The weather was warm and sunny, but there was no wind for the weekend cruise/race to Boca Grande.
The tides were low, but that didn't stop the cruisers with six sailboats anchoring in the river on Friday night. On Saturday morning, the group of 15 sailboats left Marker #1 at 9:00 am and motor-sailed south to the Boca Grande Bayou.
Prior to dinner, we enjoyed a "Happy Hour/Social Hour" on Roy's shrimp boat "Good Times". With seven new boats in the cruising fleet, it was an good opportunity to meet some of the new cruisers in the club. We were happy to have eight club members come by car to join the festivities.
At dinner time, the group of 38 headed across the bayou to the dock via dinghies and Art Schlichting's "taxi" boat. We walked into town and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Boca Rico Restaurant. The restaurant put us in a private outside patio where we could enjoy dinner under the stars. The food and service were great. Everything came together for a very enjoyable evening.
On Sunday, most of the group made their way back to Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte, although a couple boats stayed for another day to enjoy the island. I would again like to thank Roy Strelchun for his generosity in hosting fun happy hours on "Good Times." Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Roy.
It was great to meet so many new club members. Although a little more wind would have made the weekend perfect, I do believe a good time was had by all.
Remember that the next cruise will be March 10 & 11 with the planned destination to Matlacha.Sue Alaimo
