The entrance channel to the Glover Bight Anchorage also eventually leads to Tarpon Point Marina. If you have not been here for a few years, you’ll be amazed at the huge condos that now surround the dockage basin.
Spent the night here March 24, 2010. Nice setting, good depths and plenty of room. Met up with friends and we had a good visit.
Jean Thomason (DOVEKIE)
Legacy Harbour Marina is one of two outstanding pleasure craft facilities along the downtown Fort Myers waterfront). The other is Fort Myers Yacht Basin (a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR).
Can’t say enough about Legacy Harbor Marina in Ft. Meyers. Stayed a week there several months ago and thought it was in the top ten for the last 10,000 miles of traveling.
Michael
Glover Bight makes for a GREAT overnight anchorage, and, as it is located near the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River, it’s very convenient to drop the hook here, and then begin your explorations of Pine Island Sound the next morning. First timers should pay close attention to the marked entrance channel, being sure not to miss any of the marks.
Hi from Kismet:
Florida: Anchorage-Cape Coral
In Cape Coral, Florida, a couple of miles up the Caloosahatchee River off the ICW, is Tarpon Point Marina. Just outside the marina basin is a well protected anchorage located in Glover Bight, it is highlighted in Skipper Bob’s book. We spent the night with only one other boat. It was quiet and surrounded by mangroves and birds.
Safe Cruising.
Jim & Lisa Favors – Kismet
Fathom 40 Fast Trawler
Tarpon Point Marina is a good facility, though it has certainly changed in character over the last several years. Where once this facility was surrounded with a field, it is now overlooked by multiple, tall condo towers. That really does not detract from the marina, it’s just different.
Hi from Kismet:
Florida: Marina-Cape Coral
In Cape Coral, Florida a couple of miles up the Caloosahatchee River off the ICW is Tarpon Point Marina. We found this new, top rate marina convenient with shopping and a few restaurants on sight (Marker 92 was our choice) and for first time visitors who are BoatUS members the price is $1.50 per foot for the first night vs. their normal $2.00. The rate includes electric, water and a free pump out and a coupon for a free bottle of wine if you dine at Marker 92. Now that’s a good deal.
Safe Cruising.
Jim & Lisa Favors – Kismet
Fathom 40 Fast Trawler
Click Here For The Cruisers’ Net’s Western Florida Marina Directory Listing For Tarpon Point Marina
There’s some GREAT cruising advice on anchorages and marinas in Captains Tom and Sue’s note below. This is a portion of a message from this cruising duo which appeared on the AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruisers’ Assocation) mail list. I’ve posted the remainder of their recommendations on other parts of the Net’s “Western Florida” Cruising News section.
1. From R 92 proceed at idle speed around cattle Dock Pt to a nice anchorage in Glover Bight to stbd. Good depths for sail and power. You will notice a new hotel on your north side (planned to open Nov 2009) that is part of the Tarpon Cove Marina facility. With an outboard (or rowing), you can dinghy to #2 & #3 below.
2. Next to the above anchorage is the Tarpon Point Marina (239-549-4900) that has floating docks & fixed docks, a nice facility, helpful staff, and very protected, with fuel…diesel & gas. The retail stores attached to the hotel are not planned to be open until late 2010.
3. You can pass Tarpon Point Marina, turn left(NW) and follow the marked channel and mangroves around to The Marina at Cape Harbour (239-945-4330). You will first pass the terrific eating facility of Rum Runners, and then proceed to the small lock (usually 2 boats max) to enter the fresh water basin taking you the short distance around the seawall to Cape Harbour…..mid rise condo’s, a few restaurants, light retail stores, coffee shops, some marine services.
4. Heading east on the Okeechobee Waterway toward Ft Myers you have the Gulf Harbour Marina to stbd near marker 74 (call for local knowledge before entering), upscale facility (floating docks) in a gated community with slips to 90′, then entering the Ft Myers area you have the Centennial Marina (floating docks & very nice) to stbd near marker 50 and then a little further (mm 135 on the waterway) the city owned Ft Myers Yacht Basin to stbd. The nice thing about the ‘Yacht Bain’……you can walk into the historic and recently redone downtown, with shopping and great restaurants, and theater.
Regards,
Tom & Sue
m/v Marbles
The Lofton Island Mooring Field is managed by, and lies directly across the Caloosahatchee River/Okeechobee Waterway channel from Fort Myer City Yacht Basin (A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR). What else can I say except this is one of the best municipal facilites in all of Florida, and I’m sure the marina’s excellent managment spills over quite readily into its mooring field.
Excellent well-protected anchorage, just noisy with all night traffic on the bridges. Hot and muggy except in winter. Rent a mooring buoy from the City Marina and use their facilities and dinghy dock, or just move north and set your own anchor and use restauarant and bar facilities on west side of westernmost bridge
jim
The message below is copied from the T&T mail list, and was actually a part of a lenghty discussion of the “Florida Potty Patrol” issue. However, I’m copying it here to pass along what a good waste pump-out system is available at Fort Myers Yacht Basin. And, that’s just as it should be, since these good people are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!
I liked the setup at Ft Myers City Marina, and a few other places, the docks are all plumbed with PVC vacuum pipes, each slip has a valve and quick coupler. For every couple of docks there is a dock box with vacuum hose, when you want to pump out you get the hose, connect it to the quick coupler and your blackwater fitting, open the valves and pump out rinse the hose when done (please), and return to the dock box, no scheduling, moving around, or waiting.
I find the process is made simpler if you have the quick coupler adapter that screws into the blackwater deck plate, I had one for my Camano but
haven’t been able to find one which matches the threads on the my Monk.
Steve
Click Here For The Cruisers’ Net’s Western Florida Marina Directory Listing For
Tarpon Point Marina has undergone quite a transformation over the last few years. Where once there was a marina building out in the middle of a field, crusiers will now find a harbor amidst condo caverns. It’s good to hear (see below) that all this development has not had a negative impact on the marina services.
Subject: Good Marina
Cruising News: We just spent the night at the Tarpon Point Marina in Coral Gables, at the beginning of the Okechobee crossing from west to east. This is a first class marina with a professional staff and full ameneties. The approach to this marina is 8\’ plus at MLW, which is important to us as we draw 6\’ which excludes us from a number of marina\’s on the ICW on the west coast of Florida. There is also a great anchorage just outside the marina with near 360 protection and room for at least a dozen vessels.
Bob & Pat Hutchison
S/V Maverick
Below, I have copied a discussion from the T&T (Trawlers and Trawlering) mail list, concerning the charter firm of Southwest Florida Yachts, headquartered in North Fort Myers, and cruising suggestions about the nearby waters (including Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor). All these messages were originally sent as replies to a query on the T&T list. There’s lots of good cruising info here, and, let’s not the forget the good people at Southwestern Florida Yachts are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!
As usual with this many contributors, it was impractical to obtain individual permissions, so I have ommitted all names.
Southwest Florida Yachts has been around a long time and has a good reputation. Some good stops in the nearby area during your charter would be:
1. Ft. Myers Beach, with moorings and a public dinghy dock, then a short walk across the highway (crowded with hotels, restaurants and shops) to the large and very popular beach.
2. Boca Grande, a small ritzy but quaint town on an island witha small anchorage area among the mangroves.
3. Cayo Costa park, accessible only by boat, with a nice protected anchorage, and a long walk across the island to a secluded beach.
4. Also Punta Gorda, St. Pete Beach, Sarasota, etc…..
I have lived next door to Barb and Vic Hanson the owners of Southwest Florida Yachts for 9 years… they are great people and have never heard anything from them or anyone else negative about their charter boats or charter service.
I have lived in the SW Florida area since 1959… it is absolutely great for cruising… favorite area Pelican Bay Anchorage… absoslutely one of the best places to anchor.
We did Offshore Powerboat training aboard a chartered 42 GB with Southwest Florida Yachts a few years ago.
There are lots of nice places to anchor nearby. You have the intracoastal going north and could also go east into Ochochobee. I’m sure SFY can point out a lot of places to go in the area.
We actually made it down to the Keys and had two wonderful nights in Little Shark River at the Everglades.
SW Florida Yachts have been around since forever, chartering both sail and power and I’ve never heard any knocks on them.
The west coast of Florida is a great cruising location once you get used to the idea of shallow water. Great anchorages abound – you can be alone or in a crowd – you choose. Nice city marinas and several world-class resorts. We just took about 10 days and went south to Pine Island Sound where we spent several nights in Pelican Bay, at Cayo Costa Island (Met T&T listee Jay from “Sails” anchored there) followed by three nights at South Seas Plantation.
Great cruise!
They are good people… The boats are clean and in good repair… I recommend them highly… You will enjoy…
But, this is skinny, skinny, water and there are thrills like the MiserableMile, etc. in store where local knowledge is invaluable… Just getting from the dock at SWY to the intercoastal is an interesting trip in it’s own right… Hire a captain for a couple of days, learn the waters and the idiosyncrasies of the buoys where the gulf waters cross the intercoastal waterway, eat lunch at Sanibel Island and see how the other half lives (very well), etc… Come back to the SWY dock the first night or two and eat/drink at the restaurant right there (very good), then go anchor out for a night or two, etc… Learning the ropes first will make your trip memorable and fun…
This facility described by Captain Gary below, lies east of Fort Myers. on the Okeechobee Waterway. However, sounds like its readily accessible to Western Florida boat owners.
New Hurricane Hole
River Forest Yachting Center has just completed a new facility in LaBelle. This facility will cater to West Coast boaters as the one in Stuart takes care of hurricane storage issues for the East Coast boaters.
The center features two 51,000 square feet buildings built to withstand hurricane force winds. The storage buildings also offer climate control for summer storage of boats whose owners may be heading North. If you are a seasonal boater, you can store your boat and not worry about the weather.
The other interesting feature of the Center is the Hurricane Club. Membership in the Club assures you of a secure outside tie down in the event of a named storm. The membership rate is based on the size of the boat and the Center can accommodate most boats up to 100’. As insurance policies get more complex, this may be an ideal way to mitigate your losses.
When a storm is imminent, a quick trip up the Caloosahatchee River may take your boat out of harm’s way. Hopefully, you will never need to use the Hurricane Club, but it is reassuring to know that it is an option.
The facility also operates as a transient marina for those traveling on the River. If the rainy season prevails, this would be a good overnight stay for those traversing the state.
For more information on the Center, phone 863-946-005.
Gary Riss
M/V Far From Normal
Subject: Moss Marine-Ft Myers Beach
Cruising News: I just wanted to tell anyone who needs amarina to stay at in Ft Myers Beach t consider Moss Marine. They bent over backwatds to help us with any and all requests. They allowed us access of their printer, copy machine and fax machine. We had a lot of paperwork to be taken care of. The casino boat does leave out of there but it is not an issue…it is not noisy. It was very convenient to all restaurants and the Ft Myers beach area. Their price was also more affordable than other marinas if you need a location to clean your boat, fill up with water and stay for the nite.
Roberta Nunemaker
Click Here To View the Western Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Moss Marine
Fort Myers City Yacht Basin was already one of the best city owned marinas I have ever reviewed, and they are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR. Now, we hear from Captain Susan below that the facility now includes a floating “hair salon.” What more could one ask for?
Subject: Ft. Myers Yacht Basin
Cruising News: Ft. Myers Yacht Basin now has a unique floating full service hair salon on site. They do great haircuts and give deep discounts to marina guests. The salon is called Rumours and is adjacent to the dockmaster’s building between D and E docks. The phone number is 239-332-3174
Susan Cargill
I have had the good fortune to have visited with the St. Charles Yacht Club on several occasions and I can tell you for personal experience that this is a very fine yacht club indeed, with wonderfully sheltered dockage and a beautiful clubhouse (not to mentino superb food).
One clarification to Captain Peter’s messge below. To be a guest of the St. Charles Yacht Club, you must belong to another Florida Council of Yacht Club, Club, or a club which is “listed in the Registory of Yacht Club of America.” If this describes you, then by all means plot a course up the Caloosahatchee River to St. Charles. The dockage and headquarters are located on the southern side of the river, not far from its western mouth.
Cruising News: Claiborne:
As a part of your recent survey of facilities and conditions in Western Florida, I wanted to drop a note to remind your readers that the St. Charles Yacht Club in Ft. Myers warmly welcomes visiting boaters cruising in our Southwest Florida area. With Lake `O’ reopened, we also provide a convenient stop for vessels transiting the Okeechobee Waterway before heading north or south along the West Coast or for beginning a trip east on the Caloosahatchee River towards the Florida East Coast.
St. Charles offers reciprocal privileges to all Florida Council of Yacht Club members as well as those from clubs outside of Florida with YCOA affiliation.
Our approach channel is well-marked off of the Caloosahatchee and carries a depth of seven feet into our very protected harbor. Both competitively-priced gas and diesel as well as pump out service are available. Free WiFi is a recent addition to the amenities that are available for visiting boaters.
Most of all, we think that our restaurant is one of the jewels of Western Florida and our outdoor pool is well-sited for perfect tanning. For shoppers, the Tanger Outlet Mall is only a short distance away.
Boaters wishing to visit St. Charles can contact our Dock Master at 239-466-4935. We also monitor VHF16 and use VHF68 as our working channel.
We look forward to welcoming those boaters who have visited with us in the past and those who are stopping by for the first time.
Peter Malen
Fleet Captain
St. Charles YC
Glover Bight Anchorage lies hard by Tarpon Point Marina, and near the western mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. This is another superb anchorage, and highly recommended by this writer.
Glover Bight Anchorage – Once leaving Gasparilla Island we headed down to this anchorage to spend the next night. Once again, this was a fantastic spot which had deep water all the way in. Once again we had strong winds out of the East Northeast and this spot provided excellent protection. One other advantage of this spot is the excellent scenery in the area. One could easily spend an extra day or two kayaking the beautiful mangroves in the area as well as the many canals in Cape Coral.
Scott Dimon
M/V Know Agenda
Please note the mooring field which is the subject of this posting is NOT the field at Fort Myers Beach, but rather the smaller field on the Caloosahatchee River, just off the Fort Myers City Marina (A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR), hard by Lofton Island.
There was an earlier posting here on the Net’s “Western Florida” section which indicated that both sail and powercraft were now eligable to pick up a mooring here. As you will see below, Captain Barbara’s info is that only sailcraft may moor here.
So, I telephoned the good people at Fort Myers City Marina and confirmed that they now ACCEPT BOTH SAIL AND POWERCRAFT IN THEIR MOORING FIELD!
Subject: mooring field city of Fort Myers
Cruising News: The city of Fort Myers mooring field on the ICW advised us that they will only allow sailboats on their mooring balls. Does anyone know why trawlers or power boats are not allowed? Since Fort Myers Beach mooring balls are available to everyone, it does not seem to be a Lee county or Florida issue.
Barbara
Here’s a neat tip on how to dinghy to a Wal-Mart, plus many other shoreside businesses in North Fort Myers. “Hancock Creek,” referred to below, lies on the opposite side of the Caloosahatchee River from the downtown Fort Myers waterfront, just west of the Highway 41 Business high-rise bridge.
We found a canal that leads to within a 1/2 mile walk to a Super Wall-Mart, Dollar Store, Napa Auto parts, Sonic etc…….SW of the Cleveland Avenue Bridge (St Mile 135) you will find a marked channel that goes into the Hancock Creek..you can cut the corner to markers ”G11 R12” staying to the SW of the submerged piles marked on the chart……we went into the creek with our Automobile GPS….we had programed in the address for NAPA……and watched……we decided we would be closest via foot if we beached the boat at the kayak/canoe launching ramp at the Judd Park (A Lee County Park)…from the it is less then 1/2mile to walk to Super Wall Mart and Napa is across the street. From the mooring ball to the ramp took us 45 miutes since we went really slow (manatees)…but it sure beat waking 3-4 miles…..
Super Wall Mart is on Pine Island Road (Rt 78) North Fort Myers……the park is nearest to the intersect of Brown Street and Evergreen Street….Brown Street leads out to hthe highway and you can see the Wall Mart across over to your left when you get to the highway.
When you are going up the creek always choose the deeper choices (evidenced by seeing docks and boats and retaining walls)……the park in on you right….behind a mangrove hedge…..you will need to be alert to watch for tennis courts etc behind the dense mangrove hedges…..and the boat ramp in found by following the park edge around to the right and it is at the end of a little creek…..
Our automobile GPS helped a lot.
Barbara and Ken
And, a complimentary comment on the above posting from a fellow cruiser.
Subject: A comment on the post by Barbara & Ken. RE: N. Ft. Myers Wal-Mart etc
Cruising News: We should all post useful information like this. As transients it is often tough to find convenient retail outlets so this type of ‘local knowledge’ can be invaluable to all of us. I would encourage all of us to post more info of this type.
Rick Parish
s/v Sea Breeze
Copied the discussion below from the “Ask Your Neighbor” page. As usual, Captain Allan makes some spot-on recommendations. And, oh yes, Fort Myers Municipal Marina is a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!
Can anyone make a personal recommendation for a marina in the Ft. Myers/Cape Coral area that is conveniently located to shopping,reprovisioning, etc. and is within walking distance? We appreciateany information you can provide.
There are two excellent marinas in Ft. Myers. We have stayed at both. Fort Myers Municipal Yacht Basin is close to downtown and the busy waterfront. Legacy Harbor Marina, (formerly Centennial Harbor) is a couple of blocks from downtown but closer to a new Publix and closer to the Edison Home. The Post Office is midway between the two. If you plan to leave your boat unattended then Legacy looks more secure but we left our boat for six weeks at the Yacht Basin with no problem.
The Fort Myers area is convenient to Southwest Florida Airport (RSW) where you may book a flight or rent a car. There is taxi service to the airport.
Alan Lloyd
Great Loop Navigation Notes
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