Spending the Day on Pine Island Sound- Part 1

We headed out early this morning to pick up our ride for the day- a twenty foot Grady White from Port Sanibel Marina.  Port Sanibel Marina is just before the causeway on the mainland and has a great kayak launch as well as various rental boats to fit any need. After going over the safety information, we headed out the channel.

The plan for the day was to explore the Sound with my 93 year old father. He's still going strong and loves to be outdoors doing anything and everything. The morning was a little cool and overcast-we had been hoping for a little more sunshine. The breeze was coming out of the north so there was a bit of a chop on the water. I covered my legs up with a towel, added several layers of shirts and jackets to keep the wind off.

To the West, we watched Sanibel Island slip by- you can always tell where Ding Darling is because the houses disappear and the coastline becomes mangrove. It's always a good idea to scan the water for manatee sightings and dolphins. Today didn't disappoint as a dolphin flipped his tail into the air and slapped the water not far from the boat...great fun!

Captiva Island comes next and you can identify the resorts of Tween Waters and South Seas Plantation. Crossing Red Fish Pass, North Captiva becomes visible. North Captiva can only be reached by boat and they like it like that! It's a great place to pull into for an ice cream on a hot summer day...but not today.

Cayo Costa Island is next and we pulled to the South end of the island where there is a sandy beach.  We contemplated anchoring and going ashore, but it would have been too difficult for dad to get out of the boat and climb back in on the ladder. There is great shelling on Cayo Costa and I prefer the south end. I just wasn't ready to get wet to do it today.  Instead, we decided to travel to the north part where there are docks in the state park, ride the tram and check out the beach.

The sun still refused to come out, but we enjoyed our walk on the beach. We even found a few sharks teeth. There aren't as many here as farther north toward Venice Beach, but you can still find them. Campers were out and about enjoying the day. If you decide to camp there, you can tent camp

 or rent one of the little cabins that have bunks and a picnic table....no other amenities. It's roughing it, but looked like fun.

I can imagine how wonderful the night sky must be so far removed from city lights. And dark, it would be very, very dark. We took the tram back to the docks and headed out to find Cabbage Key, passing the remains of an old stilt house that stood in the Sound until it burned about twenty years ago. It was just like these just a few that are still  left in the Sound.

I'll leave off here and post the second half of our day on the Pine Island Sound.