Ft. Myers Beach

We left Whidden's on Boca Grande in the morning of 17 Feb. and headed out of Charlotte Harbor back into the gulf. It was a nice big pass, but there were 6-8 foot swells, and breaking waves a few hundred yards off to the north. Once more than a mile out into the gulf (to avoid shoals) we turned left and followed Cayo Costa, the Captivas and Sanibel. The swell smoothed out once we were south of the pass. We followed the south tip of Sanibel to the east to Matanzas pass. We followed it in to behind Estero Island (Ft. Myers beach). We spent the night at a resort named Pink Shell. We walked to the gulf side at sunset, where the beach had this incredible fluffy white sand.

The plan was to get into the mooring field the next day, but it is run by the city, and is first come, first served. We headed over about mid-day, and while there were some empty moorings, they all had a life jacket, a fender, or even a dinghy attached. This is apparently the equivalent of a sock on the door. 

Since we couldn't get a mooring that day, back we went to the Pink Shell marina. We walked back down the island, which is just one big resort and party. I can't imagine what this pace is like during spring break.

We decided to move on in the morning. There is a small mooring field in Naples that we thought we could get into.

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