LITTLE SHARK RIVER

After a nine hour cruise from Key West, we arrived safely in the mouth of the Little Shark River. This river lies at the bottom of an area known as the 10,000 Islands and is a part of the Everglades National Park. I believe it was President Truman (please correct me if I am wrong) who set aside a big portion of the southern part of Florida for this national park. He did a good thing. The area is characterized by mangrove forest as deep as it can get. As we entered the mouth of the river, the water turned from turquoise to coffee colored. We knew immediately we were in a pretty wild place.

Anchoring here was more of a chore than usual. We had all the right ground tackle for the mission, but the bottom where we first dropped the hook was like rock and the anchor just skipped and skipped. So we picked it up and moved over slightly and dropped it again. This time, it skipped once, then twice, before digging in hard. We pulled on it for quite a while to make sure it was good and dug in. Sometimes you wonder whether you have a good anchor set in the hard bottom or are possibly just hooked to a sunken tree or a rock. Either one of those conditions will make picking up the anchor a living hell and may actually release when the tide shifts. So long as you pull on it and you hold, you have to be able to have some faith that you are not going anywhere. In situations like this, I generally will not leave the boat until it has swung with the tide at least once and is still holding. I have seen folks run in, drop an anchor and all their chain in a big pile and then hop in the dinghy and leave their boat, only to have to chase it down later as it drifts down river, because they did not properly set the hook and the tide changed. You have to remember when anchoring in a river that there will be serious tidal shifts and what you think is stable and steady one minute might be completely untenable just as soon as the tide changes and the boat swings hard 180 degrees. Hopefully, if you have the right anchor and a lot of chain, you will re-hook should the tide swing cause your anchor to come out. This is the ideal situation and one of the biggest reasons I like the Bruce anchor. I have seen demonstrations proving that if it comes out of the bottom, it will reset itself in its own length. Having anchored out over 1000 times with this configuration, I have a lot of confidence in it and in our technique. Nevertheless, there is always that concern in the back of your mind that you will drag anchor and not be able to get the engine started. Cruising in California, this could be serious, especially if you anchor on a lee shore. You will end up in the surf or on the rocks, either way, getting pounded by waves. Here, on the other hand, if you drag, unless you hit another boat, you will likely end up in the soft, goopy mud before you hit anything solid. There are no waves here, so it’s not so bad. We have seen many boats blown into the mud banks, only to get pulled off having suffered no damage at all.

Notwithstanding the several boats already anchored near the mouth of the river, we began seeing quite an abundance of wildlife in addition to the potential for mass mosquitoes. There were ibis and heron working the banks at low tide and pelican swooping down and in for a quick meal. We saw evidence of fish jumping and enjoyed the many dolphin that passed through. We could hear many other birds back in the forest, and possibly other things we could not see. Although advertised as a great alligator habitat, I kinda doubt it since there are no banks except at low tide and nothing for them to lie on to bake in the sun as they seem to enjoy doing. Also, the water was quite salty, a conditions alligators do not like. The American Crocodile, however, can easily handle the salt water, so we had our eyes peeled. Unfortunately, we did not see any.

We spent the first evening leisurely on the boat, and after a big spaghetti dinner, went to sleep. It was a long run from Key West, most of it characterized by wind and seas on the nose. So, we were quite tired.

David and Adrienne, M/V Gypsy Spirit

The next morning, we awoke early and readied the dinghy for an excursion up into the Everglades. We packed food and water, sunscreen and bug repellant, took the handheld gps, the handheld vhf radio and off we went. For what seemed like hours, we followed the river deep into the Everglades. The beauty of this place was stunning. However, it could be really easy to get lost. The mangrove forest stands over 60 feet tall and all pretty much begins to look the same after a while. Without knowing where you are, it would be really easy to get lost. One could get lost in there for days and not see another soul. About 6 miles back, we came upon a lake. The wind was completely still and the lake mirrored the clouds. Although the water was tannic and dark, because it was so calm, it looked blue because it reflected the sky. What a sight. We saw all makes and models of waterfowl. We saw a large Loggerhead turtle, and several smaller non-sea turtles. Alas, we didn’t see any gators or crocs. It’s always funny how the time flies. You get going and find yourself many miles from the boat and at some point think to yourself, well, it’s time we start heading back. The trip back was long, as there is always anticipation and some apprehension involved. But, we had the handheld gps with us and it was making our track all the way in and we simply followed it all the way out and back to the boat, which thankfully, was still where we left it.

I mentioned that we met some new friends in Key West - David and Adrienne. They traveled with us from Key West to Little Shark River. We happened to be going to the same place and happened to be leaving Key West at about the same time. They invited us over to dinner on their boat, and of course, we accepted. They are such great folks and have done a lot of cruising in many different places. We had a great time. At this point, we have no idea where they are, but we wish them fair winds and following seas in all their future adventures.