Alarm went off at 0400 this morning… way too early but we needed to be to Fort Myers around 1000. Plans were to go to meet my sons and families at their church for the 1100 service and then go out for lunch… the last visit till we return to Florida this winter.

I had not really slept well due to the winds… 20 knots all night long… being the first night on the hook in several months you always have that anxiety especially with winds at 20 knots. Anchor alarm was on but you sleep with one eye open and get up and check every unfamiliar noise. Everything sounds different than what you hear tied to a dock. So, when the alarm went off it was sort of a relief and I popped out of bed and had the engines running and all the electronics fired up by 0410. Susan was up and ready to assist with the anchor retrieval… 0420 anchor was up, Susan was back in bed with Beecha and we were underway.

Winds were remained at 20 knots… a little choppy but fairly protected waters so it was not an uncomfortable ride at all. There was a full moon and it was very bright out and the radar was really redundant as I could see everything well ahead of the boat.

The best part was the sunrise… it was absolutely gorgeous. For about 45 minutes the sky turned every color in the rainbow until finally an orange ball popped up over the horizon… AWESOME!

Shortly after sunrise I received an email… “Trouble in Paradise”… from Jim and Peg Healy aboard “Sanctuary”… they had stopped on Saturday night at Cabbage Key for dinner and when they tried to leave… their boat would not start… We had planned to meet them on Sunday night somewhere around Franklin Locks and continue the trip north together. Something to do with their starter.

We had planned to stop and see the kids and when done continue on to Franklin Locks… with not meeting the Healy’s we decided to spent the night in Fort Myers and continue on Monday morning. We arrived to Fort Myers at approximately 0930 and were securely docked with power on at 0945. Our location for the night N26°38.848, W081°52.211. We traveled today for 5 hours 25 minutes covering 35.0 nautical miles averaging 6.5 knots.

We were able to spend about 5 hours with the kids and grandkids… had a great lunch at the Farmer’s Market Restaurant and ready for a nap now.

First day of our trek north to CT... we were happy to be underway but also very sad to say goodbye to our friends family in Punta Gorda. We had a great send off with everyone out to help and say goodbye.

We were underway at approximately 0900 and had the towboat in tow along side us. Once we got outside the marina we dropped the towboat to behind us and headed south... destination Pelican Bay.

Just south of Cape Haze marker #5 we were hailed on the VHF by two friends from fishermen's village... they were headed back to Punta Gorda on their sailboats... was great running into them and getting to say our goodbyes via VHF.

Just past marker #6 we were met by one of my fellow captains at TowBoatUS Charlotte Harbor... he come out to meet us so we could hand off my towboat to him... 5 minute hand off and we were back underway.

We arrived to Pelican Bay and were safely anchored at 1300 in approximate location N26°40.966, W082°14.442. We traveled today for 4 hours covering 20 nautical miles averaging 5 knots.

I spent the afternoon underwater cleaning the running gear and bottom of the boat. It was not bad for having done nothing to it for a year... but still took a about 3 hours... :)

We departed from Stamford, CT on November 10, 2014 and arrived to Punta Gorda, FL on December 13, 2014.

Overall: 33 days
Moving: 24 days
Stopped: 9 days
3 days in Atlantic City, NJ waiting for weather.
1 day in Chesapeake City, MD visit friends.
1 day in North Beach, MD waiting for weather.
3 days in Smithfield, VA visit friends.
1 day in Swansboro, NC visit friends.

Distance traveled: 1,633.75 statute miles
Moving: 222.5 hours
Averages:
68.1 statute miles per day
7.34 miles per hour
9 hours and 16 minutes per day

Marinas, Docks, Anchorages:
13 nights PAID docks
18 nights FREE docks
1 night anchored.