On October 25-27, 2019 the WCTSS held their annual October Cayo Costa rendezvous. Seven boats and nine sailors participated. Todd Logan sailed down all the way from Sarasota Sailing Squadron on Wednesday and Thursday aboard his Rhodes 19. Greg Gregory gets the award for most gear on the smallest vessel. He sailed and peddled his well loaded hobie revolution from Pineland to Cayo Costa.
Dan on his Wayfarer and Tom on his Sea Pearl left Eldred’s Marina on the Boca Grande causeway Friday morning and sailed out into the Gulf and back in through Boca Grande Pass. Winds were easterly and fresh, about 15kts, making for a quick close reach down a mostly flat Gulf just offshore Boca Grande. They arrived at the traditional Cayo sand spit island around lunch time. Soon Jack showed up on his SunCat , Greg on his Hobie kayak, Bill and Sandy on their MacGregor, and Stephan and Alex on the Compac Eclipse. Later Todd showed up in the Rhodes 19 after a day of exploring the area.
The crew turned in early Friday night. A few rain showers rolled through during the night and early morning. By 11 am on Saturday, all was clear, so some of the group decided to beat up to Cabbage Key against the fresh south east winds and have lunch. Afterwards, they explored the island culminating with a climb to the top of the water tower for a nice view of the island and surrounding waters. The south east breeze held, and everyone had a quick easy broad reach back to Cayo Costa.
Saturday evening an overly friendly and totally unafraid gator decided to visit the group. It would not leave despite Steve Irwin’s twin brother Tom Lyon’s best attempts to drive it off. As the sun set, a campfire was lit, and the intrepid crews sat around musing about the day’s adventures.
The sun rose Sunday morning in a spectacular explosion of reds, pinks and golds. After coffee breakfast and some final camaraderie, the sailors began packing up for their trips home.
