Preparing to Motor On

*   Last week in Fort Myers   *

Our last week in Fort Myers was packed with lots of fun and preparations to motor for the first time in two months.

We continued to explore our surroundings by dinghy. With friends from Cell Mates (Lisa and Keith) and Dream Chaser (Wayne and Crystal) we cruised the North Fort Myers canals and ended up at a tiki bar, the Nauti Parrot.

Good music and cold beer! We had a great afternoon being tourists.

We stopped in one canal admiring the homes and one in particular had a great outdoor space including their own personal tiki bar. The owner must have heard us talking about their great set-up and offered us a margarita! We did not take her up on it but the hospitality was wonderful! It is always a fun day to when you’re on the water no matter the means of transportation.

We did a final run to an island on the Caloosahatchee River with Remy for a morning of pup fishing, swimming, and exploring this tiny white sand island.

Remy had a great time and did not want to board the dinghy for the return trip. We ended up at 3 Fisherman for lunch with Remy on the deck. With the impromptu lunch came an impromptu leash!

Provisioning, laundry (big items that won’t go in the boat washer and dryer), boat maintenance, and routine prep filled our time.

Tasha engaged sister Tiffany in provisioning assistance. Knowing provisioning can be difficult in the keys and more expensive, it was easier to do it here with the use of a car. Tasha put her new food saver to the test and filled the freezer and fridge.

We now have enough supplies and food to last us through Memorial Day! Those who know Tasha, know she loves a full pantry and the availability of options! David is afraid we will never eat out again! And we scored the free bread at the marina on our last day!

Remy met up with over 15 different pups who joined us on the dock from time to time. Remy doesn’t know it yet, but she will be very sad with us leaving her yacht basin crew friends. Remy delivered big bags of treats to the office crew so they can share with the other pups that make their way into the office as she did daily (some days multiple times)! Thank you Fort Myers Yacht Basin Crew for making our old girl feel so loved and happy!

The captain chased down an electrical issue on the aft deck. Lights on the exterior of the bar cabinet went out after being turned on for a period of time. Each time it happened it was discovered that the circuit breaker had tripped. Some trouble shooting revealed that a light fixture inside the cabinet was causing the random problem. The fixture was isolated and later bypassed and a new one has been ordered to replace it.

David tended to the crappy job of rebuilding the holding tank sensors. After time the sensors, which by the way are deep inside the holding tanks, do not operate correctly and they fail to alert us when the tanks are full. Even when the first mate suggested to the captain that the tanks must be full, he still wasn’t convinced. That is, he wasn’t convinced until he went down into the engine room and opened the holding tank inspection port located on the top of the overfull aft tank. It seems that as he unscrewed the inspection port cover which was now below the level of the effluent and consequently under a pressure it . . . well you can imagine the rest. You know what they say about it rolls downhill.

David washed the boat yet again. It is amazing how dirty and salty the boat gets docked in one place in brackish water, not even full-blown salt water. Keeping the boat clean is a constant battle.

The first mate started watching the weather heading south. With the assistance of apps, websites, and friends, it was determined that we should move our departure date up two days for the best two-day window to the keys. Our first leg would take us from Fort Myers to Marco Island, the second to Marathon Key. The change in dates also required contacting both marinas to see if there was availability two days earlier. There was and we were thankful for that, but we’re not in Fort Myers anymore. Those three nights will cost us the equivalent of what we paid for 18 nights in Fort Myers! Being safe can be expensive!

The night before our departure we worked on stowing tons of gear we had drug out for our two months stay, a pump out, folding and bagging our bikes for stowing on the back deck while cruising, cleaning, and lifting the dinghy to its cradle on the aft deck roof, partially filled the water tank and stowed water lines. The captain did a full engine check as we haven’t had them running in two months. We also secured items inside the cabin. Should the water and weather get rocky on our cruise in open waters, we wanted no flying projectiles. We’ve heard of boats getting tossed around so that drawers, cabinets, and the refrigerator were dumped and everything on countertops strewn about the boat. This is a bit new to us as river boating and most of the waters we have navigated thus far have been very calm. However, the open waters to the Keys and then the cruise up the East coast can be a rodeo.

We engaged in many goodbyes, dinner with friends, and things we have put off for the past two months. When we arrived in Fort Myers, we thought we had plenty of time to do everything, well, we didn’t. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Fort Myers was a great stop for us and we hope to return next winter. We met up with 35 friends from home and ran into four more by chance. The crew experienced record highs and low temperatures, a tornado, 7 downtown festivals and parades, regular docktails, trips down memory lane to places that were frequented to with Tasha’s Dad, Kurt, many beautiful sunsets, a ton of fun, and memories that will last a lifetime!

We will rise early, if we can sleep. We are always a bit unsettled the night before a big cruise. Marco Island then Marathon Key, here we come!

Cheers! D, T & R

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