ssloop: Dunedin - Fort Myers Beach

Monday morning we woke up to a sunny cool day at Marker 1 Marina near Dunedin, FL. Mom walked to the grocery store with us to get some much needed supplies. After tucking all our goodies away, the three of us boarded to dinghy for a 3 mile ride to downtown Dunedin. We had fun checking out the shops and snacking on ice cream. Yum! Later in the afternoon, we left mom on the boat so she could catch up with some emails while we took the dinghy over to check out Caladesi Island. On the way we grounded the dinghy on a sandbar. We seem to do this a lot, luckily only with the little boat! (sandy bottom, no damage.)

Tuesday morning we headed out for our next destination of The Club at Treasure Island. It was a beautiful day for cruising. We were hoping to show mom a dolphin show however they have eluded us since mom's arrival. But...we did see a flying dinghy. Yes....a flying dinghy. Yes...a flying dinghy!

What a treat to stay at The Club at Treasure Island. This is a yacht club with excellent facilities including a beautiful pool. The three of us walked to Treasure Island beach area where saw a beautiful sunset while eating at Sloopy Joes.

Wednesday we took the trolley to John's Pass Village. What a fun spot. Great shopping, restaurants, and docks with many fishing boats. At night mom treated us to a special dinner at the Yacht Club.

Thursday morning Wes & Mary Mollard arrived to pick up mom. It was tough to say goodbye, but are thankful for the great time we had together. Our newest crew member seemed to enjoy life (and sleeping) on the sea. We then continued our journey down the ICW as far as Tampa Bay. Here we had our first sighting of a school of stingrays! It was a calm day, so we went out and traveled on the Gulf.

We came back inland at Longboat Pass. We spent the evening tied up to the dock outside of Moores Stone Crab Restaurant . They allow you to stay overnight for free if you have dinner in their restaurant.

Friday morning we took a long walk on the beach of Longboat Key. What a pretty area with peacocks walking around the neighborhood. Yes...peacocks! By late morning we were traveling again. Once again the Gulf was calm so we travelled out in the blue water. We came back in to the ICW at Venice Pass. What a pretty area with huge homes along the ICW. We traveled 15 more miles and dropped the hook near Englewood Beach.

Saturday morning the Captain needed to satisfy the First Mates craving for some beach time so we traveled 3 hours to Cayo Costa State Park on La Costa Island. By noon, we were setting the anchor, dropping the dinghy and heading to the beach. We wanted to have lunch at South Beach Grill so we needed to anchor the dinghy in the Gulf and wade in. Captain "I don't want to swim after it" did not trust our small dinghy anchor so we used the extra 45 pound anchor off the boat. That bad boy didn't move at all! What a great day!

Sunday we headed out for Captiva Island where we were planning on anchoring for the night. Predictions were for strong winds out of the south, so we chose an anchorage with the best protection. The winds had already picked up by the time we dropped anchor so Captain "I won't sleep tonight" said "I don't like it", so we left. We continued on to Moss Marina at Fort Myers Beach.

We plan to stay here through Christmas, maybe longer.

Mom relaxing.