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| Mom & Thad Toasting to our Upcoming Voyage |
So, where we left off: Thad and I were leaving Gasparilla Marina on April 16, bound for Melbourne. It was a beautiful Tuesday late morning and we were headed south, feeling great, with the Lion King soundtrack blaring away. We would have loved to get to Melbourne via the Keys, but time constraints said we must take the "overland" route, aka the Okeechobee Waterway. But the first stop, on our first night, was to be Sanibel, where Thad's parents had lived so many years and where all the Harveys have so many great memories. It was a leisurely 4 hour cruise and we anchored right in front of Mariner Pointe, where his parents had lived, around 3:00.
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| Lighthouse Beach |
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| Mariner Pointe (Dale & Jean's place was ground floor, far left) |
Dot's for dinner, at Sanibel Marina.
Alas, that was not to be as "the weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed . . . ."
Well, it did not get as bad as Gilligan's Island, but we did end up with winds around 22 mph, so no dinner at Gramma Dot's. In fact, instead of my back-up plan of shrimp scampi, we ended up having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! The wind, coupled with the opposing tidal current, meant we had a few rocky and rolly hours and an uncomfortable night's sleep, but the anchor held like a charm. We discovered that Mariner Pointe is not a good anchorage - we give it 1 star, if even that. But we tried. And some of you may remember the first experience we had anchoring in the same place, with the same results, last Father's Day. Needless to say, we won't do it again.
Let me tell you a bit about our boat. She's a 1978 Gulfstar motor cruiser, built in St. Pete. A wonderfully designed, very livable trawler, a diesel sipper, if you will, as her average cruising speed is around 8 mph. Though, as I have told many people, it never feels that slow when you are on the water (thank heaven!). She is 44' long, 14'6" wide, has a draft of 4', a full displacement hull and a full keel, so our running gear (props and rudders) is protected. She weighs around 44,000 lbs. and has twin Perkins 6.354 turbo-charged diesels, holds 500 gallons of fuel and gets 3 miles to the gallon which, believe it or not, is really good. Also has a 250 gallon water tank and a 100 gallon holding tank. Our dinghy rides on top of the aft deck hard top, a 10'6" Avon with a 15 hp. Honda 4-stroke outboard; we use a davit and winch to get her up and down. Many fun times we've had just in the dinghy, running all around Gasparilla and Little Gasparilla Islands, back home.
I said she has great livability and she does - a spacious salon (living area) with 2 laz-y-boy recliners, equally spacious aft master bedroom with queen-sized bed and LOADS of storage. I have 2 closets just for me! Two bathrooms (heads), one with a tub/shower and one with a full-sized shower. The galley, or kitchen, has a full-sized fridge, 3 burner electric stove & oven, microwave, large single bowl sink and granite counter tops. There is a forward cabin, known as the v-berth, which also has a closet (Thad's) and plenty of storage. Oh, and did I mention the full-sized washer and dryer?? The salon has a lower helm station where you can drive the boat, but Thad prefers to pilot her from up top on the fly bridge. There is plenty of seating up there also. What really stands out about this boat is her fully enclosed aft deck, kind of like a big ol' screened in porch, which means we can comfortably sit out there in all kinds of weather. We have a couch, teak table and two wicker chairs. It's heaven!
Thanks for checking in and listening to me ramble on and on. I've only brought you up to speed on our first day of travel! Hang in there with me and I'll tell you lots more. Adios!
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| Thad & Beezer (Eloise) at the Helm |
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