Punta Gorda and Englewood

Hello folks - hope everyone is staying warm and dry up North!!!  Our adventure continues as we motor slowly but steadily north up the Gulf Coast of Florida.  After leaving Ft. Myers, we stopped at Burnt Store Marina near Punta Gorda for two days and connected with Canadian friends (and fellow Marine Trader trawler owners) we had met at the Trawler Rendezvous we attended earlier in our journey.

Two subsequent anchorages were both enjoyable, quiet and uneventful:  Cabbage Key, where Jimmy Buffet allegedly was inspired to write "Cheeseburger in Paradise" and just offshore of a park in Englewood.  Next stops will be Bradenton and Sarasota!!!!


Cabbage Key



Burnt Store Marina Sunset



Anchored off Englewood, FL:





Taking the bikes to shore in the dinghy











Mark has had the pleasure of two mechanical issues to troubleshoot and resolve.  The first occurred when our electric marine toilet ("head" for the salties out there) stopped flushing fully - always an unwelcome development.  Turns out that the expensive West Marine toilet paper we bought did not disintegrate as it should and had completely clogged up the head's internal macerator.  Dismantling the pump and extracting all said clumped up toilet paper was all that was (thankfully) needed to fix it.  Lesson learned: always do a TP solubility test before using!









The second issue occurred as we were moseying along on a sunny, calm afternoon, when Mark suddenly announced that we had hit a significant head current, as our speed had abruptly and unexpectedly decreased.  Mark abandoned his "strong current theory", when he realized it was the fact that the propellor and shaft were no longer spinning that was causing the lack of forward progress (this is not good).

We dropped anchor, and the subsequent investigation revealed a frighteningly low level of transmission fluid (not even showing on the dipstick).  We were quite fortunate where this occurred, as we could anchor just outside the channel.  It was a bit shallower than we'd have liked and we were hitting ground slightly as the tide dropped (the picture is of the anchor and chain just visible below the surface).

Unfortunately, Mark's reserve supply of transmission fluid was not enough to correct the problem.  As luck would have it, there was a marina a relatively short dinghy ride away where Mark could purchase more of the much-needed fluid.  And another HUGE stroke of luck when the transmission resumed normal operation once the fluid level was restored.  Mark's remaining challenge is to detect and fix the source of the leak, and you can be certain that more regular fluid level checks will be added to his maintenance schedule!!!


Our view where the transmission died: (there are worse places to be stuck, right?)



It was so shallow you can see the anchor and chain!



Mark was on a mission to find more transmission fluid!!!



Worth its weight in gold!