CO poisoning?!

12.4.10

Friday we left Cape Haze and motored out past Gasparilla Island to Gasparilla Pass. We had decided the wind was supposed to be in our favor at a reasonable 10 knots and we were ready to sail! So, excited and freezing cold, we headed out the pass. Only we were met with turbulent waters that tossed us around like we were a toy boat. We were bounced everywhere but where we wanted to go. We forego putting up the sail for the time being and just focused on trying to stay in the channel and not fall overboard - yes, it was that rough!
We were both starting to get uneasy about our sail for the day and debated turning around; unfortunately at that point in my mind, we were already past the point of no return. The water had calmed down to a heavy chop minus the possibility of being thrown overboard, and there was nothing Brad could say to make me turn ship and go through that pass again!
Lucky for us, the Gulf was calmer once we got about 2 miles offshore (as is usually the case when going through a Pass). And, despite a rough beginning, we were able to have a nice, albeit freezing cold, sail down to Fort Meyers Beach.
We anchored in the bay off Fort Meyers Beach to a light 6knot wind just before sundown. We were actually not too worn out to watch some computer TV before we turned in for the night. We had to run the generator to power the computer and were happy as clams once we got the heater on! Brad had set the generator in the cockpit with the exhaust facing the stern and everything was hunky dory....until our carbon monoxide alarm went off! (thank you Liz and Benny for the alarm) Brad ran outside to cut the generator while I opened every window on the boat; and just when we had gotten warm for the first time in 3 days! So, windows open, wearing layer upon layer of clothes, with two comforters on and the pets for added warmth we finally fell asleep.
We were right at the mouth of the Gulf, so we were able to be up with the sun and out early without the worry of having to stay in a channel and follow markers. The sail down to Naples was an easy 30mile journey. Although we had to motor sail the whole way due to lack of wind, the day was gorgeous and even warmed up to 62 degrees.
We were able to make it into Naples without a problem and were welcomed back to our favorite mooring field by the ladies at the City Dock who actually remembered us from our previous stay! You know you are part of the sailing community when people start remembering you from your previous journeys - how exciting!!