We arrived back at Goodland yesterday afternoon and anchored in the basin next to the marina and hauled the boat out early this morning and tried to clean the bottom up a little. We’re hoping to get to Marathon early enough to relaunch and get settled at the marina.

The post Leaving Goodland Early A.M. appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.

Recently we made a post about meeting Ted, on Manatee (below – left), a very friendly boater whom we spent only about an hour’s worth of total time with. We first met Ted while we were both traveling south on the GICW (we slowed down for a short conversation about where we were headed), we finally met up with each other in Goodland, Florida where we anchored near the Calusa Island Marina where Manatee was docked.

In an hour’s length of total time, I don’t think you could say we were good friends but good enough for us to know Ted is a good-natured guy, willing to help out another boater if the need arises. Not long after we left Goodland for Marathon, another Ranger Tug boater, and friend, called us from his anchorage in Russell Pass (in the Everglades) to discuss his engine starting problems, he was literally dead in the water. This was Rich’s first time in the Everglades, so he was looking for information on where might be a good place to get his boat towed to for repair. Having only been in this area a few times ourselves, I didn’t know much more than Rich but immediately my thoughts turned to our encounter with Ted in Goodland. I suggested to Rich that if he got back to Goodland (he did get a jump start from a fishing boat) he might want to look Ted up. My thoughts were that Ted, being a long-time winter boating resident of the Goodland area, would be able to more accurately guide Rich to a qualified service technician.

In the end, Rich did connect with Ted. Ted not only helped determine what Rich’s starting problem was but he also had the necessary parts on his boat to correct the problem. Thanks to Ted, Rich, and Cheryl were back on their way the next day.

Over the years we’ve been long-distance cruising, we’ve come to the conclusion that boaters are one of the friendliest and most helpful people around. Most will go out of their way to help a fellow boater whether they need directions, a lift to the store or. Most, like Ted, will be more than willing to lend a helping hand to solve a problem and get you back on the water. So, a big “Thank You” to Ted and all the other “Teds” out there who make us proud to be members of this friendly and helpful boating community.

The post Thanks to all the “Ted’s” Out There appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.

We’ve completed almost two Great Loop boat trips (a circumnavigation of the Eastern United States from the Heartland Rivers to the North Atlantic Seaboard, Canada and the Great Lakes) and both times we bypassed a few stops we wished we had had time to include in our schedule while in southwest Florida. The first is the little town of Goodland, Florida, just south of Marco Island and the second is Everglades City, at the mouth of the Barron River, on Chokoloskee Bay, just inside of Everglades National Park.

Today, we pulled the boat out at Fort Myers Beach and drove to Calusa Island Marina, in Goodland, to put the boat back in the water. We decided to just anchor out near the marina and it was the right decision, it was a beautiful night to anchor and not too buggy.

A few posts back we showed a photo of a boat called Manatee. Well, as we were making our way to the spot we were going to anchor in we passed Manatee, which was docked at the marina. We had only met Ted as we crossed paths on the water a while back. Only minutes after setting the hook Ted dinghied over with a friend to chat. He took Jim for a high-speed dinghy ride around the mangroves, Ted has quite the dinghy, and Jim said he got that thing up to 40 MPH.

The post Haul Out – Driving to Goodland, Florida to Relaunch appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.