#SANIBELISLANDSAILING AND #MARCOISLANDSHELLING BEFORE #HURRICANEIAN2022

#catamaransailing #leopard48catamaran #sanibelisland #marcoisland #hurricaneian In 2021, we sailed to Sanibel Island and enjoyed the fishing, bike riding and beauty of the island before Hurricane Ian hit September 2022. Our hearts go out to those who lost so much. This video is in remembrance of Sanibel. While there we visited the JN Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the Shell Museum (better than it sounds!), and caught snook. It was a beautiful sail back to Marco Island, averaging 11 knots SOG with over 19 AWS, followed by a calm night anchored in front of the beach. Back at the dock, Stephen worked on his bird deterrent methods. The bird droppings and seeds they leave behind are an issue on the docks. So, Stephen fabricated a medieval spike device and we placed it on the top of our mast. It helped somewhat, but then they decided to land on the spinnaker sheet and the rigging. Recently Stephen read a book called “The Fuzz”, which discusses all of the ways that park ranges deal with wildlife and the bottom line is - nothing will work. It may work for a couple of hours, but they always figure it out and move to their next favorite spot. So, Christmas decorations just had to distract us from the bird problem. TIMELINE: 00:00 Intro 00:10 Sailing to Sanibel Island 01:05 Sanibel JN DING Darling national wildlife refuge, Shell Museum 01:50 Fishing for Snook 03:10 Let’s go swimming! 04:00 Busy Sanibel Inlet 04:34 Marco Island Beach side anchorage 05:58 Bird deterrent methods for our boat 09:33 Christmas Holiday Marina Decorations LINKS: SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjfh_pM48xnJ7dr4jTvt8cw?sub_confirmation=1 BLOG SITE: https://bluedotvoyages.com FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/bluedotvoyages INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bluedotvoyages.sailingpilar SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SAILING & CRUISING VIDEOS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz8Z8h1MloaPvYnhmg91yDvNa5pvbHdhp CATAMARAN MAINTENANCE VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz8Z8h1MloaOcpGajnaH0DPm1U0otTJtc 2022 SAILING & CRUISING VIDEOS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz8Z8h1MloaOz5zw1UuBtQVdxZtGQEWJ5 Blue Dot Voyages is a Sailing Adventure Company. On our Leopard48 Sailing Catamaran PILAR, we sail, fish, snorkel, scuba, and we offer travel advice on our blog and vlog. We offer long charter sailing experience trips when we can. Watch our videos and live vicariously through us! Master Captain: Stephen Bell First Officer: Dawn Bell