North Star on the Great Loop Journey: Blowing a gale in Fort Myers Beach

Preparing for the trip

Captain Jerry has been making the final preparations to North Star, our 32 foot Cape Island down east trawler. We are anxious to leave our landlubber lives behind and begin our long awaited journey around the Great Circle. Join us as we travel 10, 000 kilometers: through the historic Trent Severn Waterway; the pristine waters of Georgian Bay; the North Channel of lake Huron; and hop from beach to beach on lake Michigan. We will visit Chicago and begin our trek along the rivers: Illinois; upper Mississippi; Ohio; Cumberland: Tennessee; Tenn-Tom Waterway and the Black Warrior. We will have transited through 68 locks at this juncture. We have chosen the inner route from Mobile Alabama to Tarpon Springs Florida and the shorter Ocheechobee Waterway to reach the East coast of Florida. We will skip over to the Bahamas to wait out the winter before heading North on the Atlantic Inter Coastal Waterway.
The 10 years of researching and planning are finally at an end and we invite you to come along on our adventure.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Blowing a gale in Fort Myers Beach

It is quite windy this morning at 27 knots from the south which means it is not cold. It is nice to be tied to a dock even if the boat is bouncing and the waves are slapping the hull. We had a bit of rain earlier and it looks like it may rain some more.
Jerry is in the bar having his coffee and chatting with the good old boys who gather here regularly. I am catching up on emails and blogging.
I have been walking my bike up the high Matanza Pass Bridge and riding along the beach. It is nice hard packed sand. I try to peddle at least 10 miles a day to offset the Tiki Bar visit. The beach is more crowded than in early December, it is the height of the tourist season. They have to make their money in the next 4 months before all the snow birds flock home to the North.
Jerry peddles up town for parts and paint. He has finished repairing and painting the roof, it looked really nice until the birds spotted it. He will start on the bow tomorrow when the weather is better.

The Captain continues to catch fish to feed the hungry crew. He caught several pounds of sheephead and one flounder. We have our crab pot in the water by the boat but so far all we have is star fish eating the bait.

We continue to meet at the Tiki Bar for happy hour(s). I get all my info about the best stores, flea markets and upcoming events there. This Sunday there is a marine flea market in the parking lot. Next week end, there is a yard sale along the full length of Main St.

Today is a good day for reading and cooking.