“Home” Port: Fort Myers

Wednesday, 25 February                                                            13.2 SM

There’s an early morning call to the Yacht Basin, just to make sure. Leif-the-Dockmaster answers.

“Yes, absolutely. Your slip’s still available so, yes, come on anytime.”

You know you’ve spent too much time at one marina when they refer to F-66 as “your slip.” But the Fort Myers Yacht Basin happens to be the perfect base-of-operations for exploring the southwest coast, and, for spending time with Martha and George.

So once the day’s Dense Fog Advisory has expired, and the fog with it, Steadfast casts off from Tarpon Point, motors onto the Caloosahatchee River and—what’s this?—makes way under full sail! Get out. There’s wind and it’s fair. How crazy is that? So after not sailing for four months, her sails now draw full-and-by for the second time in three days. Sweet.

And to quote Jackie Gleason, “How sweet it is!”

What are the odds of sailing wing-and-wing with no whisker pole for two hours anywhere, much less up the busy Caloosahatchee?

Red’s happy for the rest as Steadfast, first on a broad reach and then wing-and-wing, makes four-knots or better all the way up river from Cape Coral to Fort Myers, ghosting under the Edison Bridge just a bit after 1500 hours. Then it’s time to furl sail, let Red do her thing for the few minutes it takes to slip back into F-66.

The neighbors seem pleased to see her “back home.” And it is good to be here.

Even better this time, though, was the getting here.

Steadfast out.