Windy Captiva

Sunday night, we anchored behind Sanibel Island in a quiet anchorage near the mangrove swamps. Not a soul for miles, which is how we like it. The moon tonight was stunning as it reflected off the water.

The weather forecast was for thunderstorms after midnight and high winds so we let out plenty of chain to make sure we didn't end up dragging in the middle of the night! Though there was only 3 feet of water below our keel, we let out almost 100 feet of heavy chain to make sure we were secure for the night.

The forecast thunderstorms didn't really materialize. Praise the Lord! Though we had a little rain, it wasn't too bad. Then morning came....

Around 8:00 the winds suddenly rose from around 15mpg to over 30. Wow! That was a bit of a surprise as they had not been forecast to arrive until after lunch. Argghhhh!

We decided to raise the anchor and head for cover early. As we started out, the chop on the intercoastal waterway wasn't too bad.

Before long, we were pounding through waves that were splashing up over our bimini top which is nearly 30 feet off the water. Due to an approaching wall of rain. we covered everything up and headed below.

Fortunately our wipers worked to keep the windshield clear of the crashing waves.

With the high wind, it was interesting getting to the entrance of our marina which was down a long, narrow  marked passage. Once in, though, it was wonderful. Though the wind was still howling, our slip was protected and calm. Thank you Lord!

This is a view out the back door of the boat.

Samba is in the middle of the picture, the last boat on the right.

We tried to take a walk on the beach and terminated that effort pretty quickly as our legs were being sand blasted. The waves were amazing and were really pummeling the beach.

Our marina is part of the South Seas Resort at the far end of Captiva. It's quite large with multiple pools and multiple restaurants. Wow. I guess we got lucky this time!

After our abbreviated hike to the beach, Jim settled in to whipping some line while Carol immersed herself in a book and cleaning.

With another day of high winds in the forecast, we decided to hang tight for a second day. Then we plan to head to Cabbage Key, the original Cheeseburger in Paradise location. That should be fun!