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I started in Punta
Gorda at Laishley Park Marina where I
launched the boat and started my trek South. The ramp is OK at high
tide for small sailboats. Launching was OK but pulling the boat back
out even with an extension on the hitch required backing into the water
quite a ways. The end of the ramp is clearly marked and I still had a
few feet to go even with the back wheels a foot or two into the
water. The staff here is very friendly and helpful, the
facilities are new and very clean. US 41 bridge can be seen in the
background. Once clear of the two bridges Charlotte Harbor is to the
West then South. My first destination was Bull Bay, where
Tom, Sue and Chris stopped by and fished for awhile.
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Chris caught a few small
hardtails while rafted up in Bull Bay. This was a slow sailing
day and had to motor the last half of the trip down the harbor.
The next day the winds really started to pick up. I stayed put
and moved closer to shore and set out a second anchor in preparation
for the cold front. The second night I had wind gust of 34
knots. The next day I saw very few people fishing in the bay with
winds in the upper 20 knot range. The following day was more
reasonable and I was finally able to move down to Regal Island.
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Sailed down the ICW in Pine
Island <br soft>sound toward Regal Island. It was a
beautiful day after the cold front passed through. It was very dry and
no clouds. After anchoring, I fished and caught and <br
soft>released a few small sea trout.
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Sailed out Redfish Pass early
one morning and put sails up and headed South. I wanted to avoid the
miserable mile and all the headaches associated with the ICW. Instead I
was too far offshore and once out of the lee of Sanibel Island had to
contend with some fairly rough seas. As I got closer to Naples
things calmed down and I had no trouble going in to Gordon's
pass. Anchored in a residential area. This pIcture is
looking North East from the anchorage. The next two photos were
south of the anchorage.
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Okbayou tied up on the seawall in front of the historic Rod and Gun
Resort.
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formerly The Rod and Gun Club
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looking upstream on the Baron River
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