Kim Jo IV: Cayo Costa State Park anchorage

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Cayo Costa State Park anchorage

Tuesday, 12-30-2014: We only had about 12 miles to go for the day and it was a good thing because we woke up to dense fog and it hung around until about 11:00. We finally got going at 11:35 and had to wait 15 minutes for the Boca Grande Bridge to open at noon. This was our last bridge for a while. We crossed Charlotte Harbor/Boca Grande Pass right after the bridge. We started out with clear visibility but half way across it fogged in again; almost to zero visibility. The CO had to turn the radar on. Our anchorage for the next few day is at Cayo Costa State Park and it is a very popular anchorage; both for Loopers and local boaters. We always try to stop here. We put 50 feet of anchor rode out with 2.3' of water under the props at low tide. After lunch, we put the dinghy back in the water and went for a ride over to the park.

I have always wanted to fish the Gulf and ICW for crab, lobster, snook, etc. It has been 5 years now and this year is the first time I bought a license. So, today, I put my crab trap out for the night and before dinner I fished for an hour or so. I loved every minute of it; didn’t catch anything, but I did get a few bits.

For the last two to three week we have been hearing popping and crackling sounds on our hull and we can’t figure out what it is. We just had the bottom painted and Keith thought it might be something to do with the bottom paint. We have checked with Dog River Marine who painted the bottom for us and we have also called the paint manufacture. Dog River thought it might be barnacles but didn’t know for sure. Keith checked the bottom and every thing is smooth. So far it remains a mystery.

In looking back to the first part of December; we always wanted to do the Big Bend instead of the all night Gulf crossing. We were looking forward to anchoring our way around the bend of Florida and exploring all the nooks and crannies. But, due to the weather, we were not able to do that. We are; however, anchoring as much as possible. Since leaving Mobile, AL, we have anchored 16 out of 20 days so far and plan to do a lot more. It has been great fun. We could never do this without our inverter.

CO's comment: Always something; weird sounds, fog, etc. Always a challenge.