Tortuga Tour Day 21: Start of Leg 2
5/10- Destination is Marco Island. The Admiral had the date wrong when she said the journal would resume on May 9. Leaving Sunday from Ft. Myers on the river would not have been our best choice. For one thing it was Mother’s Day and Sunday is the day so many working folks are out in their boats enjoying and appreciating a beautiful day on the water.
In addition to spending lots of quality time with the folks this past week, there were some necessary preparations for the second leg of this voyage. The Captain insisted the Admiral practice snorkeling in the pool so she could fully appreciate the natural world beneath the water. The water in the Keys is clear enough to see what lives down under. I never imagined as a young adult, a home body, that I would be experiencing such adventure as a senior citizen! Other preps included washing the boat, laundry (Thank you Mom for letting us use your washer and dryer.) restocking food supplies, defrosting the refrigerator, and pumping out the head holding tank (sewer treatment procedure).
Monday morning, we woke up early with the intention of leaving by 7:00am. We never seem to allow enough time for all those last-minute details. Still, the time was reasonable and going through the very narrow lock this time was much less stressful. The current which we encountered our first go through was not an issue this time.
Most of the voyage today was in the Gulf of Mexico, three nautical miles offshore – no land on the starboard (right, east) side of Betty Lou, but visible land on the port side. So much of the west coast of Florida is high rise condos and hotels, and from a distance they really seem to be right on the water. This part of Florida is so flat.
The ride today was bumpy for the Admiral, but it was quite tolerable. At one point I even came close to falling asleep – a first! Fixing lunch was more challenging, but I managed. The water was also a beautiful color. The further south we go, the more aqua the color becomes. The combination of blue sky, white clouds on the horizon, white sandy beaches, green and brown land line, and the aqua color of the water is quite striking.
We stayed at the Rose Marina on Marco Island. There are a variety of boating activities available at this site: boat rentals, a touring pontoon boat for those who want to see the dolphins, a large excursion boat that serves lunch, a shuttle boat, a large boat for fish and wildlife enforcement and of course many privately owned boats.
Once we were secured in our slip, the Captain needed to rinse the accumulation of sea salt from Betty Lou. If we could have saved it, there was probably enough to last us the rest of the trip at no extra cost. At the same time, the Admiral prepared a fine dinner of tuna burgers and snow peas. The remainder of the evening included a short walk, showers and setting the waypoint for the auto pilot (modern day navigation, a wonderful thing) for the voyage to Key West tomorrow. We turned in early to get a very early start! Alarm set for 5:15am!
Captain’s Comments:
I had predicted (various weather forecast inputs) about 1’ seas for Monday, but by afternoon, they were closer to 3’. With the wind on our bow, we did get a fair amount of spray and salt accumulation. Actually needed the windshield washers for the first time.
Rose Marina on Marco Island was pretty quiet. Seems like their busy season is coming to an end. Good facilities with floating docks, but the shower/restroom building was still being rebuilt (looks like it will be lovely when complete, and elevated an additional 4-5′ above grade), and the WiFi was—frustrating. Set in a residential area, not much within walking distance except a tiki hut bar in the middle of one of the condominium developments (seems to be a thing) and a hot dog stand for the tour boat passengers. Publix about a mile away but we didn’t need anything, so we didn’t go.
Peace fks