December 7 – 10, 2023

Thank You, Frank!

Thursday, December 7, we finally leave St. Petersburg. On one engine.

Frank, our trusted mechanic in Boca Raton, tells us he will fix the tensioner on the port engine. He will drive from his home in Lighthouse Point to Ft. Myers, meet us there at a marina, and fix it.

We can’t believe his generosity. Turns out his nephew is celebrating his birthday in Ft. Myers. Frank and his wife will stay at Frank’s brother’s home for the weekend. This makes us feel a little better. We are forever indebted to him!

Our goal is to anchor near Venice tonight, then arrive Ft. Myers Friday to be ready for Frank on Saturday. Reservations in Ft. Myers are hard to find, as Hurricane Ian that hit last September has left many marinas in ruins.

We reserve a slip for two nights at the Port Sanibel Island Marina in Ft. Myers. This marina is still under construction but partially open, offering electrical and water hookups at the dock. We tell them we are coming in on one engine, so docking the boat will be tricky and we’d like a starboard tie up if at all possible.

Lyra Follows

Our friends Melissa and Scott on Lyra are leaving Thursday morning too, heading to Sarasota.

We get a pump out and soon after that Lyra follows up behind us as we head into Tampa Bay. The waves are a little choppy, mostly from boat waves.

It’s an ok ride for the most part. Lyra stays with us until Sarasota.

Melissa and Scott are heading to Marina Jack’s in Sarasota. Our Looper friends, Jim and Lynn Crowley on Acadia, are celebrating there as they have crossed their wake. We would love to celebrate with them but we need to get to Ft. Myers, on one engine, by Friday.

Trouble Hits

The Admiral is down below napping when she hears steps on the roof. Are we anchoring already?

I stumble up into the salon to a frantic Captain. Turns out he has just discovered the Blackburn Bridge is under repair and only opening sporadically. The next opening is two hours from now!

The Captain is furious at the Bridge tender. Why wasn’t this communicated over the marine radios?

To make it worse, when he asks for the height restriction on the bridge, the bridge tender won’t give that information, afraid of liabilities (if someone were to try to make it and doesn’t.) 

The Captain discovers the height restriction is nine feet, and with our rooftop radio equipment dismantled we should make it.

I get on the bow to watch. A fisherman in a boat just beyond the bridge yells “you can make it.”

We proceed and sure enough, we barely clear the bridge.

The Captain Takes a Plunge

What happens next is not good. At all.

As Pat is on top screwing the radar back on, he gets in a tizzy thinking I am steering the boat too far right where it is shallow.

He hurries down and slips under the railing into the water.

Luckily there is a fender tied parallel to the boat that he is hanging onto. The boat is moving, at a slow speed but moving. He yells for me to “put it in neutral!” I do not know how to do that.

I do now.

A boat with three passengers approaches our boat. One man jumps aboard. He looks at the dashboard and says “what the hell?” He can’t figure out neutral either.

He says to me, “We are going to turn the key and kill the engine.”

And we do.

Somehow we get Captain Pat back into the boat.

“Are you sure you are ok? You got pretty banged up,” asks our rescuer.

Patrick is shaken and stunned but says he is fine. Please, he says, just let us get back to driving.

The man (we didn’t even get his name) gets back on his boat.

We are forever grateful for him.

If you don’t believe in miracles – you should. WE DO.

Forever Remorseful

We get Captain Pat’s drenched clothes off and dry ones on. We are shaken but ok. It was a tragedy that fortunately ended well.

I contemplated not writing this into the blog. But it is a big part of the trip. One that I am not proud of. But one that needs repeating, especially if my words can convince another first mate to know how to drive the boat before embarking on such a journey as the Great Loop.

I can think things like, he was so upset and in a tizzy; he shouldn’t have slipped; why didn’t he yell “turn the key off.”

But the bottom line is – I should know how to drive the boat. We should practice safety drills. Actually go through the motions – not just read about them or have a safety checklist.

Patrick said afterwards the whole incident took only twenty minutes. But what a scary twenty minutes it was.

As a follow-up – a few days ago we see the following AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association) Facebook post. It is a little late for us.

Today we hear from fellow Looper Bill Sundstrom on Crustacean that the Blackburn Bridge is now permanently closed for repair. You cannot travel south of there on the intracoastal. You have to go outside on the ocean. We are fortunate to have that part of the trip behind us.

A New Day

Friday, December 8, we awaken to a new day and a new start. On to Ft. Myers to meet Frank on Saturday and fix this engine.

The trip to the marina is uneventful. Thank goodness, after yesterday.

The channel to the marina is so shallow Captain Pat has to keep his eyes peeled to the charts and to the water.

Finally we make it to Port Sanibel Marina.

Docking Is A Challenge

We approach and cannot find the slip number. Supposedly a dock hand is to meet us. We don’t see anyone.

The wind is blowing and on one engine it is impossible to keep the boat in check.

Captain Pat pulls up to a long dock and proclaims “This is where we are docking.”

Two dockhands finally show up, We are frantic and say some things we later regret. They did not realize we were on one engine (even though we had told the marina staff person that a number of times.) They apologize, we apologize, and Sunshine is docked safely for the night.

Wonderful Visit with Tracy and Tom

Our friends Tracy and Tom live in Bonita Springs and have been following our trip. Tracy and Tom moved from Boca Raton to Bonita Springs about five years ago. They tell us they will drive to Ft. Myers and visit us once we are near them.

What a special treat! They brought us lots of goodies – even Skinny Pop, the Captain’s favorite!

They treat us to a nice dinner at Bimini Bait Shack. I wasn’t expecting much, thinking this was a local fish diner. Were we ever surprised. The place was packed, with great live music and amazing food.

Thank you, Tracy and Tom, we so appreciate your generosity and friendship. We look forward to returning the favor. And a trip together to the races in Lexington!

We are ready for a good night’s sleep. and praying Frank will be able to fix that port engine tomorrow.

Frank To the Rescue

Once again – Frank pulls through. In spades.

Saturday he arrives around nine. Boy, are we happy to see him.

After diagnosing the problem, he says the bolt the other mechanics said was too difficult to remove, is actually on plate. The plate is very easy to remove! Frank takes the plate to his mechanic’s van, removes the bolt easily, and is back on the boat in a flash to install the new tensioner.

Two hours later the job is finished! Again we marvel at what an unbelievable mechanic he is. A true blessing.

Thank you, Frank! You were a Godsend all during the many hours of preparation for our Great Loop. And here you are at the finish line, helping us again!

Now to Cross Lake Okeechobee

Saturday, December 10, we are feeling great that both boat engines are now operable. We begin to plan the final part of our journey – crossing Lake Okeechobee to Stuart, then West Palm Beach and finally Boca Raton.

We think we can make it to the first lock – Franklin Lock – on Sunday, December 11, and then to Roland Martin’s in Clewiston on Monday. Tuesday we will cross Lake Okeechobee, and stay in Stuart at Sunset Bay Marina a couple of nights. We will anchor one night in North Palm Beach.

We could be home by Friday, December 15!

Or so we think.