Earlier in the week north winds associated with two cold fronts blew the water away here just as they would on Galveston Bay. Low tide left Eagle’s Wings settled on the bottom at low tide during the week. On Friday, the water level was still about a foot lower than predicted so we waited for the tide to rise. When the deck of Eagle’s Wings reaches the dock, we have just enough water to float us out to Charlotte Harbor. At 13:20 we cast off.
Saturday morning we tried to take a short cut in the dinghy over to the Useppa Marina; shoal water forced us to paddle a short way and make for the Useppa Channel. After tying up to the dinghy dock, we paid our $15 landing fee, walked about the island and visited the museum.
A twenty-five minute dinghy ride back out the Useppa Channel and down the ICW delivered us to Cabbage Key for lunch. Power boaters covered the docks and dollar bills covered the walls and ceiling of the restaurant. After lunch we went back to our boat anchored just across the ICW to rest up.
We were actually able to sail most of the way back to Punta Gorda on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon.
Useppa Island lies along the eastern side of the ICW west of the north end of Pine Island. Useppa has a long and colorful history; visit http://www.useppa.com/ to see for yourself. The island’s museum is very well done. While it is possible to rent a room or a cottage on this private island, Useppa is generally off limits to cruisers like us. However, the Punta Gorda Sailing Club arranged a cruise to this fabulous island and we signed up! If we had to push our boat out to the harbor, we were going!
We mostly motored down to Useppa to drop anchor at the end of the day. By the time we had the dinghy ready, the stars were out for a short ride to Blue Goose for a wonderful dinner courtesy of John & Marilyn Jorgensen.
Saturday morning we tried to take a short cut in the dinghy over to the Useppa Marina; shoal water forced us to paddle a short way and make for the Useppa Channel. After tying up to the dinghy dock, we paid our $15 landing fee, walked about the island and visited the museum.
A twenty-five minute dinghy ride back out the Useppa Channel and down the ICW delivered us to Cabbage Key for lunch. Power boaters covered the docks and dollar bills covered the walls and ceiling of the restaurant. After lunch we went back to our boat anchored just across the ICW to rest up.
For burgers and brauts, we loaded our drinks and Joanne’s contribution to the meal in the dinghy (secured in a plastic bag) for the long way around to the marina. We returned after sunset to sleep well on Eagle’s Wings.
Sunday morning we were back in the dinghy and back to Useppa for lunch at the Collier Inn. We met many fine people in the sailing club including one couple who had sailed on Lake Travis and Galveston Bay! Here we are with Marylyn & John at the Collier Inn.
What’s it like to run a nine foot dinghy with a five hp motor in the ICW? Not too bad. One power boat actually slowed down for us; the rest sent us their wakes but we rode over them easily enough. That we had little chop made for more or less dry rides.
We were actually able to sail most of the way back to Punta Gorda on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon.
We really appreciate John and Marylyn for introducing us to the sailing club, hosting dinner on Blue Goose and sharing lots of local knowledge with us. What wonderful people!
Remember, click on a picture to enlarge it!
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