Having grown up watching Gentle Ben, I was always awestruck by the very concept of the Everglades. I couldn't wait to actually see it. The idea of boating through it on my own craft was never really a childhood thought. It was too far fetched to consider.
I have talked a bunch about the Shorebilly and it's versatility on the trip. Big Ben introduced the world to the airboat and made the shallows of the region notorious. One of the giant advantages of the Shorebilly her draft, which is only ~2 feet. Our first stop was Goodland. Here are two views of the navigation into the area. Dark red means less than one foot. Light red means 1 - 4 feet. These are essentially the same view just one is zoomed way in. Red is bad ....
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But the Shorebilly went through without any problems. In the shallow areas I simply tilted up the engines and glided over everything. This from a boat that was able to also tame a 180 miles open water crossing in 3 - 4 foot seas. Pretty spectacular.
Goodland
Goodland Everglades is a nothing town in the middle of bugville. We only stopped because it was one of the few marinas in the area. Guess what I discovered .... THE 70's! The entire town was hopping like Dewey Beach Delaware in the late 70's with bands playing outside, people dancing in the streets and fun was fully on tap. It was funny for I think it was even the same people! Many people were in their 60's+.
And look at the hair on the band! Tell me that is not from the 70's.
What a blast. Needless to say, it was an early night because I have now hit the age where I have to decide if I want to play in the day or at night. There is no doing both.
Everglade City
In researching the area, one of the big draws is the Rod and Gun Club. From their website:
The Rod and Gun Club is built on the original structure of the first permanent white settler who founded Everglades City in 1864. In 1922 Barron G. Collier, a banker and railroad man, bought almost all of Southwest Florida including the Rod and Gun Club which he operated as a private club. He hosted international dignitaries and several United States presidents here.
About a half dozen presidents and many movie stars have visited the place. Today only the lobby, bar and restaurant are open. The county requires the place be brought up to modern code before guest are allowed to sleep in the place. But the lobby area was fantastic.
The town of Everglades City proved to be delightful with a museum revealing the history of the area. Baron Gift Collier, founder, had one heck of a vision for the place and in its day I am sure was something to behold.
If you are in the Everglades, you have to do an airboat tour. This is like a Disney ride for adults. What a hoot.
I video'ed it to try and give a feel for the adrenaline rush. Imagine going 30mph+ through the mangroves with less than a foot on each side.
And of course, we got to meet some of the locals!
Everglades City proved to be a lot of fun with lots of interesting / unique things. Over the years the storms have taken its toll on the area and it is now only a shadow of itself. With that being said, it was still a great fun stop.
But' at last, it was time to close this chapter of the trip and this is where the Shorebilly had a chance to shine (again). The conditions were less than optimal but not bad: 2 - 3 foot waves. We wanted to make the big 125 mile jump to John Pennecamp State Park on Key Largo. The Shorebilly laughed (figuratively) at this effort.
Well, that's all for now. Next write-up will be about our time in the Keys, But I want to close with a HUGE smile. Months ago I wrote about our son Colt and his wife expecting. Meet Ava Madelyn Smoot born January 12, 2024. What a sweetie.
April 11, 2024 Day 330 The InterCoastal Waterway We have really enjoyed the InterCoastal Waterway (ICW). Lots of areas (New Jersey .... Western Florida ...) list waterways as ICW. However, the ICW from the Florida Keys to Norfolk Va is managed and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Thus it tends to be deep and extremely well documented. For example, in my carting software (Aquamaps) I can overlay the USACE survey to see exact depths. To make this easier, a gent named Bob developed "Bob423 Tracks". No idea where the 423 comes from. Bob423 Tracks presents the optimum path through the ICW trying to keep boaters off the bottom. Almost daily Bob reads the reports of "shoaling" along the ICW and adjusts 1000+ mile route and posts these tracks for free for all boaters. There is great comfort in having an exact route to follow. But that is not the charm of the ICW. We were less than enamored by the Florida ICW. It was opulent and excessive to an ex
March 10, 2024 (Day 298) Finally, a day I can catch up on the blog. I have attempted this several times but the marina wifi was not strong enough to keep a link. Those of you following us on Nebo are probably wondering why we are stuck in Florida so long. Some have asked if we are having boat problems or health issues. No, all is good. The device we use for tracking us, Nebo Link, does not work with the Bahamian network so what it shows is as the last place it could communicate. We are in the Bahamas! The Crossing The crossing ... the crossing ... AGAIN??? Yea, it seems to be that I talk about that a lot. But you know ... heading 70 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean is more than a notion. We staged at Lake Worth near West Palm Beach Florida waiting for the right weather window. This time of year they are few and far between. We waited and waited. The difference between a good day and bad day looks like this: Bad Good The blue i
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Welcome back to the East Coast!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great write up on your Everglades excursion. Now tell me did you have some gator bites? Talk to you all soon!
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