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Okay, so what does November bring to mind? Early frost? Leafless
trees? Sweaters and coats? Prelude to snow and ice? Well
not if you’re sailing in Florida, where the weather is a sunny 75 degrees.
In the air and trees are cranes, herons and pelicans, surrounded by colorful
hibiscus and bougainvillea. In the water are dolphins and manatees
next to white sandy beaches where sunsets can be watched while sitting in
shorts and a tee shirt. When we sail northward it will be in the Gulf
of Mexico in excellently maintained Island Packet yachts. You can
revise what November means to you by being a part of the Sailing Club’s
weeklong November adventure to Southwest Florida!
Forty minutes north of Ft. Meyers airport is the Burnt Store Marina,
the largest marina on Florida’s West coast, in the town of Punta Gorda.
It is the home of Yachting Vacations, one of the best charter companies
in the world, according to Cruising World magazine readers. They will
supply us with Island Packet yachts for our sojourn north to Sarasota and
Longboat Key. The return south will be via the Intracoastal Waterway
back to Charlotte Harbor and the Burnt Store Marina. We will stop
at many interesting places along the way, including Pelican Bay off of Cayo
Costa Island, Venice, Lemon Bay and Boca Grande. There will be a nice
mix of quiet anchorages and marina stays.
The trip runs from November 6th to November 13th and is planned so that
there will be plenty of time to explore towns, beaches, peaceful anchorages
and still have sailing days with 25 mile passages in the blue waters of the
Gulf of Mexico.
Plan to arrive in Ft. Meyers, Florida on Saturday November 6th.
If enough people arrive at the same time we can arrange for a charter bus
or groups can share a taxi from the airport to the marina. Provisioning
must be done in the town of Punta Gorda as there is limited grocery shopping
in Burnt Store itself. We will sleep aboard the boats the night of
the 6th and depart on the 7th for Pelican Bay, after clearing with the Yachting
Vacation people.
The cost of this trip is $850 (Skippers - $465). This includes
charter fees, insurance and slip fees. Not included is airfare or
other ground transportation. As always, food, fuel and other incidentals
are additional, and will be handled individually by each boat's crew.
A deposit of $150 per person must accompany your completed reservation
form. Please make your checks payable to The Sailing Club, Inc.
and forward to Ken Jones at the address on the
reservation form
. Reservations will be processed beginning on April 9, 2004
with a random draw of those received by that date. All reservations
received after that are on a first-come, first-served basis. Qualified
skippers can reserve an entire boat, with full payment of deposits, subject
to boat availability. The remaining payment schedule is as follows:
June 30 $350
September 3 $350
A pre-trip meeting will be held at a time and place to be announced.
All crewmembers should make every effort to attend in order to meet your
crewmates, plan your meals and make travel plans.
This trip offers you the opportunity to extend the sailing season, see
some beautiful scenery, for some of you to see some old friends in the
area, and escape some of New Jersey’s November weather. Come join
other adventuresome Sailing Club Members for an experience you won’t forget!
Please call or e-mail us with any questions that you may have.
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Trip Leader
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Assistant Trip Leader
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Ken Jones
8 Cottage Gate Ct
Palm Coast, FL. 32137
386-447-0713 (home)
386-447-1035 (fax)
anchorsdown@att.net
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Mia McCroskey
1277 Bradford Ave. # 2
Bronx, N.Y. 10461
718-931-3945 (home)
917-405-8154 (mobile)
miamc@aol.com
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