Cabbage Key!

One thing we had not accounted for in our planning was the effect that wind direction has on tide height. I have several great tools for telling me the tide data, but local knowledge is required to predict the combined effect of tide and wind. The very strong northerly winds on Friday had pushed the water out of the northern end of Charlotte Harbor. This, combined with a very low tide, had left Agaliha sitting in the mud in her berth at Fishermen's Village.

I don't think we could have gotten her out on Friday morning if we had wanted to. So we needed to get out on Saturday before low tide at 9:00 a.m. At 7:30 we started unplugging cords and untying dock lines and Agaliha's keel kept us stationary. I fired up the engine and we had just enough power to slide out of the muck.

We watched the navigation aids carefully leaving the Yacht Basin knowing that water was scarce. As soon as the depth sounder said nine feet I raised the mainsail and unrolled the genoa. I pointed Agaliha south and the wind came over the stern corner of the boat at 15 knots. The keel started humming and we were moving on toward Key West at a rapid clip.

The autopilot steered as we ate breakfast enjoyed the beautiful ride. There was still a little bite in the air from Friday's cold front so we had jackets on. Later in the morning, as we turned east toward the Boca Grande Pass, the wind died down (5-8 kts) and we slowly winged our way toward Cabbage Key. We sailed past Pelican Bay, where we had spent Wednesday night.



We arrived at the docks at Cabbage Key about 1:30 and their friendly dock hand was giving us good instruction on the radio. He helped us tie off in a strong tailwind and his help was much appreciated. The place was hopping with tourists who had finished lunch. A "cattle boat" arrived at 3:00 to carry most of the horde back to Captiva and lots of small private boats departed, too.








We strolled around the island and soaked in the atmosphere. The vegetation was lush and you get a sense that there is a constant struggle to keep the vines and bushes from overtaking the man-made structures.






As we were imbibing cocktails in the cockpit, a couple in an inflatable dingy motored past and we invited them to join us. They quickly agreed and we learned that their 50-foot custom trawler was anchored a few hundred yards away. They gave us lots of advice about the Keys -- which was their destination, too.

The main attraction to Cabbage Key is the Restaurant that opened in the 40's. Our dinner of Triple-tail Grouper was delicious. We ate at the bar with our new friends from the Trawler.








The tradition of tacking a dollar bill to the wall started in the bar and has now spread to the entire restaurant. An estimated 50,000 bills cover the walls, rafters and ceilings. Supposedly, outbound fishermen in the 40's would tack a bill to the wall to ensure they could get a beer on the return, even if they gambled all their money away during the trip.

We had almost made a decision to bypass Cabbage Key on our way to Sanibel Island. After our day there, we were very glad that we hadn't. There is a unique charm to the place that I wouldn't have wanted to miss.



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