We ended up staying in Punta Gorda way longer than planned for various
reasons. Thunderstorms/hurricane Erika headed our way and looked for sure like
we were going to get some of it, which we did in the end, but only rain and some
more thunderstorms. Then the bridge at Boca Grande was closed for several
weeks! The alternative was a 30 mile sail in the Gulf of Mexico around the
bridge. And we had several stops planned for the ICW and chose to wait. Back to
Cayo Costa followed by a stop at Boca Grande, a small but interesting and very
small town. Boca Grande has a sheltered anchorage and public dock.
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| Public dock at Boca Grande |
Next a stop at Don Pedro State Park for some fossil shark tooth
hunting, the entrance is narrow and shallow
but a nice dock with free day use. The beach is nice and we found a few small
shark teeth. For the night we sailed to a nearby BAIL suggested anchorage which
we rejected due to too little swing room, poor holding and a bit deep. We chose
a more exposed area which was shallow (4’) with good holding.
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| Don Pedro beach has shells! |
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| Don Pedro |
A few days of bad weather was forecast so we looked for a more
sheltered place to wait it out, a mooring field in Englewood near Chadwick Cove
Marina was just right, especially because it was free! Four days later we moved
on and did several long days up the ICW to make up some time with overnights
wherever we felt OK with regard to weather, depth, currents, etc.
We sailed through 16 opening bridges in total between Boca Grande and
Tarpon Springs. Some interesting sights we saw along the way…8 manatees
migrating in a small group, Tampa Skyway Bridge with freighters and a cruise
ship in the channel, Venice main canal and the beautiful houses along the
shoreline, Caladesi Island State Park, and many groups of migrating birds from
tiny shorebirds to storks.
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| A Florida holiday shack |
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| Locals off Caledesi Island |
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| Caledesi Island Marina, $6 for day use |
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| View from Anclote Key |
Heading north from Anclote Key we ran into a cold front with strong
northeasterly winds and small craft advisories. We decided to head into Hudson
to sit it out.
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| Port Hudson Marina |
