Day 183: Trip to Marco Island

Day 183: January 17:  It turned into a pretty decent day for traveling. The harbor was already busy with boats being washed and tidied for today's boat show. We managed to pull into the fuel dock where we took on just over 200 gallons of diesel, filled the gas container for the outboard and filled the water tank. Diesel price was $4.62 per gallon. Having taken on over 200 gallons we received a 10% discount. At the resulting $4.16 per gallon the cost wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. 


The Gulf was rolling; residual effects from the last few windy days. Good size waves chased us, lifting our stern, pushing side to side and rocking back and forth. We were in pretty shallow water which played a part in the water's movement. 

At Capris Pass we began to make our turn into Big Marco Inlet. We saw breaking white water on our port side and the rollers were ferociously pouring into the inlet, making the entrance a bit challenging. Once inside, we saw the channel was well marked. We traveled past the condos with tiki huts set up on the snowy white beach, restaurants and marinas before setting our sights on our chosen anchorage in Factory Bay. 


Once rafted up we dinghied to Rose Marina; paid $10.00 to leave the dinghy for a couple of hours so we could walk into town. There is a Publix and several hardware stores. Frank needed some bolts but not one of the three stores we visited had the size in stainless he needed. We did buy a few things at Publix including a delicious key lime pie which we enjoyed after dinner on Summer Fling. 


We traveled a short 13.8 NM in about 2 hours. One step closer to the Everglades!





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