Royal Palm Yacht Club

Gunkhole IV

March 18th thru the 25th 2007

Links to Photos A or Photos B or Photos C or Photos D or Activities Main Menu or RPYC Home Page

The Fourth Annual RPYC Gunkhole Cruise headed south this year, beginning with the first rendezvous of 8 boats in the East Mooring Field of Fort Myers Beach. The first evening’s ”heavy hors d’oeuvres” (aka dinner) set the mood for the cruise as four couples gathered on each of two boats to share their gourmet creations. The next stop was at Naples Yacht Club and dinner at Ridgway Bar & Grill had us out on the town. The next day, we set off early to “bump” our way through the inside passage to a picturesque anchorage in the Rookery Bay Channel. While most of the eight boats were able to maneuver off the low spots, Cruise Leader Herb in Waypoint Six had to wait for high tide to reposition in the anchorage!

Later that morning, a pontoon tour boat, “The Good Fortune,” from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida took us on a tour of the extensive waters around the Ten Thousand Islands and to a waterfront restaurant on Isles of Capri. We again shared our hors D’oeuvre creations on board that evening. The next day. it was on to Calusa Island Marina in Goodland, and a superb pot luck barbecue that night. The next day the only one with dismal weather, a bus picked us up and delivered us to airboat rides based in Everglades City. Naturally, some of us had to try handling the live alligator, even though none were to be seen during the airboat rides because of the cool day. The sun came out bright for a beautiful sunset as we ate dinner at Old Marco Lodge & Crab House in Goodland.