GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: BACK TO PELICAN BAY

DAY 203, MON. FEB. 5, 2012

DEP PUNTA GORDA 09:50 ARR. PELICAN BAY 1:20

AM SUNNY, WARM, WIND CALM. NOON RAIN SHOWERS

D. 23.0sm / 3487

Win or lose, life goes on. We put the Super Bowl loss behind us and left the Giant fans at the dock. The plan was to head to Cabbage Key and anchor out there. We cruised down Charlotte harbor retracing our course south. The weather forecast called for a chance of showers, but we didn’t see a cloud until we were just north of Cayo Costa. All of a sudden black clouds rolled in from the east, and the heavens opened up. We were fine inside the enclosure on the bridge, but the visibility was poor, and rather than go into a narrow channel to Cabbage key, we decided to head back into Pelican Bay and drop anchor there. Shortly after we anchored, the rain stopped and the sun came out. We went ashore and, fishing pole in hand, walked the ¾ mile path to the beach. People had been catching sea trout there, and we had hopes for a fresh fish dinner that night. As usual, “we should have been there this morning.” “The fish were hitting on every cast.” After several hundred casts with no luck, we hiked back to the boat. Along the way we met a fisherman carrying a 36” redfish he caught back where the boat was anchored. “We should have been there this afternoon!” In spite of the lack of fresh fish, we had a very good dinner on board and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.