The trip from Venice to Fort Myers Beach has been a good experience for the crew of Why Knot. It took us away from the internet but through some of the most scenic waterway we have encountered thus far. We left Venice the day before yesterday( but only after I had a long missed cheeseburger) and decided to stay inside and see some of the ditch again. Our concerns included five bridges. Most of them open on a schedule and none were tall enough for us to pass. We arrived at the first, just after leaving the dock, just two minutes late for the opening. We cooled our heels for another twenty minutes for the next opening. The thing that became apparent was that the bridge tenders were professional, mission oriented punctual. This was a drastic difference to the attitudes we witnessed in Louisiana. The tenders would take the vessel name and type then transmit it to the next bridge down the line. They gave us the next bridge name so we did not have to guess. In Louisiana they would not answer even if you were looking at them, if you did not get the bridge name just right. Traffic in the ditch was lively. At one point we had nine high speed large boats passing us from astern. They were all courteous and went to slow bell as they passed. We later encountered a total bonehead that passed us very close by at about thirty knots and nearly turtled our dink.
The trip down the ditch from Venice to Ft. Myers Beach is about sixty five nautical miles and we did it in two segments. Our first night found us in the vicinity of Cabbage Key, a popular little, quaint key that has a few rental cottages, a famous pub and restaurant and one heck of a history. It started as a stopover for Tarpon fishermen in the early twentieth century. One is reminded of the pub in Bimini where Ernest Hemingway stopped for a beer or two. The folks then started the tradition of hanging a dollar bill on the wall upon which they wrote their name. That way, the bar tender would hold a cold beer for them when they came by. That tradition is still in place. We placed a dollar on the wall with s/v Why Knot of Port Aransas, Tx, came this way on 4/26/2010. The bar keep told us that our dollar made well over one hundred thousand dollars hanging on the wall. If a buck falls off that wall, they donate it to a local charity. They told us that they give over fifteen thousand dollars a year to charity. I always heard it is illegal to deface currency and they said that ever since a past Secretary of the Treasury did it, they have a bye from the Treasury. I can’t confirm that but it sounded good.
docks at Cabbage Key
Cabbage Key is a snapshot from the twenties. Ducks and tortoises play in the heavy mangroves. We were told that the no seeums would leave us alone given the wind. Dinner was grand and not expensive. In fact, I have overdosed on seafood and tried the lemon chicken. It was without doubt the second best chicken I have ever had (second only to Bear’s preparation). Just as we were dropping dock lines, the crew of Guiding Light, a Lagoon catamaran, came by. We met him in New Orleans. Along the way, we see boats we have met elsewhere. It is fun to see them again. 
We left Cabbage Key yesterday around 1100 after a conversation with Guiding Light crew. The run across Pine Island Sound was a good one and most of the power boaters were courteous. We sailed past places with pretty names such as Cayo Costa, Charlotte Harbor and Sanibel Island. As we approached Fort Myers we saw narrow channels, many boats and several very pretty sail boats underway. We ducked out into the Gulf and back in behind Estero Island into Matanzas Pass. The goal was to use one of the mooring buoys just inside the pass. It was out first mooring buoy grab and it went very well in heavy current and opposing wind. Bear steered us into position and we got it on our second try. Not more than two minutes later, the Harbor Master came by and asked us to register. So, the dink was required to get to shore and register. The dinghy dock was a bit of a challenge because of the number of boats tied up there. There is a local boat called Freddy Freddy whose skipper just barged in with his wooden dink and nosed in between other boats without regard for possible damage. I guess that is the way it is done. We will observe local customs for further guidance as to how one gets to a dink dock if it is crowded.
Dinner ashore last night was at a place called Bonita Bill where locals hang out. It was quite a place. Locals do hang out there and some of them are “colorful”. The sign over the bar reads “40 beer limit strictly enforced”. Methinks some of the locals, even at 1700 were approaching the limit. Bear had more seafood and I had to have something different. I am seafooded out for a bit. We dinked back to the boat a few minutes before the sunset/moon rise. What an evening it was watching the mooring field settle in. Dinks of all sorts were returning to the mother ship. I am surprised that some could find their boats save the bright moonlight. It reminded me of the time several Port A boats anchored behind Mud Island. One boat hosted the sundowner and some stayed late. Some forgot to turn on their anchor light thus making the trip in the dark to a dark boat a bit of a challenge. One fellow rowed to the gathering and had to meander around in the dark to find his dark boat. Ever since, we keep a light on even in the mooring field. Yesterday was a rip snorter of a day in the mooring field. Heavy current opposing moderate winds made the night a roller. We like rollers to some degree since the motion of the boat makes for a great night sleep.
Our next port will most likely be Naples (nawh not that Naples). Then we will cross to Key West. We expect that we may be there by the weekend----- or not.
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