My little heart is going pit-a-pat as we start preparing for our (very short 2024 cruising season.
We have three objectives. First, this is essentially sea trials after Hurricane Ian and a year living in Texas.
I'm confident the solar panels work. The semi-flexible panels on deck are a mess, but produce current, so we'll stick with them for the few weeks we'll be aboard and replace them next year.
So far, the South Gulf Coast Lock and Santa Cruz Channel information suggests we're in good shape.
See: http://charlotteharborboatstorage.com/map-directions
This has a new sketch diagram of the Santa Cruz Channel that's worth it's weight in gold.
Also, see this:
http://charlotteharborboatstorage.com/2024/01/12/marine-advisory-south-gulf-cove-lock
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2024) – The South Gulf Cove lock is currently operating exclusively in manual mode. Lock tenders will manually operate the lock between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Boaters must use the manual button after 7 p.m. The pull chains are not working.
I think this is good news for us. We won't be transiting after dark.
We expect to launch on the 15th. High tide is at 8:00 PM. It makes sense to wait until after lunch to transit the Santa Cruz channel and the Interceptor Lake.
Secondary Objective
We'd really like to see the Flamingo Nest on Skimmer Island. This is near 26°30.4870′N, 82°01.6456′W. There's a channel W of Kitchel Key that's charted at over 6′ of depth and gets us to about a half-mile away in what looks like a sheltered spot.
Skimmer Island is just north of the Miserable Mile. It looks like it's a spoil area. It's surrounded by a Manatee Protection Zone.
One choice is to turn at Green 101 in the Calooahatchee River and drop the hook outside the channel near green 1 in San Carlos Bay. But. That doesn't seem as much fun as poking around in a side-channel.
Also, the Fisherman's Key and Kitchel Key anchorages look a little more sheltered.
And Also
We want to know where to get Fuel and Water.
We've gotten water in Fort Myers Beach mooring field. That involves using our Dinghy Bladder and (slow) transfer pump. We haven't purchased fuel, yet. The transfer pump business is boring and takes a long time. But, it's also a very necessary boat job, and lets us hang around in the fresh air and sunshine.
We're going to try places like Fisherman's Village Marina. We know we can get in and out at Burnt Store, since we have a sister ship there.