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On to Cayo Costa. March 24 Miles 45.6. Total Miles 77.1

 Day 2

Woke to a gorgeous day and tackled our morning routine, so we could head further south to Cayo Costa, an island south of Boca Grande Pass.

Will travel through Sarasota's Bays - Roberts and Little Sarasota, which are filled with mangrove islands  and have shores lined with homes.


We came upon a marker that an osprey had called home.  


Leaving Sarasota behind, we went through an old swing bridge (the only original one left on the west coast) and entered Blackburn Bay.



At the end of Blackburn Bay we went under the Albee Road Bridge where a number of pelicans decided to congregate and visit! 


We then cruised past the beautiful Venice Inlet and into the city of Venice.


Once past most of the city we travel through what we affectionately call "The Ditch".  Essentially it is a canal dug through Venice to allow the Intracoastal Waterway to continue south and connect to Lemon Bay.


 
As the ditch ends we make a turn and we could see how the hurricanes of last season ravaged the coast.   In the shot you can see the Gulf of Mexico through the vegetation left on the land.


Next we travel through Lemon Bay and past Manasota Key and the towns of Englewood Beach and Knights and Palm Islands.  Lots of vacation homes now cover these barrier islands.


Above is a picture of Bill with his Gumby navigational assistant.  Gumby helps keep Bill straight as to which side of the boat he takes the red marker.  Gumby has helped him numerous times to keep us in the channel!

As we leave Lemon Bay, the Intracoastal narrows and then opens up into Gasparilla Sound and its barrier islands Little Gasparilla and Gasparilla.  Fun information about Gasparilla Island - There is an old lodge for those who fish these waters.  It is quite unique with a big wooden bar and pictures of men and women dressed in slacks and long skirts proudly displaying their tarpon catch of the day!! Also there used to be lots of stilted ice house in the bay for those fishing to keep their catches on ice while they continued fishing.   Today, all that is left of the ice houses a few support poles standing upright in the water.  Below is a chart of the area.


Gasparilla Sound empties into Charlotte Harbor which reaches up into the mainland where the cities of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte are located.  We will stay near the coast and cross Boca Grand Pass at the entrance to Charlotte Harbor and continue a bit further south to tuck in behind Cayo Costa Island to anchor for the night.


Here is a shot of our anchorage which we are sharing with 16 other boats.




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