Ranger and Cutwater owners in the SWF area Information?

[BB marine]

I know there are a number of Tugnuts Looping this year. While we are not in a Cutwater anymore I still follow and look out for the a fellow Tugnut in my travels. We have spent the last 6 years cruising, commiserating with, making new friends, and discussing ways to better the already awesome experience.

This year we have finally decided to go all in and do the Loop. After a month and a half of all in what my wife and I consider one of our favorite area's of Florida SWF was seriously damaged by a Hurricane. There are many forums including the AGLCA stating it is time to pull back on the reins and don't come to Florida this year. We all have our opinions but first hand opinions of folks that are looking at the damage and seeing the search and rescue and the recovery efforts would have a better idea of what the future will be. I consider Floridians to be resilient this is devastating but it is not the first time this has happened in the Peninsula or Panhandle. I have followed some FB pages that are already showing incredible recovery efforts of miles and miles of power poles and lines going up every day. A make shift road made to get supplies on to Pine island. The ICW FB page a Captain posted he was able to navigate a 58' Viking through Boca Grand, miserable mile and up the river. "The icw and the Okeechobee water way is open .no problem just came from Boca grand all the way through to Sturt ." quote from the page.

This is all information that is out there but it is social media information. To all you on the west coast what are you seeing and experiencing. We want to cruise Florida this winter. We plan on staying in the Tampa/Bradenton area until February with hopes that the SWF area will be functional and that the folks living there will have some sort of normalcy. Please post your thoughts , experiences, opinions. I'm sure there are many that would like the local information.

 

[gwishon]

Brian, I haven’t personally viewed any of the damages south of us (Apollo Beach) but, based on what I’ve seen here I don’t think you’ll have any problems in the Bradenton/Sarasota area, and as far south as Venice — I received an email from Crow’s Nest marina in Venice saying they are open. Further south, I can’t say. One of the networks was broadcasting live from South Seas resort/marina on Captiva during the storm. They left before the worst of it, but even then they were showing pictures of serious damage.

A call has been issued to private boat captains in the Sanibel/Ft Myers area to assist by shuttling residents to/from the island. Once I get past some minor surgery this week, I’m considering heading down that way to help out.

Gordon

 

[CaptT]

Brian, I received a notice from the Coast Guard asking recreational boaters to avoid the area but they also said if you need to transit the area be advised of floating and partially submerged hazards in the water. They also asked mariners to maintain situational awareness and no wake speeds for emergency, recovery and repair vessels. They also point out that repairs will be on-going into the foreseeable future and all boaters should maintain minimum speeds in and around these areas.
The Okeechobee waterway locks are open, at last report, but just about all of the marinas in the Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island sound and Ft Myers area are closed. Waterway Guide has posted a list of the marinas in that area stating their current status. They intend to updated this information on an on-going basis so this may help you determine how well things are progressing during your planning process.
Gordon is right regarding conditions south of Venice, fuel and facilities are currently unavailable until you get past Ft Myers. I also believe you are correct as well, Floridians are tough and know how to get back on their feet when these storms strike so I know they won't be down long.
We were lucky, loss of a part of the roof, a fence, a couple of trees and power for a few days ..........a blessing compared to those south of us. Thoughts and prayers for those.
Terry

 

[BB marine]

CaptT, I see from your signature you live in Bradenton. We have a slip at Twin Dolphins, Bradenton and will be there the first of December. Did the area up the river take a hit? Happy to hear you faired ok from the storm. You still did not walk away untouched. Good luck with the cleanup. We are looking forward to spending a few months in this area during the winter.

Gordon, First good luck with the surgery. If you do go south please post some feed back on what you see. I know that that area got hit hard but I believe based on the progress that is being made in the last few weeks in the SWF area it will be a functional area again in a short period of time. It will take years to rebuild but Floridians will build it better than it was. This doesn't replace the memories or human life that was lost. Nothing will. Thank you to both of you for responding. I hope to keep this thread going. I hope the information posted will help others too.

 

[CaptT]

Hey Brian, Twin Dolphins is a very nice marina. The Manatee River came through pretty much unscathed. Being on the north side of the storm there wasn't a storm surge but Ian did suck some water out of the River/Bay.
I'm currently scheduled for some back surgery on November 17th but if I'm up and about I'd love to buy you guys a drink or two, you've helped me, and so many others on this site, it would be a privilege.
I'll try to reach out to you when you get into town in case you need transportation, etc. There are some great restaurants and watering holes in the area you'll be in. The damage was minimal near Twin Dolphin, tree branches, etc.,as the storm moved inland, actually closer to us, than the downtown area of Bradenton.
Hopefully we have a chance to get together......safe travels and following seas.
Terry

 

[BB marine]

We will be there December and January so plenty of time for a few Docktails. I may take you up on transportation. Thank You.

 

[CaptT]

Brian, I've sent you a PM. Looking forward to meeting you in person.

 

[CaptT]

We have a fair number of "Tugnuttters" in the greater Tampa Bay/Bradenton area so maybe we can get a few of us together when Brian, BBMARINE, comes to town in January/February for a mini rendezvous, code for docktail meeting. If anyone is interested let me know and maybe we can work something out?? If you'd like to PM me, or post here, I'll get back to you.
Terry

 

[gwishon]

Cynde and I are in!

Gordon

 

[CaptT]

Sounds good Gordon. I'll send you a PM with my contact info.
Terry and Mary

 

[Diver]

Just so happens we'll be at the Twin Dolphins for all of December as well. We'll be trailering there and would like to get together with other "Tugnuttters" Also looking for any information for places to store the trailer while at TD.
Debbie & Mike
I Think I Can

 

[CaptT]

Debbie and Mike, Welcome aboard! I've sent you a PM with my contact info and will try and find some information on where you can store your trailer while enjoying your time in our area.
Terry

 

[Brian B]

I reside in a community in N Fort Myers on the Caloosahatchee River, we took a huge hit from the hurricane winds and surge. I am a couple of miles from the Ft Myers Yacht basin/Legacy marina. The marina’s are destroyed, 40’ + cruisers are stacked up on top of each other, the docks are mostly gone. The waters are full of debris, water is unsafe for swimming at this time. The island of Fort Myers Beach was practically wiped out.
Major bridges were severely damaged.
My advice would be to stay away from SWFL.

 

[CaptT]

Brian B. I hope you and yours are safe and healthy. We have praying for you and the communities in the hard hit area. I was scheduled to go down there and help out but with this back surgery scheduled in the next few weeks I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help. Knowing Floridians they will build back even better but it's going to take a very long time.

 

[BB marine]

This is a follow up from this mid October Thread. After a few months of cruising and spending time in the Florida Panhandle Plus 10 day wait for for the November Gulf winds to die down. PORT-A-GEE and Crew had an adventurous Gulf crossing Thanksgiving weekend. We had the pleasure of making the voyage with a fellow TugNut, 27' Ranger Tug (inboard) KARL (Marc and Lorrie) We did the Rim route Steinhatchee, Cedar Key and Tarpon Springs. We arrived in time to see the Christmas boat parades in the area and then fly back to Chicago to spend the holidays with our family. We are back on the boat in Pasadena Florida. We had planned to be in Bradenton Fl. But a fellow AGLCA member subleased his slip to us for two months. It is a good location, 10 minute bike ride to St Pete Beach and Gulfport FL.

At this point of the Journey we have not encountered any issues caused from IAN. I'm sure there were some here but the resilient Floridians were on top of it and made repairs. We have talked to several Loopers that continued south and cruised through SWF. Pelican Bay is still a popular anchorage with no issues getting in or out. The Miserable Mile is still the Miserable mile with boats piloting thru the ICW. Getting to Lake Okeechobee and crossing it has not been an issue. I have not heard of anyone cruising inside Ft Myers beach area but Naples and Marco have had many boats cruise in the area without issue all the way to the Keys. We plan on cruising to the Keys in February.

To any TugNuts in the St Pete, Tampa, GulfPort,Clearwater ...... or anywhere else in Florida look us up we will be staying in the area for the month of January before heading south. Give us a shout !

 

[gwishon]

Local news reported this week that Sanibel Island bridge is now open to non-residents and a number of businesses on Sanibel and Captiva have reopened. They ask that visitors give residents some space as they work to rebuild.

One of our favorite places to stay, South Seas Resort and Marina on Captiva, remains closed through at least the end of February, according to their website.

Brian, looking forward to getting together with you soon!

Gordon