Ball  64, Ft Myers Beach, FL

26 27.27 N
081 56.35 W

I have never been to Ft. Myers Beach by boat before but find the approximately 70 ball mooring field in sharp contrast to what I have been told about and envisioned the old anchorage.  Somewhere deep inside of me is a deep resentment to the change.  My logic tells me it is not all bad, my heart another story.  For a busy tourist town to do this numbs the imagination somewhat.

The two mooring fields are separated by channels on all sides.  The far eastern end leaves a spoil area anchorage by default.  The many boats that have anchored here forever have been pushed aside like so many vagrants with little they can call their own.  I dont understand that mentality.  I know that pollution is one of the first words out of the mouths of the unworthy and poorly educated decision makers.  The large shrimp fleet here likely does the equal or greater in fecal matter and 100 times the damage in petroleum spills and leaks that go unmentioned.  Yeah, I know two wrongs dont make a right.  Typically it is land owners that push for such things to change and transient boat owners are easy targets.

I am not here to make the arguments. They have all been published before.  My job is to chronicle the event as it affects us and put it into the log.

Many of the new balls do not have pennants.  Salty Sams, the marina running the fields for the city, seems to be rather unorganized about it.  We were horrified to learn not only does this marina charge the most for fuel, it also charges .25 cents a gallon for water, with or without fuel purchase.They do have a free pump-out boat that cruises by every morning but the marina operator and likely the City refuses to offer this service to the anchorage boats even for a fee.

It becomes very evident the City does not want boats at anchor in their area.  But yet they court tourist heavily ashore.

In my opinion, another blow, unnecessary and insulting, has been struck against the cruising lifestyle.

We arrived at 1730, roughly 30 minutes before sunset, and asked for an assignment of a ball near friends of ours.  Upon asking our length the nice young lady asked us to wait one.  A full twenty minutes later she gave us a choice of balls at the rear of the mooring field away from our friends.  

She pointed out there was no pennant on these balls.  She said drop anchorcome ashore and get a pennant, go back attach the pennant bring up your anchor and tie up to the pennant..

Being mildly concerned by treading water for 20 minutes, I responded calmly with no voice inflection, If I anchor in your mooring field I dont need a ball..  She ignored my quiet protest and insisted that I bring boat documentation and proof of insurance to the office when you come to pick up the pennant.

We made our own pennant.  We don't need no stinkin marina pennant and with the help of a man in a dinghy secured our pennant to one of the appointed balls.

Now that we are settled in and have been here almost a week waiting for the darn parts to arrive, it is more tolerable.  I don't mind the balls but anchoring would have been a lot better and the organization and operation is still very poor.

There are those anchored out that are forming a political lobby to the City that we suspect and they understand will likely have little effect.  The precedent has been set in too many locations around the state.  But you know, just one good lawyer.

From the pilothouse,

Wayne Flatt