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Cruising Southwest Florida in company with friends how much easier and more fun can it get?by Daria Blackwell ![]() We booked everything more than 6 months in advance and waited for the time to arrive when we’d be on our way. We used two different charter companies, both based in Burnt Store Marina, about an hour’s drive from the spanking new airport outside of Fort Myers. The boats they had in charter ranged from a 32 foot Island Packet ("Island Park-It" as we came to lovingly refer to it) to several catamarans and a Island Packet 485. Our fleet captain collected “internet ratings” for all the boats so we could “race” from port to port. Each destination was assigned a port captain so we could spread the responsibility for the arrangements. The group selected an itinerary that offered about as varied a cruise as you can plan. We had short hops across the ICW and long offshore hops out into the Gulf of Mexico . We had stops in remote destinations reminiscent of old Florida and layovers in posh resorts and private enclaves. We had a little of everything including weather.
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The islands off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico form a portion of the interior passage known as the Intracoastal Waterway. There are passages between the islands into the Gulf as well as complete inland routes where you never have to go “outside.” What that does, however, is introduce a second system of markings on aids to navigation. This system is unique to the ICW government marks and helps to identify and distinguish the ICW route where it crosses other marked channels and bodies of water. It’s like a designated route within the overall waterway system. A highway of sorts.
The ICW system of numbering is slightly different from the traditional convention of buoyage. If you use the rule of thumb “Red, right, returning to Texas ” you’ll be pretty spot on. Basically red is always aligned with the land side.
Most aids to navigation along the ICW are day markers or lighted markers, not buoys. A typical marker will be about 15 feet high and mounted on a piling. The green markers have odd numbers and the red ones even numbers just like in the conventional system.
Every ICW navigation marker has yellow reflective device-a horizontal stripe, square or triangle-to denote it as an ICW marker. You’ll find these yellow devices especially useful where the ICW crosses or merges with another channel or body of water, something which frequently results in a confusing array of buoys and other aids to navigation so it pays to remain vigilant. The conventional system still follows the “red, right, returning” rule.
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To read about the destinations, please click here.
Thursday afternoon March 15.“As I am sure most of you are aware, we have a winter storm bearing down on us that may affect our ability to get to
Florida as planned. For those of you traveling on Jet Blue, the airline has issued a travel warning and is allowing travelers to change flights without penalty, if they so choose. Friday morning March 16As the first of the bad news began filtering in, it started to look like things were not going to go well for the 60+ cruisers heading down to the West Coast of Florida for a well-deserved, painstakingly planned charter flotilla of 15+ boats. “We are at jet blue at JFK and on the 6 am which is on time. Many cancelled flights including the 7 am and 7:45 am. Thank goodness we changed flights to this one. Good luck to all!!” (I guess there’s a reason why he’s the Commodore!) “Flight on Jet Blue this afternoon has been cancelled and nothing is flying out tomorrow. It doesn't look like we'll make it until Sunday, although we're investigating options right now. The Brown’s 7am flight out of JFK was cancelled and they are at JFK trying to get a flight to Orlando. Who knows where their luggage is.” The storm hit on Thursday evening with wind and rain. It followed on the heels of several unseasonably warm days that brought temperatures up into the mid-to-high 70s on the Ides of March. The temperature plummeted throughout Friday as the nasty nor’easter pummeled the East Coast with freezing rain, hail, sleet, snow and ice. It was a particularly nasty mix, which in New York City created a ground cover like a giant slurpy. In New Jersey, the situation was worse. The icy mixture froze on the ground creating a mix that set into an impenetrable cement-like layer over everything. Our snow blower couldn’t even scrape it forget about shovelling. Newark airport closed, Jet Blue cancelled hundreds of flights, and the saga continued. "We boarded on time on Jet Blue at JFK (6am) and they have just managed to free us from the ice. We are on our way to de-ice. Already a 2 hour delay. I estimate we will be airborne by 9am!" It seems JFK was fairing better than Newark, where the cement mixer was still dumping through the night. “All flights out of
Newark
were canceled till 1200. After many attempts online and 2 hours on hold on two phones still holding on one, we have just rebooked on CO1729 out of
Newark
departing today, Saturday. Looks like we’re going to miss dinner but will make it in time for the obligatory St Paddy’s Day cocktails! The rag tag fleet straggled into Fort Myers two by three by four, ready for a parteeee! |
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