034: Broken Things and a Nice Place

On Sunday, December 10^th, we had forty-eight n/m to go to get to the Cabbage Key Inn.   We couldn’t check in until 3:00 p.m. so that they could have the dock free for the lunch crowd.  That gave us a two-hour window until the bad weather was supposed to get in, so plenty of time, right?   Leave the mooring ball by 9:30 a.m., travel at eight+ n/m per hour, easy.

Nancy and I thought we’d dinghy into Sarasota for some Starbucks, but the dinghy engine wasn’t working.  This was not supposed to happen.  

I spent 2x the cost of a small gasoline engine for an electric outboard with less power.   Just plug in the battery and go!  No gas, no pull cord, no choke, etc. etc.    I did not buy one of the two most established brands (Torqueedo, E-Propulsion) but went with a brand I saw at the Seattle Boat show a few years back. Probably a mistake.

The last few times I used it, the motor was slow to turn on, but it did get going after some cord-jiggling.   Again, electrics are supposed to be plug in, turn switch, go.  My theory is that having fixed the dinghy’s leaking issue, Neptune wanted to mess with me some more.  No Starbucks for us today.

The offender:

 

We left as scheduled at 9:30 and were happily on our way.  At 10:30 a.m. we passed a big “looper” boat anchored just off the channel.  “Rude” was my thought.   As we passed him to approach a low bridge that is supposed to open on demand we got a radio call from him, “The bridge is broken, they are only going to open it at noon and at 4:00 pm.”   That explained his anchoring off the channel, and that is what we had to do as well.   

The bridge opened at noon, but now we were ninety minutes behind schedule with weather coming in.  The next few miles were slow going with lots of “no-wake” zones, so we were getting a bit worried about making it in my 5:00 p.m.

The offender, a swing bridge:

We did see interesting things on the ICW.

Osprey:

 

Santa on a jet ski:

Luckily the ICW did open up to some large bays and open water where the speed limit was 25 mph.   This enabled us to speed up to make lost time.   There were occasional no-wake zones around bridges or more built-up areas.    Typically there was a big sign letting you know that you were approaching a no-wake zone.   One sign was missing as both us and KatMat never saw it.  We passed a restaurant with a big no-wake sign so we slowed down and didn’t pay particular attention to a northbound boat (we were southbound).  About fifteen minutes later my phone rang from a Minnesota number.  I answered it and it was a woman on that northbound boat admonishing me for violating the no-wake limit.  (She got our phone number from our profile on the AGLCA website.)   I explained that while I did notice the northbound sign after the fact, that there was no southbound sign.  She didn’t really seem to accept that explanation at first and went on about the importance of “following the rules” and I politely (against all Kanzler-training) explained again that there was no southbound sign.   Then she posted about it on Facebook, so I’m glad I was nice to her!  (Humility is not my strong suit.)

 

With the throttle down, we made it to Cabbage Key Inn just before 4:00 p.m.   It is a pretty cool place, accessible only by water.   https://cabbagekey.com/history/

Though Jimmy Buffet was a frequent guest “back in the day,” he did not, as some guides indicate, get his inspiration for the song “Cheeseburger in Paradise” from there.  The true story is that he invited the owners of the resort to one of his shows, front row seats, and dedicated that song* that night to them.    

 

The dock staff was super helpful getting us squared away and we had nice hot shower and dinner at the Inn that night, while the rains came down.   The storm did blow pretty well that night and we rocked a bit.  Nancy and I got up twice during the middle of the night to adjust the boat fenders as the tide was going down.   Nothing major, just interrupted sleep.

The next day Nancy and Kathy went for a walk around the island while I did work for my client most of the day.   Also called the outboard engine folks and trouble-shot a few things.  They are sending me a new cable that connects the battery to the engine.   Fingers crossed.

Cabbage Key Inn sights.

New Friend:

Historic Water Tower:

The Inn:

Sunset:

 Dave

 

Odometer: 1,899

 

*My “Cheeseburger in Paradise” story:  University of Illinois, circa 1980: I am at a party talking to this coed about favorite music, artists, etc.  I take the then popular Alan-Alda-sensitive-guy approach and tell her Jimmy Buffet because he “sings meaningful songs about life, its ups and downs, etc. (I’m thinking “He Went to Paris”).  She looked at me and said, “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and turned and walked away.   Swing and miss!