To Franklin lock

2-26 thru 2-27-2011

We left Burnt Store Marina at 9:30 the next morning and we were back in the Gulf ICW by 11:00 am. We had some chop in Charlotte Harbor with waves 1-2 feet, but by the time we were in the ICW it was milder. We are headed for Ding Darling anchorage, at Sanibel Island. We arrived there about 2:00 pm. There were several motor vessels and sailboats already anchored. “The Old Grouch” came in after us.

 As we were finishing our dinner we saw a small boat coming through the anchorage. He pulled up to several boats so we thought he might be a park ranger or something. When he got to our boat he told us he was looking for terrorist and asked if we had seen any. We told him the boat behind us (“The Old Grouch”) was from Canada and we weren’t sure about them. Those of you that know Shay know that he has never met a stranger, so of course they started talking. Ieli finally tied up to our boat, got out his Hungarian plum brandy, and offered us a sip. We tried it and it was pretty good. I went below and cleaned up dishes and Shay and Ieli talked for a couple of hours. He told us he had a cattle farm in Arkansas and a potato farm in Maine. He tried to get us to stay another day and come visit him. We explained we had to leave. He gave us his name, phone number and address and told us to let him know when we came back thru. When it started getting dark he decided he’d better head home. Since it was getting cool, he took another drink of brandy to keep him warm, and headed home. He was a very interesting character with a heavy Hungarian accent. We decided he’s like the older men in our hometown that go to the mall or a fast food place everyday to meet friends and “shoot the bull”. Instead of jumping in his car, he got in his dinghy and went to the local anchorage. Wonder if he every sees any “terrorist” and what he would do with them if he did?

            Sunset at Ding Darling anchorage.  Wonder how it got its name?

     We left the next morning heading to our next destination. We had problems with our autopilot. The fluxgate compass was off 180 degrees and caused the chart plotter to display the boat running backwards. Every time we tried to activate it, it wanted to turn the boat around 180 degrees. So we had to steer the boat by hand until we could get it figured out. That doesn’t sound that bad, but it was very confusing with the boat symbol going backwards on the chart plotter but in the correct position on the chart. We called several people, on both the VHF radio and phone trying to find someone to help us. So “the Admiral” as Shay calls me, got out the manual on the autopilot and found instructions on how to align the autopilot’s fluxgate compass with the GPS heading. Following the instructions we were able to align the fluxgate compass with the GPS heading and this turned the boat symbol around and pointed it the correct direction on the chart plotter. Like magic, we were able to use the auto pilot again, which makes driving the boat much easier. We had gone through the “miserable mile” at Fort Myers without using the autopilot. We didn’t really understand why it was called “miserable mile”, but it was sure miserable for us.

 We passed by all the tall buildings and marinas at Fort Myers on to our first lock, the WP Franklin Lock. Let me explain what going through a lock involves. You go into the lock, get close to the concrete sides, grab lines on the bow and stern, hold on while the gates are closed and water is let either into or out of the lock. When the water level equals the water level on the other side of the lock the gates open, you drop your lines and take off. It may sound simple, but bringing a 49 foot boat up against a concrete wall in the wind and waves in not simple. We were lucky, the wind was calm and Shay brought the bow close to the line, I grabbed it then he ran back to the stern. This lock only changed about 2 feet. We were surprised by the swift current as the water level quickly changed.

 When I looked for pictures I was surprised we didn’t have any. Thinking back, I guess we were to busy when we were going in and coming out to stop and take a picture. Sometimes on a boat you miss those “Kodak moments” ‘cause you don’t have time to stop.

A picture of the Franklin Lock with the RV park and small marina on the right end of the island.

Just past the lock is a small marina/RV campground ran by the Army Corps of Engineers. We decided to spend the night here since the cost was only $24.00 per night. We got checked in and met some our neighbors. Did I mention that Shay has never met a stranger? One couple told us about a creek we could explore by dinghy. We had only planned to spend the night but Shay was still tired from the crossing and we decided we’d stay 2 nights instead of one.

 This is a beautiful place. Across from our dock, the anchorage is covered in water lilies. We saw what looked like thousands of birds nesting in a tree nearby. When we checked in we ask if there were any alligators in these waters. The attendant told us one usually sunned on either side of the lock. He looked around but didn’t see either one. He said if I really wanted a picture to push Shay in and start taking pictures, it wouldn’t be long before the gator would be chasing him across the water. I decided that wouldn’t be a good idea, since it takes at least 2 people to handle “Escape”. I have already told Shay that he has job security as my husband as long as we have the boat, since I need him to drive. Later that evening, just at dusk we saw a pair of eyes and a nose swimming across the waterway. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was a gator. We had noticed a swimming area on the other side of the lock. I don’t think I want to get in this water, since the gator can go from one side of the lock to the other without waiting for the lock master to let him pass.

The next morning we got the dinghy down off the boat. For those of you that don’t know what a dinghy or dink is, ours is a 10 foot 2 inch long fiberglass hull with an inflatable tube around it. Ours has a 15 horsepower Honda outboard, that will make it fly. We headed east on the Caloosahatchee River to the Hinckley Creek. We went by some beautiful houses on the river and turned into the creek. We were told we could travel 4-5 miles back into the creek. We were told to go until we thought we couldn’t go any further and then keep going about 2 more miles.

We saw turtles sunning on the banks, sunning on logs, and swimming under the water.

 The banks were covered in palm trees and other lush vegetation. The trees were so thick in some places, they blocked out the sky. The water was covered with water lilies, but I was disappointed since only a few were blooming.

It looked like a scene out of an Indiana Jones movie. I expected “natives” to be standing around every turn with spears in their hands.

Every time we thought we’d come to the end, we’d go a little further and see another bend in the creek. The further we traveled the fewer houses we saw.

We finally decided to turn around and start back. We decided we would be in big trouble if we hit something and messed up the prop on the engine.

  Just before we left the creek, we saw gator eyes sink under the water --twice. Shay slowed down but I told him I didn’t want to get “up close and personal with a gator”, so we moved on. We decided if we’d seen them going in we might not have gone so far back into the creek.

          

Back at the boat, we put the dingy up, visited with the De Fever next to us, and then settled in for another quiet night on the water.

We were so glad we took this side trip. I bet this will be one of the highlights of our travels.

Next we are off to La Belle.