Loop Around South Florida

[wahoo33417]

Actually, My wife and I just completed this two-week loop, but I did not get the opportunity to post to this forum along the way. So here goes in arrears.

Intent was to go from our home in West Palm Beach and cross the state via Lake Okeechobee and associated waterways. My wife, who usually does not join me on boat trips, said she would go with me if we skipped the Lake Okeechobee part (we've done that several times before) and if we stayed in hotels where possible and overnighted on the boat where necessary.

I could live with those terms. So I called the boat hauler we have used for many years in doing the Great Loop and asked if he could haul us, my wife and I included, over to Sarasota, FL. The deal was made and we packed up the boat with more than we needed.

Day 1.

Tony Stewart picked us up from Jim Barry boat ramp in Riviera Beach, FL and we had a pleasant ride in his F-350 over to Don Roehr Boat Ramp on Sarasota Bay.


Getting the boat ready to put in at the ramp in Sarasota Bay.

Since this was a combination birthday and anniversary trip for both of us, our first stop was to be the Hyatt on Sarasota Bay. I had done all the trip planning, so this stop was a surprise for my wife. I had prepared her for the "mom and pop' places I usually try to find.


The Hyatt has nice floating docks. But no full time dock master to radio ahead to. So we just took what appeared to be an open slip and that was fine.

We enjoyed a great pool and a nice dinner.

We had noticed that our spare set of boat keys were no where to be found on the boat. That was puzzling. But I knew that Ingman Marine, a Grady dealer, was about 15 miles north of of next day's stop on Pine island. So I called them. There service building was completely lost in Hurricane Iam and they had moved into a temporary FEMA trailer only two days ago. They were still scouring the grounds to find parts.

But Sean, the service manager was very helpful. We worked out that he had my ignition keys, but not the smaller cabin or or overhead box keys. Good enough.

Our brief stop at ingman Marine was to be quite fortuitous.

 

[wahoo33417]

Day 2. From Sarasota Bay to Pine Island. +60 miles.

A beautiful run through what I consider my home-town area.


Cruising south through Little Sarasota Bay. Siesta Key is on our right and Osprey is on our left.


As a kid boating in this area, the Blackburn Point Swing Bridge was a relic then. And its still here and looking pretty good.



Becky taking the wheel as we near Venice.



I can't believe it. The South Venice Beach Ferry still operates. The two ferries, on opposite shores, must change positions at the same time.




After the Manasota Key Drawbridge, its pretty much running on plane until we get to Placida, where Ingman Marine is located.



To be continued...

 

[wahoo33417]

Day 2 Continued.

To get right to the point, we never made it to Tarpon Lodge on Pine Island this day, at least not by boat.

We did find Ingman Marine and the service department was operating out of a cramped FEMA trailer as they said, but they did, very kindly, have spare ignition keys ready for us.

The FEMA trailer / service dept. is the beige building between the two Gradys with a white bay door and a small, blue center console parked in front of it.


Back on the water in Charlotte Harbor, we had about 15 miles to get to the historic Tarpon Lodge on Pine Island. It being one of the few places fully up and running in the area. However, about 5 miles after leaving Ingman Marine, the starboard gauge starts flashing "Check Engine". Soon after rpms on that engine slowly drop to about 3,000 rpm.

We limp back to Ingman Marine and call them while on the way. Its Friday and they understand our situation. Sean is great and he frees up a technician, Mike, to see if they can get us back on the water quickly.

Mike meets us at the dock with his laptop. We run the boat with Mike plugged in and get the same result. Mike says its a "cam position sensor" warning. Could be that the sensor is bad or that the ECU didn't like the info the sensor gave it. Easiest thing is to replace the sensor and try it again.

But first to find a sensor. Mike knows he saw one somewhere. But the intact showroom has piles of parts they have found so far and they are taking inventory of.


This is just one of several piles of found parts as they take inventory.

It takes Mike a little while but he finds two sensors. He swaps them both in and off we go. No alarms at first, so lets pick up speed. But Mike yells to slow down. Mike says he could see the water temp shoot up. I had noticed the gauges where a little higher than usual, but I attributed that to the heat wave and running in 88-89 degree bay water. Mike says no, there is something much more here. I'm going to have to dig into this engine - on Monday.

Mike theorizes that the high temperatures caused the cam sensor to send a bad blip of a reading to the ECU. He says they are very sensitive. Even just a slight variation in voltage will do it. But while his laptop was reading very high temps, my gauge was on the high side, but not extremely so. Mike couldn't really answer that only to say that's why we use the laptop to see what's actually going on and can't rely on gauges.

I know he is making us a priority and I appreciate it.

Not to be deterred too badly, we call a nearby Enterprise and rent a car to continue on our trip and finally made it to Tarpon Lodge. What a nice place. It may not have all the trappings of the Hyatt, but the people are just fantastic.

We enjoy the pool and the sunset. But it hurts to look at the empty boat dock not knowing if this is as simple as a stuck thermostat or something more serious that warrants calling Tony Stewart to arrange a pick-up to haul the boat home.


We decide that tomorrow we'll continue on our trip as planned - since we won't get the boat back until Monday at best - and head to another historic inn, the Rod and Gun Club in Everglades City. We can at least enjoy the weekend as we planned.

 

[wahoo33417]

Day 3. Saturday.

We continue with our planned itinerary except by rental car. We make our way down to Everglades City, a portion of Florida I have never seen despite living here for about 45 years. The Rod and Gun Club is another historic building, the main house being built in 1926. If you go, know that they still don't accept credit cards. We were looking forward to making our way from the Gulf through the mangrove-lined channel to this place.

All docking is side-to against the pilings. Fuel is available nearby, but I did not get to see what type. With all the guides running in this area I imagine it is Rec 90.


Greeting you at the front desk...


We decide that the next day, Sunday, we need to start working our way back north towards the boat in Placida. Somewhere along this timeline I lost a day. Mike got the boat on a Thursday afternoon and worked on it all day Friday. We got a call saying they thought they would be done sometime Monday. The caller couldn't say what they had found!

 

[wahoo33417]

Sunday.
Becky wants to see Sanibel Island as we make our way back north. While we're there, I'd like to check out Sanibel Marina to see if it is up and running and might be a good jumping off place for our next run.

Sanibel Light has a bit less sand around than Becky remembers from family trips as a kid, but it is operable.



Sanibel Marina was partially open. But transient slips did not all have 30-amp and the restaurant was temporarily replaced by a food truck. And there wasn't any boater's lounge to escape the record heat.
We drove up the length of Sanibel and appropriately, there were signs everywhere prohibiting stopping to take pictures.

So we drove up to Boca Grande Hotel on Placida Beach. Only the first floor could be occupied because they had lost part of their roof and it was under construction. So the rates were very good. Becky was happy to get an evening beach walk.

I was happy we weren't out on the water at that time!








The next day we would go and hopefully, get some good news on our boat.

 

[wahoo33417]

Monday.

We take a leisurely breakfast and make our way to Ingman Marine with some trepidation.

Mike has the starboard engine still apart. On a nearby workbench is a pile of crud. I realize the engine is apart for my benefit.

Mike explains: "Some of the the cooling passages were clogged with solid crud to about 80% blockage. I physically scraped out all the crud and then bathed it all in Muriatic acid. Both engines. The water pumps and thermostats looked good but your internal zinc anodes needed replacing. So after running so hot I replaced them all."

I'm dumbfounded. I flush those motors after every use. Sometimes with Salt-Away. I bought the boat when it was 13 years old with 220 hours on it and in the last three years we've brought it up to 700 hours. Mike said that probably explains it. The previous owner used it very little in the Chesapeake Bay and likely didn't flush it out between those uses. So the salt accumulated and hardened over time. No amount of flushing or Salt-Away was going to get that out.

(Since then I have wondered why my local dealer didn't pick up on any of this while replacing the internal zincs? Something I will ask them.)

Lesson learned. When you buy a used boat, have your mechanic open it up and physically look at the cooling passages.

Mike and his laptop had already run the boat and both engines seemed to be good on temperature.

So Becky arranged to return the rental car while Mike put the engine back together and I paid the bill. Ingman Marine was more than fair on the pricing. I believe the bill was less than if I had the same work done at home.

By now it was late in the afternoon so we set our sights on just making the 15 miles to Tarpon Lodge on Pine Island, by water this time.

Once you know your way into the channel leading to Tarpon Lodge its not so bad. But finding the channel and staying in the channel the first time was a bit hairy. I could imagine me destroying two brand new water pumps!
But we finally made it with no harm done.


We settle on Marco Island being our next stop and the best jumping off point for the long run to the Keys. Marco will be about a 60-mile run, so no need to navigate that channel again at O-dark-thirty!

 

[Parthery]

I'm enjoying your adventures....breathlessly awaiting the next post.

In 1987 we did the Kissimmee Boat A Cade - to and from Okeechobee...down the east coast and back up the west. Best time of my life. Did I mention we were in a 17' Aquasport CC?

 

[igblack87]

I am awaiting the next post as well. This is cool stuff!

 

[Legend]

I admire your attitude and the approach of just making the best of the situation. I probably would have had my hammer out by now Enjoy your trip it is interesting to follow!

 

[wahoo33417]

Thanks for the Likes and the comments. My wife is the one to "Make Lemonade" as it were. Its her vacation time and she is not to be denied.

Tuesday.

We get to enjoy the breakfast spread at Tarpon Lodge before taking on the several-mile channel back out to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Another pleasant surprise awaits us at the boat - it's high tide! I can screw up a little bit and still be okay. We try to follow a few flats boats out but that becomes pointless. I can't keep up with them even if I could go where they go.

Soon we're in the Gulf ICW headed south. We notice that many channel markers are still missing. I'm wondering if my Garmin will be accurate for the channels under the Sanibel Bridge. A lot of sand must have gotten moved around by Ian. But I'm presuming (hoping) there are temporary nuns and cans by now.

We learned that most of the marinas up the Caloosahatchee River, including the Ft. Myers City Marina, are still not in operation. If we had to break down, we were very fortunate in where we did break down.

Turns out there are several boats headed for the Sanibel Bridge and we keep up with them. The channel through the bridge and out to the Gulf is well marked. After a few miles, we're far enough out to avoid any shoals or fish traps and on our way to Marco Island.



Passing Naples, I believe.



A look out at the Gulf side.


Pictures don't always show it well, but there was about a 2' chop. Becky took the wheel a fair amount. My discs need a break even from a small chop. I had envisioned flat calm summer seas when we planned this trip. We rarely saw flat calm.

Made it to Marco Island Marina. No hotels tonight, they are all priced out of our budget. So we spend time in the pool and the marina has a boater's lounge. We find that our 6500 btu AC can't really cool the cabin in mid afternoon sun. We hear there is record heat going on. We can believe it when the boat stops. We carry a shade we can put over the cabin that makes a big difference, but we have a long day tomorrow, 120 miles to Conch Key, and we don't want another item to undo at O-dark-thirty.

When the sun gets low, the cabin gets cool. By night time, its plenty cool in the cabin.


The dockmaster suggests we leave Marco via a backway. Go around the eastern, backside of the island. He shows us on a chart. It looks well marked. It avoids going well offshore to go around Cape Romano Shoal. Instead, you come out along the Ten Thousand Island area of the Park in about 12' of water and just hug the shoreline at that depth. His only caution was, as we follow the channel behind the island, take the outside swing on curves where water cuts a deeper depth.

I enter that route on my phone's Navionics app.

We decide that's what we'll try. We're on an adventure, right?

 

[wahoo33417]

I'm enjoying your adventures....breathlessly awaiting the next post.

In 1987 we did the Kissimmee Boat A Cade - to and from Okeechobee...down the east coast and back up the west. Best time of my life. Did I mention we were in a 17' Aquasport CC?

So you went from Kissimmee to Lake O and out to the East coast? Wow, what a trip. Must have taken at least three weeks?

When I was in high school the 17' Aquasport was the boat of my dreams. I'm guessing about a 12 degree deadrise and you took it about 700 miles!? Probably not as many no-wake zones in 1987!

 

[Parthery]

So you went from Kissimmee to Lake O and out to the East coast? Wow, what a trip. Must have taken at least three weeks?

When I was in high school the 17' Aquasport was the boat of my dreams. I'm guessing about a 12 degree deadrise and you took it about 700 miles!? Probably not as many no-wake zones in 1987!

They used to leave from downtown Kissimmee before they undid the Kissimmee River. In ‘87 they left and returned from Okee-Tantee park in Okeechobee. Saturday to Saturday.

Day 1: Okee-tantee to Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale. Through the locks and down the St Lucie River to the ICW. You would have to run outside now because of the no-wake zones but back then you could still do it.

Day 2: Pier 66 to Marathon. A relatively easy day.

Days 3 and 4: Marathon

Day 5: Marathon across Florida Bay to Flamingo, then up to Port of the Islands. I remember this being the longest day of the trip and you had to refuel at Flamingo.

Day 6: Port of the Islands to Fort Myers.

Day 7: Up the Caloosahatchee, across the lake and back to Okee-tantee.

The only concern was fuel range. We had a 90 OMC. 27 gallon tank plus a 6 gallon tank as an emergency spare.

We were in an air conditioned hotel room every night.

 

[Chutch]

Thanks for sharing your trip. Never even thought of having the boat moved to a starting point then traveling back home. Brilliant

 

[wahoo33417]

Wednesday: We head 120 miles south for the Keys.

Turns out the back way around Marco Island works out well. We get an early start and are lucky enough to follow another boat nearly the whole way around.

Once we're in the recommended 12' of water and headed south, we still see a few fish traps, so we move out to 15' of water. No more fish traps. We are also on a more direct path to connect up with the 'Yacht Channel that crosses Florida Bay to the Keys.

From 15' of water, the Ten Thousand Island area of Everglades National Park is several miles away.



Once you hit the 'Yacht Channel', the water changes from emerald to blue. Depths were about 8'-10'. There is only one somewhat tight turn between two limestone outcrops. It isn't hard to navigate. But you better not miss it.


Conch Keys fishing Lodge was good. A slip in front of your room and adjacent bridge provides access to the ocean side. Unfortunately, the little onsite cafe was not operating and there is no other restaurant on the island. We chose to Uber to a restaurant over another microwave dinner on the boat.


Thursday: Was mostly a weather day for us, the only one of the trip. We blew up the inflatable paddle board and got out for a short bit in the morning. But mostly we organized what had become a pretty disorganized cabin to the point we couldn't find stuff. We even did a load of laundry.



We stayed two nights at Conch Key Fishing Lodge. So when we depart on Friday morning we'll head out to Tennessee Reef Light on our way to Chesapeake Beach Resort on Islamorada for two nights. It has a channel off of Whale Harbor, so it should be easy to find from the water.

We're making reservations as we go and getting a room further up the Keys for Friday and Saturday was a little more difficult. We had to take the Villa rather than the standard hotel room.

The other factor to consider is it has to be a place we can find from the water and with adequate water depths. I have marked all of the good looking places on Google maps before the trip, so that is our 'call list' for a room. Staying on the boat is the backup plan.

 

[wahoo33417]

Thanks for sharing your trip. Never even thought of having the boat moved to a starting point then traveling back home. Brilliant

An idea suggested by our Grady dealer. That's how we did the Great Loop while still working. Tony would drop us off at a marina with a designated pick-up marina (or boat ramp) 2-3 weeks from then.

 

[Ekea]

awesome trip!

 

[wahoo33417]

Friday:

Water depth getting to the Long Key Bridge was mostly good as the Fishing Lodge owner said. But we did have to lower the antennas to pass under. Once on plane in Hawk Channel we could see Tennessee Reef Light. Navigating to the light was pretty easy.

We tied up to one of several available mooring balls.

While I snorkeled around the boat, Becky paddled and snorkeled to the light. She said that all the boats immediately near and to the left of the light are anchored up in sand.


The coral formations were good but the visibility was not great for as deep as the site was. Probably would have been a better SCUBA site than a snorkel site the day we were there. Still, I think rounding the Keys is the whole reason Becky joined this trip, so she was happy to finally be in some blue water.

Not that other areas hadn't been fun. We saw many pods of dolphin every day and several manatees coming down the Gulf coast.

After a while it was time to make the 20 mile run to Whale Harbor Channel, find some gas and check into Chesapeake Beach Resort

The channel was easy to find. We found fuel at Post Card Inn marina. We were fortunate to find Rec 90 at each fill up and I added Ring Free each time, figuring I would be putting on a bunch of high rpm hours. We were less fortunate at some of the prices we found in the Keys! Whew!

Our Villa at Chesapeake was fantastic. It had a fill kitchen and separate bedroom and a comfy couch. And there was a Publix a quarter mile away. The channel leading to it had some shallow spots, but I got better at picking the right approaches over the two days were were there. The 'marina' is a boat basin with pilings all around. So all docking is side-to. Fortunately for us, the pilings lined up with our stern and spring-line cleats. So we hung some large fenders from those along with longer bow and stern lines and were all set for the changing tides.

 

[wahoo33417]

Saturday:

We got an early start to make sure we would get a mooring ball. The closest site to Chesapeake is Cheeca Rocks, much nearer to shore and shallower than Tennessee Reef.

Well, we got there early enough. We were the only ones there! Our first thought was, what's wrong with this site?. Later, the tourist boats started showing up.

There was still a south breeze so the site was a bit stirred up. But because it was fairly shallow, maybe 12' to the sand with formations rising to within 6'-8' of the surface, we could see just fine.

We saw almost all the cast you hope to see on a coral patch reef, including angelfishes, butterflyfishes, damsels, nurse sharks, moray eels and an occasional juvenile turtle, perhaps a hawksbill.

There is no light at Cheeca Rocks, just orange markers at the four corners and mooring balls at some of the nicer, select areas.

This sailboat was the second boat at the site, before the tourist boats arrived. By then we had covered the site pretty well.


We usually keep a safety line with a fender off the stern. But here, Becky had tied off the snorkeling buoy to the safety line as she stayed right around the boat getting underwater pictures - which I have yet to see!

 

[wahoo33417]

Sunday:

Continuing our progress up the Keys, we left our luxurious villa and headed for 'Hens and Chickens'. It is another, larger patch reef, also near shore, at a similar depth and structure as Cheeca Rocks. Only nicer.

There was still a breeze, but the visibility was very good. and although we saw nearly all the same creatures as Cheeca Rocks, the better visibility makes it appear so much nicer. And we thought the coral formations were more well developed. We could see some bleaching at every site we went to. But at both Cheeca and Hens and Chickens we also saw obvious restoration efforts.

In the picture, the purist will notice that my dive flag is upside down. I didn't notice it until I saw it in the picture. I was too anxious to get in the water!



The structure is actually a red flashing channel marker for Hawk Channel that keeps boaters clear of Hens and Chickens.



We had a bit of a tragedy while running toward our destination for the evening, Becky's paddleboard blew up! What an explosion! I think I hit my head on the hard top. And I'm short. Geez that was loud. I don't recall the temperature, but I know the heat index was over 100. But we were generally out early and beck in the AC by early afternoon. And I know it was pumped to specs. In any case, iRocker has since reviewed our pictures and our story and is sending out a new board. So a plug for iRocker.

Our destination this afternoon is Creekside Inn, located just off Tavernier Creek. It was easy to find. And again, you tie up your boat against pilings in front of your room. And again, the pilings lined up with our cleat.

We arrived well before the 4 pm check-in time. So the owner kindly had the crew focus on getting our room ready. That was nice.

The rooms are pretty basic, but they are also some of the least costly waterfront rooms we found. And there is a nice restaurant a short walk away.

 

[wahoo33417]

Monday:

We've been looking forward to today since we've been in the Keys. Today we go out to Molasses Light. We have made many family trips from our home in West Palm Beach to Key Largo by boat to snorkel and dive Molasses, usually with our daughter who is now a grad student at Clemson.

When we first get in the water, their is a very strong north current. Not safe to leave the safety line. I radio a nearby tourist boat and ask if he can recommend another ball. He is most helpful and says, yes, the one right behind me, I put my boat out of the current. Makes sense to me. So we take his advice and he is absolutely right. Even though we are in the same depth there is very little current. I thank that captain again.

The water and reefs are just beautiful. The breeze is pretty strong, but no turbidity in the water at all.

In this pic you can see the white sand and the darker reefs rising up on either side of it.




Similar picture as above, just looking from the starboard side towards the Light. The boat, and shallow reefs, are on the ocean side of the light. The light was built where the limestone came just about up to the surface.



This was our last snorkeling stop in the Keys. After a great time (except Becky missing her paddle board) we head across Key Largo into the Bay and towards where US Hwy 1 leaves the Keys. Gilbert's Resort is a fixture at that location.

The rooms have been significantly renovated since we were here last. The restaurant has been expanded, but is now all covered outdoors. There are 'Big-Ass Fans (seriously, that's the brand) but it's not the same as AC at the end of the day. Good menu though.

Again the docking is side-to in front of your room and again the pilings lined up with our cleats. I sleep better knowing the fenders are properly placed - especially at this location right along the ICW.



Tomorrow we have about a 120 mile ride home. So we'll we to get an O-dark-thirty start.