Everglades City

Easter Sunday saw us moving out of the cul-de-sac in Naples at noon because we wanted high tides going through the inland passes between Naples and Marco Island and between Marco Island and Goodland.


Everybody else with a small fast boat or the money to rent one was going the same way, and they were zooming past us on both sides all afternoon. Apparently, they were headed for the funky Jimmy Buffet style town of Goodland where we found them tied up all over the waterfront at tiki bars.

The water was “skinny” in several places along the way, and the channel marks were a bit confusing once or twice, but all in all, we did well and were out into the shallow lime-green waters of Florida Bay by about 3 PM. The seas were kindly, the air temperature was mild, and we scooted along with Seminole in loose trail about a quarter mile to starboard until we reached the long channel into Everglades City.

The currents are strong in the channel at the Rod and Gun Club here in Everglades City, and the tide tables indicated that we would get to the seawall at the club with the ebb just starting. So we rigged lines and fenders to starboard. However, when we arrived at about 5:30 PM there was a VERY strong current sweeping us by the club. We re-rigged to port in short order and easily moored by motoring into the current and getting lines over and secured before shutting down.

Today’s we got the bicycles off the boats and labored the 8-mile round trip to Chokoloskee Island where Mary and Jackie went through the old Indian settlement store/museum while Jim and I idled away on the dock o’ the bay.

We then had lunch at the Cuban Café on the island and then returned to Everglades City. After a quick ice cream treat at a K-Store and some grocery shopping for Mary, we all ended up back on the boats for rest and relaxation.

Tomorrow morning we will head off toward the Little Shark River on the western flank of Cape Sable, the southernmost part of the Florida peninsula. We will anchor the night either in or near the river before getting an early start the next morning for Marathon on Vaca Key. There we will hopefully moor at Sombrero Marina in Boot Key Harbor for a day or so before heading off the Newfound Harbor near Summerland Key, which is where Linda Vanaman of the Trawlersand Trawlering email list has offered her hospitality.