On our way . . . full throttle

Gasparilla Marina, where we spent a week while Morgan repowered the boat, has its good and bad points (no wifi), but overall it remains somewhere we will stop in the future, primarily because of the people we have interacted with. Jeff, the dockmaster, had his boat on the same dock where we were and was extremely helpful and accommodating. He and his wife were amused each time one of our Mutineers sauntered down the dock with or without us. Saturday we needed to get to town to hit the post office and a grocery store, so we stopped by the Waterside Grill, a brand new restaurant in the marina, to find out about calling a cab. Apparently taxi service is hit and miss, so we headed off on foot. Tom, the manager of the restaurant who had been looking for a phone book to call a taxi, soon came up behind us and offered us a ride to the post office. He had been willing to wait, but we still needed to get groceries, so we declined promising we would call if we needed a ride. With the free phone book from the post office (which was closed!) we stood at the Publix customer service counter trying to determine if we would be able to get a cab back to the Marina before we shopped. Bernice, the sweet customer service clerk, assured us she would give us a ride when we were done and her manager quickly agreed saying, "Yes, she's nice, but she's also dying to get out of the store for awhile!" So, we stocked up and were delivered back to the docks by Bernice. That evening, we took the phone book to Tom at the Grill; he laughed and thanked us. The Grill has some good food, better prices and the best bartender! Rick kept us in good drinks and conversation as we all laughed at the live entertainment - locals, including Willie, a commercial fisherman, and his very drunk companions. Mary, one of the entertainers, informed us she was auditioning for American Idol and gave us a preview. It may make the bloopers. I also have to add personal thanks for the other manager of the Grill (his name slipped my mind) who changed one of the tvs to Lost and graciously stayed open late so I could watch the entire season premier.

Sunday the 25th(?) Morgan completed installing the new Yamaha 9.9 outboards on the boat. The final step required something out of character for most men - he read the instructions! To give him his due, the new parts did not come with any instructions and he did a fabulous job getting everything in given the challenges he encountered. The engines did not come with steering friction locks and, of course, the new control cables didn't line up where the old ones were. (He could spell it out better, but, hey, I'm a girl!) He could have ordered them, but they wouldn't have been here for a week. Therefore, on board and on the dock, he managed to fabricate what he needed. The wiring was different also and he found a way to take of that. However, Sunday came and the final piece of the project had him stuck. I didn't understand it completely, but apparently the throttle wire had two extra inches that kept it stuck in full throttle. Before he headed to the showers, resigned to the fact that he would have to wait till the shop was open in the morning, he went through the boat's original documentation for the binnacle control (the piece that has the levers on it in the cockpit). Turns out, after reading the instructions, that he only had to reverse something in the binnacle and, presto, it worked! His comment to me was, "If I ever say I can't figure something out, ask me one question - 'Did you read the instructions?'"

Monday morning entailed gathering some last minute supplies at Ingman Marine, a pump out and beer run and we were on our way. The day was beautiful, though no wind, so we stayed inside the ICW. Along the way we saw the occasional porpoise, though they didn't hang around, and some unique housing - on stilts. Morgan said, "Can you imagine that call to your insurance company - 'Uh, I ran my boat into a house.'" We ended up anchored off of York Island, around the bend from Cape Coral. It had great holding, but we had wake from power boats most of the night.

Tuesday, we went through San Carlos Bay and into the Gulf. There was no wind, but the water was calm and we didn't go more than a mile or so offshore. Late in the afternoon, we turned to enter Gordon Pass. Another porpoise appeared, but this time he not only hung around, he was showing off. Nyla and I stood at the bow as the porpoise went around and under the boat. Each time he got close to the boat, he turned on his side and I swear it was to make eye contact. Then, he really started to show off. He zipped back and forth across the front of the bow, getting faster and faster with each pass. It was almost like he was saying to Nyla, "See what I can do that you can't?!" Gordon Pass brought us into a strictly residential area filled with houses you see in magazines. We've never anchored in someone's backyard before, but it was very quiet. The water was calm and, with the bow and stern anchors Morgan deployed, we didn't move all night.

Today, after possibly taking the dinghy into Naples, we plan to head to Goodland, another stop from last year. It should only be a few hours run, so we will have the afternoon to work on maintenance projects before heading to a unique restaurant we remember from last year. This time we'll take pictures. I'm still learning about the blog capabilities, but will get more pictures up soon.

Well, the day is passing quickly, so we'll get going for now (full throttle!)