Labelle!

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 225 - November 12, 2017

We got up at 6:30 a.m. so we could get on the water by 8:00 a.m.  When I got up, Cecil and Danny were already up! After another fine breakfast of muffins and fruit, we went down to the Hazens'  dock, had our hugs and goodbyes, and cast off our lines!

Tom and Jody Goldman, who are planning to do the Loop in 2018 in their Rosborough 25, had emailed us to ask if we would be in Labelle today, and we replied that we would, and would be delighted to meet them! They are from Bradenton, and wanted to talk about doing the Loop on a 25 foot boat.

We followed our track out of Cape Coral to the Caloosahatchee River. We ran slow until we were across the wide part of the river. Jody called us to let us know they were in Labelle and I told her we were going to kick it up! As soon as we were into the narrower river channel, I kicked it up to put Daydream on the plane! 

Jody and Tom were on the City Wharf to catch our lines when we arrived, and gave us a celebratory bottle of champagne! The Labelle City Wharf is a newly upgraded facility with nice fixed piers, some with power and water, We were at a slip without power or water, but that was fine, as we would only be there overnight, and we could use our Aquatainer to refill our water in the morning. We went up to a little gazebo at the city park above the wharf, and had a nice conversation with the Goldmans, who had lots and lots of questions, and I hope they will find our answers helpful!

After a bit, our C-Dory friend Jim Widmann arrived. Jim lives in Naples, and has a C-Dory Venture 23. We all chatted for a bit, and then the  Goldmans departed. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Amigos and Beer in Labelle with Jim where, shall we say, Patty celebrated her birthday, which is tomorrow, with gusto!

After dinner, Jim brought us back to the City Wharf, where we went down to the boat, and although it was incredibly early, it was dark and we were tired, so we just went to bed!

Tomorrow we have only about 10 miles to go to the Ortona Lock Boat Ramp, where we will officially cross our wake! It is hard to believe, but our incredible adventure is really drawing to a close!