Florida West Coast

Thanks to Carey and Bobbie on Catspaw, we pressed on from Marathon to explore these Florida West Coast locations:

• Shark River anchorage in the Everglades
• Marco Island, Factory Bay anchorage
• Fort Myers Beach mooring field
• Cabbage Key anchorage in Pine Island Sound for Cheeseburgers
• Pelican Bay anchorage to explore Cayo Costa State Park and beach
• Punta Gorda anchorage in Peace River to discover this great town
• Charlotte Harbor sailing with Boca Grande Inlet access to sea
• Offshore sailing Boca Grande Inlet to Key West Fl, 135 nm direct

 The West coast of Florida is SPECTACULAR with great sailing, beautiful harbors and very friendly people. We only explored 1/3 of the west coast and there is plenty more to discover by boat. We can now see why Charlotte Harbor is a boating center because the sailing is wonderful and the anchorages plentiful. We had many dolphin swimming with Island Spirit as we sailed from Punta Gorda back to Pelican Bay. What a pleasure to see these beautiful animals in the wild, so playful, under our bow. West Coast of Florida...we need to come back....we need to discover more....

Our best photos of this section....

Radeen with the crowds at Cayo Costa State Park

A view to the south....no one except us and birds...Radeen reading Randy Wayne White's "The Heat Islands"

A view to the north....no one...this is Cayo Costa State Park, FL, accessible only by boat

Pelican Bay anchorage off Cayo Costa State Park, the opposite side of the beach

Our buddy boat, IP-460 Cutter Loose, off Punta Gorda in Peace River

Sailing Charlotte Harbor on a Monday AM

Sunset off shore, "red at night....."

Sunset offshore melting into the sea

Look at the beautiful colors...

After this, the winds picked up to 15-20 knots all night long.
Perfect sailing in beam winds for 135 nm.

Cabbage Key, cheeseburger in paradise, famous dollar bar

Radeen off Island Spirit in Pelican Bay, Fl

Our best Cayo Costa Beach Photo....

This Park Ranger lives on Cayo Costa and shared an Island History presentation with us

The ICEHOUSE PUB in Punta Gorda, what a great place for a cold beer

Radeen enjoys the dolphin show off the bow of Island Spirit, Charlotte Harbor

We are now in Key West and our first Florida West Coast sail has ended. We will prepare for our good friends Wendy and Craig's arrival on Sat am. Together, we will enjoy Key West for a few days at the popular Galleon Marina and then maybe we can entice them to go for a sail up Hawk's Channel to anchor out on a nice sandy beach....ahhh....the Florida Keys in February....perfect!

GOOGLE MAP of this LOCATION