Sarasota Bound: The Home Stretch

FORT MYERS FLORIDA TO SARASOTA FLORIDA

We departed Legacy Harbour Marina at 6:37 AM and began a 79 NM run that would take us west on the Caloosahatchee River past Fort Myers and then north on the Gulf ICW to Red Fish Pass where we head west and then north on the Gulf of Mexico to Sarasota Big Pass.

Passing South Seas Resort on Captive Island
Red Fish Pass is just ahead.

The weather was spectacular and forecasted to remain so throughout the day.

However, this segment poses three challenges, all of which involve shallow water. These include Red Fish Pass, Sarasota Big Pass and the waters just off Siesta Key.

Redfish Pass according to Active Captain is passable and well marked. We negotiated this pass last May albeit with a little confusion related to a missing lighted buoy just north of the pass. As shown in the photo below, the channel appears to go over a shoal with a two foot depth at waypoint 1395. We draw 5 feet of water so this becomes an obvious concern. No problem. We followed the buoys and found adequate depth where the chart says there is none. Bottom line. Shoals move around, Still it raises the blood pressure. We were clear of the shoals by 10:00 AM.

 Our track through Red Fish Pass
Notice that we appear to be traveling over a shallow water

Red Fish Pass

The next challenge is Sarasota Big Pass, which is anything but "big" and badly misnamed.  The sandbar here also moves around.  Fortunately, Sarasota Yacht Club (SYC) provides GPS coordinates for the path through the shoal along with private navigation marks, Morgan and I plotted the coordinates on the chartplotter as we headed north to the pass. We found that the path had shifted slightly since last spring. When we ran the course at 3:33 PM just after low tide we found at least 2 feet of water under the keel. SYS states the controlling depth as 5.5 feet at mean low water.

Sarasota Big Pass looking northeast

Notice the barely passable area in the lower left corner

Explanatory Note: I experienced a soft grounding (no damage) here last November. As a result, I plotted the SYS coordinates on the tender's GPS last May and ran the course on the tender to verify the controlling depth. I also got lucky and followed a 70 foot party fishing boat over the recommended course, which comes within 200 feet of where we grounded.

The shoaling off Siesta Key also posed a challenge as it is very poorly marked. We experienced a low water alarm as we passed this tricky spot and the sonar showed one foot of water under the boat. My sonar is calibrated to account for the distance between the transducer and the keel, Hence, when it says there is a foot of water under the boat it is accurate. Too close for comfort. I adjusted the waypoints on my route to move us away from this low spot.

Bottom line. After just under ten hours of cruising is calm seas we arrived at Marina Jack and pulled into our slip (D-11).

"We made it!" Morgan, Les and Guy (after 9 days together)

On hand to meet us were our good friends Dick and Marjorie Singer with a bottle of champagne. Dick, along with Phil Fuoco, crewed in May 2014 on the run north and then again in November 2014 run south.

Les with former crew member and good friend Dick Singer

Dick and Marjorie, Morgan and Amber, Guy and myself then adjourned to Marina Jacks' gourmet restaurant for a celebratory dinner. Following the dinner, Guy and I shared a bottle of Hardy VSOP Cognac with my neighbor Hank Williams. Winter in Sarasota was off to a great start.

Guided Discovery safe and sound at Marina Jack

Data: Fort Myers to Sarasota

• Distance this segment: 79 NM
• Time enroute: 9.8 hours
• Fuel used: 80 gallons

Data: Hingham to Sarasota

• Distance traveled: 1,423.4 NM
• Time nroute: 174 hours
• Days enroute: 9 days
• Number of Stops: 1 pit stop and 2 overnight
• Fuel purchased:1,671.3 gallons
• Fuel used: 1,5658.2 gallons
• Average cost per gallon: $2.444 including tax

Written by Les