of February. We miss our friends Sharon and Bob on Kharma but Fort Meyers definitely has a lot to offer. A lot of people we met previously are here so it’s been fun catching up with everyone. Many of them come back to Fort Meyers year after year and call this town home. There are three Kady Krogen Manatees here at the marina - I never would have thought…
This town is a hub of activity and we only have to step off our boat to be in the middle of it. An Arts Festival is being held this weekend and just let me say that I’ve never been to an Arts Festival like this one. I don’t consider myself an art connoisseur but I definitely realize and appreciate these amazing and beautiful pieces! If anyone is interested, check out some of these amazing works at this address.
Yesterday, we rode our bikes and stumbled onto a gem – the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. It has a one-mile boardwalk which winds through a wetland preserve. The first overlook we came to was at Gator Lake. We didn’t see any gators but we spotted a big heron about 5 feet from us. About the time we turned away from him, we heard this huge splash which startled me. This heron had caught a really big fish – it was flopping around in his beak and he was hanging on tight! He flew to a small dock in the center of the lake and every time that fish would move, he would clamp down on it. We wanted to see if he could actually eat this big fish but he flew across the lake out of sight – but he was still hanging on to that fish – cool! As we moved on, I kept hearing this snapping sound but couldn’t figure out what was making the noise. At the next overlook I figured it out as the noise was coming from right below me – it was fish eating the vegetation that was floating on the water – interesting. A rare sighting according to the guide was at the Otter Pond – two otters were playing and they were really putting on a show! The water was clear enough to see them underwater as well so it was definitely a treat that we really enjoyed.
Pictures