New Years Eve

 The depth alarm keep beeping showing as little as 0.7 feet under the keel..  After motoring dead into the wind and incoming current to leave Cayo Costa at daybreak we raised the sails as the other boats still sat at anchor.  In the channel leaving marker 74 behind us we glided past Cabbage Key and Usteppa Island.  It was a great little sail until we had to round the corner at Sanibel Island.  This was the time when our little motor was once again called into action as we needed to turn into the now NE wind.

As we approached the Terrible Mile the dolphins from last year played the way.  Unlike the areas around Sarasotta with all the now wake zones controlling the weekend boaters.  The section from marker MM2 to MM0 has all the no wake zones outside the channel.  Or at least they must be.  We will never transit this section on a holiday weekend again.  WE WILL GO ON THE OUTSIDE!

We would like to thank the 50 foot sport fisher that made almost no wake as we passed it just inside MM1.  But the following 25 foot cuddy cabin made a wake big enough to make up for it.  If anyone knows who owns m/v Wine Cellar please...  Well never mind lets just say we wouldn't pull them from a sinking ship at the moment.  From here it continued to be a rocky wake board trip all the way to the bridge.

We were looking at possibly anchoring at Estero for the evening but soon decided to proceed on our way to the Keys.  As we continued across the bay it became evident we were not stopping for the night at Estero.  As we continued down the coast random fireworks were seen from the Estero and southward areas.

Fiddling with the tiller pilot trying to get it to steer a course once again proved futile.  We tried to use the Easting wind to heave to and make way to the south or south east but to no avail.  We could continue to hand steer and keep an acceptable course but I was getting tired and after the boat traffic back by MM0  my patience was way too thin.

What we decided to do was just to anchor here 5 miles offshore   Well after the Bahamas it seemed so logical.  Lessening winds and a milder forecast for the evening .  So over board the Fortress went into 30 feet of water. Hooked up the wind continued to clock around and settled to the SE at less than 10 knts.

On our first check we saw more fireworks toward Estero.  On our third check we found the fireworks for Naples underway.  I stood there in the companionway watching the show the Fisher King would check and return below every couple minutes.   I was more interested in the show than he was.

2013 here we come. (borrowed a pic)

W