The Tale of Ron's Voyage

Well, we got a pretty day. It reached seventy three degrees as forecast. The winds were calm and the sea was flat. So we went fishing and and had a great time. The plan was to go to the entrance to Alligator Creek and sneak along the mangrove toward the south and explore for redfish. That’s where they live. We didn’t find Alligator Creek. It is a big harbor. Hence, no redfish stalking. Ok then we went to the artificial reef where there are always ample fish. After an hour, Godfried landed an eighteen inch sheepshead. It was a nice fish. He claims that it is the biggest fish he has ever caught.

We started working our way back toward the house. We cruised up to the #2 main channel marker, fished for a while, and then eased off to the west toward our channel. When we got to where our channel marker should be, it wasn’t there. It’s a big harbor. So we cruised around and discovered that  pretty much all mangroves look alike. We darted around  checking out channel markers for some sort of a clue as to where we might be. Like I said, it’s a big harbor. We finally hailed a friendly boater who did not know where Lewis Creek was nor where we were. We hailed yet another friendly group of boaters who were just as knowledgeable. They suggested that we go to the Freeway bridge over the Peace River and start from there. I wasn’t going for that. One thing that is hard to miss in this Big harbor are the red buildings on the north shore of Punta Gorda. We have  a house there. That’s where I’ll get my bearings. Due west from that north shore is about where Jimmy lives. He has a GPS, and he knows this harbor. A mad dash was made toward Jim’s. Coincidentally, the channel to Jim’s neighborhood and the channels to Lewis Creek are the same one. In a few minutes, we were in the proper channel just minutes from home. Oh! It’s not that big a harbor at all, is it? We cleaned, cooked and ate the sheepshead. All in all, an excellent day on the water.