We finally pulled out of Ft. Myers Beach Thursday to continue our sloooow treck south. It was an easy day of cruising down past Naples to Marco Island. We were able to sail for a few hours but the wind drifted around onto our nose and we had to motor yet again. We ran a very long twisting channel in Marco to anchor in Smokehouse Bay next to The Esplanade, which is in the background of the picture posted here.
Around the corner, under a low bridge is a Winn-Dixie grocery with a dingy dock. We've been building a 4 page list of provisions to stock up for the Bahamas and we knocked off about 3 pages here. Very convenient. Thank you Winn Dixie. Got in a few other stocking trips as well during the 4 days here.
We chose to stay extra long because a front with strong winds was predicted for Sunday. Give it up for the weather-guessers; they got it right this time. Sunday night was brisk with a 180 degree wind shift. We were anchored in a fairly small bay and as we swung around we were relatively close to the various seawalls. But our Manson Supreme held perfectly yet again. We still got up every hour to check!
We're departing Tuesday morning for Indian Key and then Little Shark River before making Marathon late in the week. We may not have cell/data reception along the way, especially at Little Shark River. It's a pretty desolate corner of the Everglades. We will be running the spot tracker. Pray that we make it back to civilization, surviving a few days without facebook.
Posted by Ed aboard S/V Freedom
Hey you two! Thanks for the update. We're keeping track and are with you... hoping for a peaceful and uneventful voyage. Just wanted you to know we're with you. ~Tim
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