Now that Jim has decided not to do the Everglades Challenge, he and his crew (posse, shore team, groupies, whatever you want to call us…) have decided to follow the route south to check out the check points at Chokoloskee and Flamingo. We can also scout ramps, docks, waterfront eateries (bars), places to shelter, etc.  We will end up in Kay Largo on Wednesday to have a few days to play before the big Tribe party on Saturday.

Already on our trek around Fort Myers Beach, we saw a few Tribers as they make their way south. We ran into ‘BlackBeard’ on the beach and he was bailing out his Boat (a Hobie Kayak of some kind) and said it was a wet ride. His plan was to continue into the night along the Gulf shore as it was not too wavey! We found that on the inside route through the mooring field down the ICW that the strong winds were really funnelling and it was quite choppy. We saw one paddler in there but don’t know who it was.

Pretty interesting to follow the Tribers on FB (sorry it’s a closed site) and on the Tracking map. So onward we go!

Monday am update: SewSew has made it to CP 2! Wow. Reports out of CP 3 at Flamingo that the water has blown out of Florida Bay due to the high east winds so it’s extra shallow. There is a Small Craft Advisory down there too.

Also,  the picture of the big catamaran we visited is called Bolero and it belongs to a nice couple we chatted with while walking the dock in Fort Myers. Sharon and Joe invited us aboard for a visit and a tour.  I think we were their first visitors as they have just gotten her. They have 3 little dogs aboard and are planning to live on it. The boat is a Fountaine Pajot Lipari 41. Great spacious salon. We wish them Fair Winds.

Today we are off to Chokoloskee to explore.