Everglades Isle to Old Naples Seaport

Another great offshore cruise.  The water was perfect for the 50-mile passage that took us from Everglades City, FL to Naples, FL.  We could see the cityscape of Marco Island once we emerged from the 1000 islands channel at Indian Key and turned north.  It was our desire to stop at Marco, but there just weren't any marinas that could take us due to the overflow of boats coming from Irma-damaged marinas.  Also, not being able to get a pump-out at Everglades kept us from anchoring at Marco.  So we sailed past Marco Island but have to admit that the water off the coast of Marco has to be some of the best in the Gulf. 

Viridian entered Gordon's Pass just south of Naples, FL, sailed north about 4 miles into Naples Bay and docked at the Old Naples Seaport on 10 Ave and 10th St. Pat. The Dockmaster helped us get secured and provided us with useful information about the city and locations of interest.  This marina is currently a self-service marina but is modern with floating docks and new, working equipment; you just have to operate it yourself.  No problem. I wish more marinas were like this!  Once we got the power connected and pump-out done, we made a plan for heading into town and checking out the shops, restaurants and grocery stores.  There is an alternative taxi service here called Slidr and it uses golf carts to take people places and only accepts tips for this service.  We will let you know how this works out.

Our marina is located in the middle of the downtown area of Naples where 5th Ave runs along the Tamiami Trail and is a classier version of Duval St. in Key West.  Lots of open-air sidewalk restaurants mixed with shops that no woman could resist visiting.  We decided to stop at Hob Nob's restaurant and have supper on the sidewalk seating area.  The shrimp and grits looked delicious with a side order of Caesar salad and a platter of deviled eggs.  To top it off we got 3 fresh-made doughnuts with hot caramel and chocolate dipping sauce for desert.  The walk back to the marina was on well-lit sidewalks with a pleasant breeze and interesting architecture along the way.

We will continue north tomorrow to the Ft. Myers area and see if we can get into a mooring field at Ft. Myers Beach.

That's the news and here are some views:

Today's passage from Everglades to Naples, FL

Details of Gordon's Pass to Naples Bay, FL

 Waiting for high tide at EvergladesIsle, FL (notice the pelican sitting on the bow of the crab boat)


Indian Key marks the exit from the Everglades


Marco Island on the horizon


Getting back into the swing of things

 Sailing about 3 miles offshore of Marco Island, FL

Some houses along the river once entering Gordon's Pass at Naples, FL

5th Ave in downtown Naples, FL

The restaurants leave pretty bottles of chilled water on the tables

Pretty light-balls hung from trees

The stuffed eggs were great,  topped with tomato chutney and a piece of thick cut bacon.

What a cute way to serve the donuts in a mini fry basket! 

Revisiting the last two stops, here are some pictures from Everglades and Little Shark.  I wish I could take credit for these but they were taken by the crew of the Canadian Trawler we have mentioned in previous postings.  Someone onboard knew how to use a camera!




Viridian docked at Everglades Isle, FL

Viridian anchored in Little Shark River, FL at sunrise

Looking from Little Shark into the Gulf of Mexico past fellow boaters