A Day In The Dinghy

Saturday, February 13 - Yesterday we left Venice and traveled in the Gulf of Mexico from Venice to Pine Island Sound.  Because of a bridge closure, we had to wait for good water conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. It turned out to be a great day to make this passage.  When we arrived at Pine Island Sound, we went into a very secluded anchorage called Punta Blanca South.  To get into thia anchorage, you have to cruise through a very narrow channel just offshore of the island.  Being that close to the island is disconcerting, but we made it into the anchorage with no difficulties.  The anchorage was indeed beautiful and we were the only boat there.  We watched an Osprey eating a fish, but sadly the Dolphins, who we were told would visit the bay, were elsewhere that day.  

                                    LeeLoo Anchored For The Night In Punta Blanca South

On Saturday, we took the dinghy to Cabbage Key to have lunch at a well-known restaurant called the Cabbage Key Inn.  The only way to get there is by boat.  After lunch we toured the island and saw several tortoises ambling about. At one point, there was sign to watch out for alligators, but we did not see any.  

                                 The Marker For Cabbage Key - Accessible Only By Boat

                                                        Tortoise On Cabbage Key

                                    Captain Carey With A Tortoise On Cabbage Key

Because we knew we would be taking the dinghy on extended trips, we purchased a second battery for the Torqeedo.  Our Torqeedo is like an electric outboard motor.  It's advantage is that it breaks down into several smaller pieces so it is easy to install and remove from the dinghy.  It's disadvantage is that it doesn't push the dinghy very fast, so it took about an hour to get to get to Cabbage Key and another hour to get back to LeeLoo.  After checking to be sure that LeeLoo was safe at anchor, we changed batteries in the Torqeedo and took the dinghy to Cayo Costa State Park.  This is another location that is accessible only by boat.  Once on the island, we walked for 3/4 of a mile on a sand road to get to the beach on the Gulf side of the island.  It was getting late, so we turned around and walked most of the way back before getting picked up by a shuttle tram.  After a brief stop for ice cream (for Carey), we took the dinghy back to LeeLoo.  Because the wind was pushing us on the way back to LeeLoo, the return trip went much fast that the trip to the island.