February 25th, 2016

I've been interested in small boat camping for many years and now I've finally found the time to pursue it.

The ramp at http://theshipstore.com/home/the-ship-store-at-goodland-boating-park-marina-naples-fl/ is wide and modern with excellent water approaches so there was no problem there. Launch and retrieval from the trailer was more difficult than it needed to be but I learned a lot!

I slept in the boat with a tarp and mosquito net. It was the first rigging attempt and looked like a gypsy caravan so I didn't take any pictures. Ground tackle was also lacking and it was mostly a sleepless night. Since air temp was in the mid 50s there were few bugs and the net was effective. No mosquito bites! No no-see-um bites! I did no cooking but since fires are permitted I had a small one made from local drift wood.

Although there are many shoals and bars navigation is straightforward. The natural waterways are more than sufficiently wide and deep for the Weta. You will find some particulars here: https://share.delorme.com/petePollard

The sky was clear with a moon about half full and moon set around 2 pm. All in all it was a glorious time! Good for the soul.

By Pete Pollard