Sunday, 4 January 21.4 SM
It is good to be back underway.
“It’s almost like we lost our sense of adventure, of the reason we’re making this trip.”
The bait shop at Picnic Island is convenient to clients.
Wise words from the Mate. After eleven (as in one more than ten!) days tied up at Fort Myers Yacht Basin, it is well beyond time to move on. Then again, it was so-o-o-o-o easy to stay there. There’s a lot to like about FMYB – the staff, the proximity to downtown, downtown itself, the friendly liveaboards there who make it there home. The rate’s pretty good, too, less than half what many places charge just to swing on a mooring. Sweet. Yep, FMYB is tough to leave.
But it is good to get out of the slip, underway and down river toward the Gulf. Woo-hoo! Hey, what the…
Pandemonium reaches a climax in “Miserable Mile.”
Instead of the straight shot it ought to be, coming down the Caloosahatchee becomes a slalom. It is Sunday afternoon, after all, so the river is full with shall-we-say “Sunday drivers?” A 30-foot SeaRay motors past to port, throws up a three-foot wake, the wheel turns to port and the bow cuts through. After a couple of bounces it’s back on course but, wait, there’s a Donzi coming up fast to starboard, roars past a boat length off, so turn into that wake. Then, well…you get the idea.
It finally settles down, though, through “The Miserable Mile,” that stretch of the Gulf Inland Waterway (GIWW) that connects the Caloosahatchee with Pine Island Sound. Settles down because the channel’s so narrow, it’s so shoal to either side and—oh, yes—there’s a speed limit of just five miles an hour. Heck, Steadfast can do five miles an hour! Sheesh. That’s slow!
There is SO much traffic through this stretch, boats all sizes going in all directions, it’s a wonder it doesn’t become a demolition derby. But then it is Sunday afternoon, everyone—it seems—with a watercraft of any kind near here is out here enjoying the sun, the breeze, the 80-degrees.
A tangerine moon glows through the haze over Punta Rassa.
Now, a full moon rising radiant above the horizon, it seems they’ve all gone home. The anchor’s down in seven-feet of water a quarter-mile off Sanibel Island and the beach at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. (Not that the location matters much; just a good excuse to write “Ding,” darling.)
What does matter is, that after the mayhem of midday, it is quiet. Wind’s laid down. Water’s flat. Boat swings gently on her anchor.
It is good to be underway again. Indeed.
Steadfast out.
At Sea with Steadfast 
Nice to hear from you. I thought you’d been eaten by a giant squid- all the while you were melding in at FMYB! Happy New Year!
Bill, Ding Darling is worth a day if you have the time…. one of the largest bird sanctuaries in North America. Tween Waters is a neat marina if you want to explore Sanibel Island. Let us know when you are headed back to the east coast. We’d love to catch up. Bob
Well we would have understood if you had stayed for “The 12 Days of Christmas” and avoided the Sunday rush. Enjoy your travels in the new year!
Yes, we remember that stretch . . . but it is more like 3 miserable miles!! Anyway, we are counting the days!