December 11th to 16th
We left Glover’s Bight at dawn on Tuesday to make the 40-mile sail from Ft. Myers to Marco Island after waking up to a cabin temperature of 56 degrees. It was a cold but breezy morning with winds out of the Northeast at 15-20 Knots. We made fantastic time arriving at Marco Island in a little protected bay called Smokehouse Bay around 4 pm. It was interesting navigation going from Marco Pass into Smokehouse Bay since the channel was quite shallow and local knowledge dictated that we stay remarkably close to the seawall and docks coming in and to stay clear of the outer channel markers. We got through unscathed, and we have been anchored here since Tuesday afternoon.
Marco Island is a very developed little beach community and is the last spot of civilization (that Utopia can get to) before the Keys. It’s a fantastic place to provision, do laundry and have things close at hand. There was even a nice farmer’s market within walking distance that we got some fresh vegetables at. Also, as a separate bonus, Winn-Dixie has a dinghy dock within a 5-minute dinghy ride from Utopia. It’s a great access point to land.
As a side note, it is apparent there is a lot of money in Marco Island, and it is a tourist destination. Knowing this, prices for dinner and other items are quite elevated.
So why are we in Marco Island for so long? Well as you might know (if you live in Florida) there is some nasty weather brewing and in general has been very (i.e. overly) windy these last few days. This will be our last stop before heading to the Dry Tortugas and we want to wait for a good weather window so we can
make the 18-hour sail somewhat comfortably and
be able to stay there for a few days before we proceed to Key West.
The Dry Tortugas is absent of any services so we will need to be self-sufficient and we don’t want to be stuck there for weeks if weather conditions are poor. It appears like the weather will improve early next week, so we are looking at making the jump when we think appropriate. It’s unfortunate the weather has been poor this past week, or we would have probably done more exploring in Marco Island. Regardless, it’s been a nice place to wait.
Even though the weather has not been ideal, we have been getting out doing errands and exercising. On Wednesday we went on a 5-mile exploratory walk of Marco Island and checked out the sites. In addition, we went on a 6mile walk on Thursday where we 1) did laundry (hooray for clean clothes!) 2) look for a propane filling station (big fail!) and 3) find the parts to replace the hose for anchor washdown (success!). On Friday like the past few days, we went on a 4.5 mile walk and ended the evening with some sundowners with some nice people on the boat anchored next to us.
Another mundane task was to address our sump/primary bilge pump which has been on its last legs. I replaced the pump with assistance from Sondra since it seems every boat project makes it impossible to do a job without a third or fourth hand. After a bit of boat yoga and playing twister on the sole, the pump now does not sound like a dying cow, so I say it was a successful job.
Our next post might be delayed since we may be off grid in the Dry Tortugas (if we don’t create a scheduled post before leaving), but we will post something when get back to an area with service.
As always, please click on the below button to see the photos from last week.
Sondra also uploaded a few videos to You Tube. She hopes the new videos are visible through this link. If not we will change the privacy to public.
She has also been refreshing the website, so take a look around if you wish to see what may be new. You may need to hit the "refresh" button on your browser to see the new website.
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