Gentlemen
thank you for the response
follow up question for all or any of you.
if you launch from the causeway to Sanibel Island where do you park your vehicle & trailer?
I spoke with Matt at the jet ski rental -ft myers beach- and he'll accommodate me launching at his facility. Utilizing their tractor to move the boat on the trailer to and from the beach for a fee $$
I'm cheap but for the charge, it just might save my back -as it's still hurting from the last time I sailed.
I'm use to being able to step the mast on the trailer and back into the water with my suv & 4X4 drive if needed.
It's not since moving to DAB that I've had to utilize beach wheels as much as I have over 33+ years with a cat.
another question
how far is it from the jet ski location over to Sanibel Island?
cheers, Nick Danger
Nick,
The costs don't typically come into play, as you'll pay $9 to get through the cuaseway tolls, and probably pay the jet ski guy $20 to pull your trailer to the beach with his atv. Not a large difference in cost, and the jet ski guy is providing a service in my mind, so worth the extra $$$
I always park at the beach on the causeway, where I launch. However, this is the important part and please don't screw this up for the rest of us: Technically the park rules don't allow
launching
and they define this as backing your vehicle down into the water and
Launching
your boat off the trailer. To the park rangers, this causes driving to close to the beach and thus erosion. The goal of the park rule is mostly to force boaters to use either the Fort Myers ramp at the east end of the cuaseway, or the Sanibel Ramp at the west end. If a park ranger sees a jet ski at the beach, and sees a trailer attached to a vehicle, they will make them leave and park/pay at the boat ramp parking lot on either end.
HOWEVER, Kayakers, Windsurfers and the likes (Beachcats), get a pass since those vessels are walked/carried into the water and don't cause erosion and tyically would jam up the boat ramps for the boaters. So, you MUST use your beachwheels to walk your boat into the water. Trust me, i've had park rangers walk up to me and my parked vehicle with the trailer attached and they make sure that i'm not using the car to
launch
.
As for which site to sail from, to me it depends on the conditions, etc. Fort Myers Beach can be a bear to get off of in the afternoon, as traffic really backs up leaving. But, the beach is much, much nicer, white sand and a good day to hang. The causeway is not a traffic issue, but its basically a shelly gritty beach, so you don't hang out there if not sailing.
If you were to launch from FMB and sail to sanibel its about a 5 mile distance accross.
Hope this helps.
Helps??? more than enough, thank you
from my one trip to the west coast of Florida sailing I came to realize that the sea breeze doesn't come on until two/three o'clock. It was many many years ago camping & sailing out of fort de soto about this same time of year.
with the forecast I'm seeing for the chances of rain this coming Tuesday & Wednesday, I'm kind of waffling on bring the boat along on this trip. We're still going with or without the boat and would be leaning towards utilizing Matt and his atv to move the boat/trailer around.
thanks again for the advice, Nick
I think there may be some tropical development that may mildly affect FL this weekend, but not sure. I think the forecasts are showing whatever does develop to haul off into the Atlantic
i predict tropical drinks that will definitely effect sailing conditions and performance this weekend
From Junkanoo, sail south to Lover's Key or Wiggin's pass. No real reason to go to Sanibel.
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