Ft. Myers Beach to Marco Island

Just before bedtime last night Dennis had to tighten up our mooring line and then the east winds gently rocked us to sleep.  In the morning we had no issues getting underway around 7:45, but later learned that two others in our group had mooring balls to catch under their boats causing them to take the plunge into the 78 degree water of the harbor to free their lines.  Burrrrrr…glad not to have that experience to describe. 

Easterly winds were around 10 knots making for another good sail, not completely engineless, but blessing us with more quiet sailing than noisy motoring.  We made the 40 mile passage to Marco from Ft. Myers Beach in around 6 hours with only a few pesky crab pots to avoid, pulling into Smokehouse Bay around 2:00p.m.  Amazingly, on our arrival Don Kidwell, a fellow Mariner who is not on the cruise with us, came to our rescue and dinghyed over to explain the best spot to set the hook.  If he hadn’t we might have been aground at low tide in the middle of the night.  Proving again that Mariners are just the best, coming to the aid of others!!! 

 

Tomorrow we will have a 56 mile trip to Little Shark and will not have any service while traveling for the next two days, so look for a long post on Wednesday evening. 

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We call it “living large in small spaces”…think of a living in a 300 square foot house for 2 months.  But you know what, it’s one of the best things about cruising, living efficiently.  So think again of everything you couldn’t live without, then ask yourself what purpose does it have, and could it be used for something else.  Dual purpose and fitting into small spaces helps narrow the choices.  All that being said we seldom have to leave behind the things that make life easier, albeit if it uses electrical power it might get quickly vetoed, as saving power is a top priority, especially when anchoring.   But back to living efficiently…how much “stuff” that fills our lives is really that necessary for a good life, and does taking care of the “stuff” sometimes keep us from having the time to do the things that really matter?  Cruising makes you slow down, treasure time with friends and family, and throw off the chains of the “stuff.”  Sorry about the rambling…and oh by the way, there’s lots of time for philosophizing in these small spaces.