Cruising South with PGSC

With the PGSC Gang at the Naples Railroad Museum

Pig-It, Hog-It...and Rain                     
                                                                        
Cards dealt and played. Points counted and recorded. Players rotated around the tables shaded by the Farmer's Market tent.   While we happily played Pig-It, Hog-It, a great card game, the southeastern sky darkened and turned black.  We were anchored in Marco's Smokehouse Bay with a half a dozen other sailboats  from the world famous Punta Gorda Sailing Club (PGSC).  

The bay is deep, blue and the holding excellent. Gorgeous homes line the shore and fish jump in the water.  Winn-Dixie provides a nice dinghy dock - a short distance from the anchorage.  About two blocks from Winn Dixie, the Farmer's Market tent stands in a large green field. That's where we played boccie ball , ladder ball and of course the card game "Pig-IT Hog It."  

The Radar Now App on my phone showed lots of rain headed our way as we played one more hand.  Joanne & I left our hatches partially open to provide Bleu Kitty a little air so we hurried back to our dinghy ... but NOT in time!  Not too bad, we had some mopping up to do - but the inside wasn't soaked. Rain came down in buckets for an hour or more.  Happy we were that we didn't decide to wait out the rain on shore.

After 10 days of fun with our fellow sailers in PGSC,  we said 'goodbye' and headed North. We actually sailed from Capri Pass to Gordon Pass.  After a night at the Naples Yacht Club we motorsailed to St Charles Yacht Club in Fort Myers as the wind died out.   There we met friends from IYC and from the Panama City YC and enjoyed a nice dinner with them.

As we headed North on the ICW, the southern wind popped up to over 25 knots providing quite a boisterous sail.  I tried to reef the main while sailing downwind and messed up. Before I could recover, Longhawk from our old marina in Texas came motoring by heading South for Marco and the Dry Torguas!  What a surprise to see them.  They yelled "Richard,  Richard" trying get my attention as I tried to straighten out the sail. Fortunately our opportunity to greet them was not missed because Joanne hailed them on the VHF.    We sailed up Charoltte Harbor tacking on broad reaches from Marker Five to Ponce and home once again cheating death on the inland seas! 


Pelican Bay  &  St. James City

We sailed down to Pelican Bay Sunday afternoon to meet the Punta Gorda Sailing Club Monday evening. That gave us a day to meander along the beach watching rays, shore birds and waves lapping on the sand.  We found a few nice shells including another arrow head sand dollar.   


We had never anchored off St James City at the south end of Pine Island so we were happy PGSC decided to make it our day's destination.  After dropping the hook, we dinghied to the Waterfront Restaurant for happy hour beer and good "peel and eat" shrimp.


Manatzas Pass East Mooring Field & Pink Shell

On a mooring ball for two nights in the Manatzas Pass East Mooring Field, we  dinghied to dinner at Salty Sams a short ride away. The next day we tried Doc Ford Rum Bar for lunch and the very popular Bonita Bills for happy hour - no shirt, no shoes, no problem.  Then we moved to a slip at the Pink Shell Marina for a night.  We made good use of the Pink Shell Resort's showers located in their lavish spa and the swimming pool for a day.   What a nice place!


On the Ball at Naples

We were on the ball at Naples (City Marina) for two nights. The second evening we had an early bird dinner with Nick and Maryellen at Bleu Provence, a nice little French Restaurant.  We played Pig-It, Hog-It on the city dock, visited the train museum, and a few art galleries near the city dock.


Inside To SmokeHouse Bay

We left Naples late in the morning to allow the tide to rise. With a 2'  high tide  we were able to take the inside route from Naples to Marco. We saw a lowest depth of approximately 5' 8",  but some boats drawing a little over 5'  bumped a few times.   This is a pretty route but even with our 4-1/2 ft keel, it is only passable with a high tide.  There is an interesting anchorage along the way but I didn't want to take the time to look around and end up entering Marco on a falling tide. Maybe next time!  We anchored securely in Smokehouse Bay in 17' of water.  Condo developments surround the bay that are upscale and attractive.  A canal leads to a nice dinghy dock supplied by Winn Dixe for easy provisioning.  From the dock one can walk to numerous restaurants and shops including a small West Marine store.  All in all, a great place to anchor and spend a few days in paradise!

Pictures

Note - Somehow this post has been hacked - links have been added to words like "shoe" or "next" but the link associated with the word doesn't show up when editing the page nor does the word appear to have an assoicated link. Viewing in HTML mode doesn't help either.   I have tried to delete them but they keep showing back up!  First time this has happened.

 

Pedal & Play in Paradise

HERALD PHOTO BY PAMELA STAIK
 

April 6th found us riding in the Third Annual Pedal and Play in Paradise.  Proceeds benefited the Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society and TEAM Punta Gorda’s Bicycle-friendly Community Initiatives. We chose the 10-mile Mystery Tour and the City Manager’s/History Tour with Punta Gorda’s City Manager, Howard Kunik.

As we rested in the shade along the City Manager's Tour, a photographer for the Punta Gorda Herald snapped our picture.

Along the Mystery Ride we answered questions like "What's free at Joe's Garage?" Each correct reponse garnered a ticket for a drawing for door prizes. We answered  all the questions correctly to no avail as no prizes came our way - but hey, it was fun! We rode along the Harbor Walk and pleasant streets new to us.  Signs along the trail through the Edison College Campus warned "Beware of Alligators!"

Highlights of the City Manager's Tour included the construction of pathways around the old Best Western and along Shreve Street.  The pathway along the Peace River behind the hotel connects the Harbor Walk along Gilchrist Park with the East Harbor Walk. We were really happy to see this bike path becoming at reality.   Things happen here in Punta Gorda with our tax dollars!


Punta Gorda Pathways

Cape Haze Pioneer Trail

The eight mile  Cape Haze Pioneer Trail  lies along the bed of the former Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railroad.  On a chilly Saturday morning we biked the trail and rewarded ourselves with lunch at the Fishery Restaurant.  Egrets congregated in the water along the trail. Eagles fed their two babies in a nest high above us.
See a full report on the PGI Islander's website.


Cape Haze Pioneer Trail - Visit Florida    Photos

Hawaii

After an arduous 10-hour plane flight from Ft Myers, we arrived at our daughter, Michele, and her boyfriend, Bryan's home in Kona, HI in time for a dinner snack and bed.  We awoke to a beautiful day in paradise.   Kahaluu Beach Park Snorkeling  was on the agenda.  The park is located just minutes away!  This turtle greeted us as we viewed the other colorful fish through our masks. Click to see Fish video posted Picasca Hawaii web album.

 Ho'o makaukau! Hoe hapai! Imua!  Our paddles dig into blue water as we help drive a double hull canoe with ten members of the Keauhou Canoe Club early one morning.  "Hut", calls the #3 paddler on the 14th stroke! "Hu", we answer on the 15th stroke and altogether switch sides, driving the big 45 foot canoe further out of Keauhou Bay and onto the ocean.  What a great group of folks. What a great way to start the day. Click to see Canoe video posted on Picasca Hawaii web album.

Later on we traveled to Captain Cook's monument On Board Hula Kai., a lovely boat that took us 17 miles down the coast.  We saw a whale breaching and whales chasing one another.  It's awe inspiring viewing these creatures who travel every year from Alaska to Hawaii to mate and bear their young.

Michele surprised us by taking off from work to drive us up the coastline by Kealakekua Bay , our final destination being
Volcano National Park.  She booked a night at the gorgeous
Volcano Village Lodge.   It was a very special place hidden in the rainforest - too pretty to describe!  She wanted us to experience the volcano at night and to see it's glow. The pictures just don't do it justice!  We then went for a wonderful dinner at another lodge in the area.  We were surprised how the volcano area had changed.  Almost 20 years ago, we visited and there were active lava flows not far from the road.  Now, most of the lava is underneath a crust and not very visible except at night near the volcano.  The ranger explained how the landscape is changing and growing on this young dynamic island.

One day we borrowed Bryan's jeep and traveled to Pololū Valley   Pololu Valley - Let's Go.  More beautiful scenery and landscapes with trecks along the coastline. 

In between all the fun, we caught up on missed epidoses of Downton Abbey.  Their wonderful neighbors also invited us for a lovely dinner.  Check out our Photos ! 

Mardi Gras at IYC

We're ready for Mardi Gras!

On Fat Tuesday at the Isles Yacht Club, The Fool prevailed vanquishing Death!  We were there to witness the duel.  This is a centuries old tradition that was re-enacted for everyone who attended Mardi Gras.

Floats and costumed characters followed a New Orleans Jazz Band into the club where MC, Joanne, announced their coming.  We even had a parade of floats! Dinner and dancing followed the Grand Parade. Check out the costumes.  We are decked out in the traditional colors of gold, purple and green.  All in all, a fun time!














Link to Photos

January Fun

Celebration Cruise  



Our Peace River Neighbor

Yesterday, we traveled up the Peace River aboard the Kingfisher, Punta Gorda's sightseeing boat, because we were a winner in the Civic Association's Holiday Light Contest.  Check out the gator sunning himself on the banks!     

The new year has been full of activities here - In the first 3 weeks we've attended a fun "Change of Watch" Party in our boating club, The PGIslanders.  One hundred seventy members strong attended the event  - and Richard was installed as Vice Commodore.  Also, 18 PGIslander boats of every description anchored off Gilchrist Park, right here, on our 3rd Annual Cruise to Punta Gorda.  It was a treat to enjoy our own home town from a tourist's perspective.  We enjoyed walking the bridge with the gang and the brunch at Dean's.

We are also members of the Isles Yacht Club and we enjoyed Trivia Night, biking along the New Bike Path and   Kayaking at Manatee Park. 

Check out our Photos - (just double click).  

Never a dull moment here!

Holidays

The Year of the Snowman - Joanne decided this year we would participate in the PGI Boat Parade. A snowman in lights would rise above our sailboat. It has risen!  Friends, Chuck and Trudy helped attach hundreds of LED lights to a mesh netting that we could raise with the main halyard. Neighbors stopped by as we worked on the driveway to offer advice. Our neighbor Brian provided line and other stuff.  Richard wired a traffic light sequencer to add movement: the snowman tips his hat changing from blue to red to green. Icecycle lights adorne the life lines.  All the lights including the rope lights that line the canal and the yard lights reflect in the canal. 

Thursday, the snowman moves to the Yacht Club to participate in the Lighting of the Fleet.  Joanne has invited about fifty people to stop by for food and drink.  Fifty people on a thirty-five foot boat may be just a little tight! 

Last night fifty people did show up, coming and going and coming back again. Everyone enjoyed the snowman, good food and good fellowship.   Our neighbor, Brian,  photographed the fleet lighting for us. Great job Brian!

Holiday Photos

 

CharleyShoe Lighting of the Fleet Photos

PGI Boat Parade December 22 - Eagle's Wings appears at 16:20 and at 19:40 minutes into this Utube Video - PGI Boat Parade

Joanne's sister Claire visited us for Christmas week from Oregon.  We all attended Christmas mass with Joanne's mom;  the music was sensational!  We found time to take Claire kayaking through the mangroves at Placida.

The New Year came a little earlier than the traditional Punta Gorda Midnight. The party on Pelican Bay broke up at 8:40 PM with everyone raising champaign glasses and singing Auld Lang Syne at the late hour of 8:40 PM. Islanders, scattered about Pelican Bay on twenty-five boats, tucked themselves in for a relatively warm and tranquil night. All asleep, quite possibly, before the magical midnight hour, 9 PM.

We hosted the Merritts, Jim & Connie, on Eagle's Wings.  Bleu went to Camp Angela while we were out on the boat.

After a very good breakfast pot luck on the first day of the New Year, we shared lots of laughs watching and participating in the merry blind dinghy race.

We were able to sail down to Marker Five and sail all the way back to Punta Gorda to start the New Year in style!