Goodland

January 9, 2020

Cape Coral to the Marco River and into Goodland was a great first day back on the waterways after being docked for almost a month.  This was about a 55 mile day from dock to anchorage.  We had a 2-3’ following sea which made for a smooth and relaxing ride.  We chose to go to Goodland because our friend Jack Stringfield had told me all about the anchorages in this area and the hundreds of miles of dinghy routes.  We had about a 40 mile jog in the gulf before turning into Marco island and getting on the river that takes us south to Goodland.  The Marco river is shallow.  It Is charted at 4’ on a normal low tide.  We entered just as the tide was coming up from an extreme low because of the almost full moon.  We passed a Tow Boat US boat and I radioed to him to get some local knowledge.  He told me we were already past the difficult part and to keep going by the chart.  I found it reliable to use the satellite areal to see the shoaling from the currents here.  They have a huge tide change sometimes 3’ or more.  I saw 4’ a few times on our depth sounders and stirred up some mud but it was super fluffy and the Pura Vida didn’t seem to mind it.  Coming into Goodland was a great start to the 10,000 islands.  This is a remote town south east of Marco island.  Fishing and live aboard boats are all you will find here.  We anchored just past the Calusa Island Yacht Club in Blue Hill Bay.  Calusa is not a member of the FCYC so we chose to anchor here and dinghy in.  we will wait out some high winds while here and cross Florida bay to Marathon Yacht Club on Sunday.  So far we have dinghied the mangroves to Cape Romano.  There are remains of a really cool old “Dome home” that was built in the 1980’s.  It was a few hundred yards from the gulf when built. Now it lies at least a hundred yards offshore.  The fast moving tidal currents here caused this erosion.  It has now been out to sea for almost 10 years.  I find it amazing how much of the domes remain after being at the mercy of the gulf.  We have a lot of exploring left that we want to do here one day including Flamingo, Everglade City, and the 90 mile Buttonwood canal that takes you into the inner everglades where the salt water and fresh water ecosystems collide.

Dome Home slowly being reclaimed by the sea