What to expect on the 3 Day Pelican Bay / Cays Costa & Cabbage Key
By far, this is my favorite cruise. This cruise lets us experience it all in just three days of sailing. These two ports are special. You will not come off of this cruise with high blood pressure. You will enjoy a relaxed trip and take home very special memories.
We will leave in the morning and head to the outside. This route takes us into the Gulf of Mexico around Sanibel Island and along the coast of South & North Captiva Islands. We will enter Charlotte Harbor at Boca Grande and head south into Pelican Bay.
Pelican Bay is a shallow anchorage that is popular with the cruising community here in Southwest Florida. As we pull into the bay we will be facing Caya Costa. This is a 7.5 mile long and 1 mile wide uninhabited island. There are a couple of rangers that stay there and keep things up.
Once we drop the hook and settle in, we can launch the dingy and take head to the island to explore, or putt around the bay and look for dolphin, eagles and other island wildlife. You may decide to maybe just stay onboard and enjoy the anchorage the view and the sunset. Just kick back and listen to music read a book; shoot photos or whatever you want to do.
During the early evening hours, I will prepare our evening meal. I love to cook on the Star of Orion. She has a well-appointed galley and a BBQ on the stern rail. I can whip up some pretty nice dishes. We’ll discuss these when you are ready to plan your trip.
During the evening, you can play cards, write in your journal, and don’t forget the great games I have onboard… Morgan’s Revenge, the Bimini Ring game, cribbage or we can put on a movie and have a movie night. Capt. Ron is always a favorite. (Favorite of mine anyway.) I’ll also be checking the tides, charts and weather for the next day.
In the morning I’ll cook breakfast. You can have coffee or tea on the deck and watch the morning wake up. It’s truly a peaceful place to be. On the rising tide, we’ll way anchor and head out into Charlotte Harbor for a day of sailing. Charlotte Harbor is a sailor’s paradise. It has protected smooth water and a lot of it.
When the time is right, we will head south on the Intracoastal Waterway to Cabbage Key. This will be our stop for the second night.
Cabbage Key is a quaint little island that has a few cabins that can be rented a small marina and a great restaurant. We will either grab a slip at the marina or drop anchor just off of Useppa Island and dingy in.
Cabbage Key Restaurant is a great place to visit. It has a small bar with dollar bills taped up everywhere. In fact there are bills everywhere in the restaurant. You should put one up to. You never know when you will stop by again and need a buck or two. You will be able to choose to eat at the restaurant or on Star of Orion. That will be decided while we are in the pre-planning stage of your trip.
Don’t forget to take the nature trail to the ancient Indian shell mound behind the restaurant. It’s just a way to see “Old Florida.”
Once again, we will spend the night together on Star of Orion and I’ll plan our departure for the morning.
On the morning of day three, we will head south through the Intracoastal Waterway past the islands and work our way through the Sanibel Causeway Bridge to open water and sail back to Matanzas Pass and our home port at Salty Sam’s Marina.
This cruise is very, very special. If you are looking for a way to spend some time on the sea and see some places that you will cherish forever, please consider contacting me about going to Pelican Bay, Charlotte Harbor & Cabbage Key.
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