We returned from spending Christmas in Wisconsin with our family on the 27th and had intended to shove off to our next destination the next morning. Upon further consideration, we decided to stay one more day at Salty Sam’s to give us time for a few chores. It took a little bit of discussing, but the marina agreed to let us stay one more day. They were booked solid as people came in for New Year’s. We enjoyed a late dinner at Parrot Key Caribbean restaurant on the 27th and called it a night.

On the 28th, I worked, Wendy had groceries delivered, and we prepped the boat. I also took on the task of replacing the zincs in the engine exhausts (it took a couple of tries to get the right ones) and replace the raw water impeller on the starboard engine. This was a task that looks really easy on paper but actually involves several hours of work and an entirely new vocabulary of profanity.

On the 29th, I worked for a while in the morning. We only has a dozen miles to go to our intended destination, so I planned to take a long lunch to get there. We planned to spend a few days at an anchorage in a bay on the north side of Sanibel Island in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The forecast showed a few days of clear weather and southerly winds, so it seemed like a good spot to park for a few days.

We threw our bowlines off around 10 am and headed into the channel. We made a stop at Moss Marina for fuel and a pump-out ($25!!!) before chugging across the bay at about 11 mph. The water was a bit choppy and there were a lot of boats churning up the water. It’s remarkable how many rental boats there are in the area and many of them were being driven by inexperienced boaters.

When we came into the Ding Darling bay, there were two sailboats at anchor and a few fishing boats trolling about. We tip-toed our way in while watching the sonar like a hawk. The shallowest we saw was 5.4 feet, but the middle of the bay is a big bowl that was 7 feet. We found our spot, dropped the hook, and I logged back in for an afternoon of work. I’ve worked in worse offices.

After sunset, the wind died down a little and we enjoyed a wonderful night on the hook.