09-14-2018 Fort Myers Beach

 Side-Shift stern thruster and bottom job

     Our ancient stern thruster stopped working on one side so we had the boat hauled at Safe Cove in Port Charlotte  to have a look.  https://www.safecoveinc.com/

     While we were out of the water decided to have the bottom sanded and painted.  

     Safe Cove did a nice job.

     The old stern thruster was toast so we opted for a new one.  We decided on Side-Shift.  https://sideshift.com/        We got a good deal on the 7.5hp  ST350.     

     https://shop-us.sideshift.com/collections/monohull-bow-stern-thruster-products/products/st350-stern-thruster   

     Installation necessitated a few modifications to the boat.  The thruster required two dedicated 24v AGM batteries.  We also added a new charger specifically for the batteries.

     The new stern thruster is so much better than the old one.  The old one was underpowered and not very useful in wind or current.  With the new one we can do donuts in the fairway.  Docking has become a breeze with the increased maneuverability of the boat and confidence of the captain.  This was a great investment in the boat.

7-4-2018 Punta Gorda fireworks celebration

6-23-2018 Oregon, but not by boat

     We can't always have our good times on the boat.   Occasionally, we need to have fun on land.  We visited our son and his girlfriend in Oregon.  We camped and hiked in the Mt. Hood National Forest.  It is a beautiful area of the country.

Captiva Anchorage

We took another ride out to Captiva for the weekend.  It is a very peaceful, uncrowded anchorage.

We anchor just south of the Green Flash restaurant.

Roughly near where the southern most boat is.

I am 6'2".  Plenty of depth to anchor a Mainship 34.  Maybe this is why we usually don't have too many neighbors.

We took the dinghy ashore and had dinner at the Key Lime Bistro  https://captivaislandinn.com/captiva-island-restaurant/keylime-bistro/   It was just OK.  Food was good but the service was not great.  There is almost no AC inside, ,just a few fans to move hot air around. 

5-10-2018 Cabbage Key

     We took a day cruise to Cabbage Key  https://cabbagekey.com/  for lunch on Thursday, May 10th.   It is about a 2.5 hour cruise from our slip at Burnt Store Marina.  The ride was a little warm with a tail wind and not much breeze to keep us cool.  The skies were a bit overcast but no rain was in the forecast.

       We anchored off of the GICW across from the channel to Cabbage Key.  We anchored in about 10ft. of water with plenty of room.  We dropped the dinghy and headed in to Cabbage Key for lunch.

     We beached the dinghy next to the docks, which appear to be for larger boats, and walked through the weeds to the beach.

     It was a weekday in the off season so the crowds were not too bad.  Ferries come in from Port Charlotte and Captiva dropping off people for the restaurant.  It was a nice day so we decided to sit outside on the patio overlooking the water.

     Lunch was very good, I had blackened grouper over rice and beans and Elaine had the Stone Crab lunch.  There were only five days left in the stone crab season.  The drinks were small and the beer list was very thin.  Service was excellent, very attentive and friendly.

     After lunch we walked around a little and saw the tortoises moving about the property.

     The ride back home was a little more comfortable.  The boat rocks less going into the wind so the ride was smooth.  As we were approaching our entrance channel we realized this was our first cruise where we had not seen dolphins.  As we were saying this we looked up the channel and saw two dolphins swimming towards us.  They turned around and followed us into the marina and hung out by the fuel dock for a while.  Better late than never.

3-24-2018 Captiva Island

     We cruised out to Captiva Island for the weekend.  The weather was sunny, warm, and dry.  The seas were fairly calm and the wind was light.

     We anchored between Buck Key and Captiva just past the Green Flash restaurant.  We had about six feet of water just off the channel.  The way in was tight but we saw plenty of water.  While coming in the channel we saw a dolphin jump straight up out of the water.  It was the first time we had seen a dolphin do this. 

     The anchorage was not very crowded, about three or four other boats and there was plenty of room. 

     We went ashore for an early dinner at the Green Flash.  https://www.greenflashcaptiva.com/  They let you tie up your dinghy if you are going to the restaurant.  The food was very good and the service was great.  We had a table overlooking the water and our boat.

     After dinner we walked over to the beach side.  The beach is beautiful and would be a great place to watch the sunset.  We then walked up the road a little to The Island Store for an ice cream.  http://www.captivaislandstore.com/   

     The anchorage was perfectly calm overnight and we slept wonderfully.  The next morning the wind had shifted and we encountered a lot of smoke from some wildfires near Naples.

     The ride back to Burnt Store Marina was calm and relaxing.

2-10-2018 Cayo Costa state park, Florida