We are currently anchored in Smokehouse Bay on Marco Island.
First a little of how we ended up here. Readers of our blog may know that we had planned to return to Bradenton via the Dry Tortugas. After leaving Miami we headed to Little Shark River to wait out a cold front before heading to the Tortugas. Well it is true that the front lingered south of Little Shark delaying a run in that direction until the end of this week and we are running out of time to get back to Bradenton by 6/1. But if truth be told, two weeks of 'civilization' in Miami after 4 1/2 month in the Bahamas made us crave some more. So we are here in Marco, the land of high-priced condos, restaurants, and especially Starbucks (Tom's emphasis).
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| Marco 'fishing camp' |
We were told about Smokehouse Bay by a friend from Boca Grande. It is not mentioned in any cruising guides and it is a bit tricky to get to, but it is a nice well protected anchorage.
To get there you enter Marco from the Gulf via Capri Pass, exit the Marco River into Collier Bay, and follow the narrow, but well marked channel - in fact it is better marked than the charts would indicate. It is very narrow and the key is to favor the seawall - that is where the water is usually the deepest. I saw nothing less than 7 feet at high tide. The Bay is generally 12 feet deep except for a 4' shoal on the westerly side, which we managed to find last night at midnight. But it was a minor soft grounding, so no harm done.
The only negative is difficult shore access, which is typically the case in 'high-brow' locations. The nearby Esplanade mall has a good restaurant and a Starbucks. After docking our dinghy there, I was given a rather stern OK by the Dockmaster with an admonishment to not leave the property. We had lunch, coffee, and ice cream at Cold Stone, so I think we paid our 'rent' thank you.
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| Esplanade - actually new construction, but quite nicely done to look like row-houses |
We did break the rules by going across the street to Winn-Dixie, which we later found out has a dinghy dock. There, after fielding a question about my Exuma t-shirt, we met a cruising couple who now live in Marco. It turns out that the gentleman was one of the individuals who challenged the Marco anchoring restrictions back in 2007 and after taking the case all the way to the FL Supreme Court, ended up with a decision that made it clear that local FL municipalities can not restrict anchoring in 'navigable waters'. All Florida boaters owe these gentleman a profound thanks!
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| Docking ladder near a hotel with private docking only. Are the wires unauthorized use shock-security? - just kidding. |
Our current plan is to leave here tomorrow and head up to Pine Island Sound where we will spend the final weeks of our cruise before shooting up to Bradenton by 6/1.
Tom
Anchored Smokehouse Bay
Marco Island, FL
Map Cruise 2012-13
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