Royal Palm Yacht Club: 60 Years
Strong
Traditions Ashore & Afloat
Gunkholers find
Paradise along the West Coast
by Ellen Schneider
Originally
posted in WAVES on December 29, 2006
Ellen And
Herb Schneider canoe down the Upper Peace River, followed by
Gail and David Bernstein
A sunset shrimp boil/ potluck
supper on a beach
on the Myakka River
MEMBERSHIP
When population began
to blossom in Fort Myers three years ago, triggering a real estate
boom, Royal Palm Yacht Club memberships jumped as well, but it began
a downward turn as the market slowed. Here's a look.
• 2003:
825 members
• 2004: 1,000
• 2005: 940
• 2006:
850
Waypoint Six, with dinghy in
tow, heads north on ICW during Gunkhole Cruise III.
TIMELINE
•1946: Idea of forming a yacht
club born from annual Edison Festival Regatta.
•1947: Chartered
as Fort Myers Yacht Club with 96 members. First meeting was Feb. 28,
1947, at the home of Bob Cramer. Clubhouse later built at City Yacht
Basin.
•1952: Name officially changed to Royal Palm Yacht Club.
Becomes registered with Lloyd's Registry of American Yacht Clubs,
and other national yachting and sailing associations.
•1958:
Bonds sold to members for $100 each to raise funds for riverfront
property for the clubhouse.
•1960: Along with 12 other yacht
clubs around Florida, formed the Florida Council of Yacht
Clubs.
•1961: Opening of new clubhouse on the Caloosahatchee
River. Club numbers 200 members.
•1984: Club youth sailing
program grows so large it spins off into separate organization,
Edison Sailing Center, still thriving today.
•1986: Renovation to
clubhouse adds second story, full restaurant-style kitchen and
doubles size of function areas.
•1986: Club votes to allow women
as full voting members.
•1987: Club celebrates 50th
anniversary
•2003: Carolyn Veglia is first woman to be appointed
commodore
•2006: Club begins yearlong celebration of 60th year
with about 900 members
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Is your
picture of Paradise watching the sunset, beverage in hand, while rocking
gently in a calm azure bay, ringed by white sand beaches and palm trees
with only the sounds of the native birds? Spots like these are fast
becoming as rare as junonia shells in Southwest Florida. The fleet of
Royal Palm Yacht Club has taken up the challenge to seek out these rare
and unique anchorages along our waterways for our group cruises.
“Gunkholing” is the nautical tag given to anchoring overnight
instead of tying up to a dock. Transplanted boaters from the
Northeast and the Chesapeake areas are probably most familiar with
this style of boating, and it has its roots in the independence of
sailing yachts. It gets its name from the stuff that is usually
dripping off your anchor and ground tackle when you haul anchor
after a night “on the hook.”
My
husband Herb Schneider and I brought this style of cruising with us
(as former sailors) from New England waters. Aboard our Marine
Trader 37, Waypoint Six, we found some excellent unspoiled,
little-frequented anchorages during our first forays along the Gulf
Coast in 2003. When we described these pristine spots to our
boating friends at Royal Palm Yacht Club, many of whom had never
anchored anywhere in the area, we were asked to lead a gunkholing
cruise for members of the club fleet. This has now become an annual
event.
In
March, 2006, we led our third RPYC gunkhole cruise, this time north
to Charlotte Harbor and the Peace and Myakka rivers. RPYC members
Chuck and Carol Fuechsel, who also had extensive anchoring
experience, assisted us in planning Gunkhole III. It has become a
tradition to make the “Gunkhole Guarantee,” a promise that
participants will go where they have never been before by boat.
Preparing for the cruise, the route and anchorages were selected
using charts of the area, local knowledge, and a selection of
cruising guides. A test run in an outboard was made by Herb and
Chuck to verify information about each anchorage, especially the
approach depths. This is an essential part of cruise planning these
days, since Hurricane Charley and successor storms have changed many
of the river and channel contours, and development has encroached on
the shoreline. It’s important to keep in mind that most of the
datum on today’s charts (depth readings, and symbols) date back to
the 1940’s and before.
The
dinghy fleet in a self-operated lock on the Myakka River, on the way
to explore more waterways
The
Gunkhole III cruising group included nine boats, from 25 to 46 feet
in length, with drafts from 2.5 to 4 feet. The boats were varied:
two trawlers, five cruisers of various styles, and two sailboats.
Although all of the captains and crew on this cruise had anchoring
experience, few had explored the area where we were heading.
The
first night’s anchorage we selected was the east side of Useppa
Island, overlooking Pine Island. As our boats arrived and dropped
their hooks in the afternoon, we opted not to do any rafting (tying
boats side-by-side) because the forecast was for rising winds.
Galleys were put into use to produce the evening’s gourmet delights,
and three boats hosted happy hour, with “heavy hors d’oeuvres” in
lieu of dinner. This is another “gunkhole tradition” that helps
everyone know each other better.
The
second day’s cruise took us past Cape Haze and into the Myakka
River. We dropped anchor early enough to launch dinghies and
explore the area, identified as Charlotte Beach on the charts. A
self-operated lock leading to a network of canals provided access to
miles of undeveloped area to explore. Later, we shuttled food and
supplies to a lovely sandy beach for a low-country shrimp boil with
all the fixings, as the sun set on a perfect day.
On
Day Three we headed to the Peace River, our destination well beyond
the 1-75 bridge where few large boats venture. An area of “thin”
water (two-foot depth on the chart) in the marked channel looked
challenging, but local knowledge and our advance exploration by
small boat proved we could make it through. All skippers decided to
brave the course on a rising tide and we all traversed it safely.
We found plenty of water to drop our hooks in the right fork off the
channel in Whidden Bay, and were rewarded with another beautiful
Florida anchorage, surrounded by marshes and native growth.
Our
course now had us heading on a homeward loop. After checking the
tides, we planned our Day Four cruise to Burnt Store Marina to give
crews a chance to top off fuel and water tanks and stretch their
legs. A potluck cookout topped off the day, and it was an early
lights out to prepare for the next day’s canoe trip down the upper
Peace River north of Arcadia.
On
the way again, we stopped at one of our favorite anchorages, Pelican
Bay off Cayo Costa. Taking dinghies ashore, we explored the state
park and the island’s beautiful beaches, and again closed the day
enjoying the setting sun during happy hour aboard three of our
boats.
Cabbage Key was our final destination for the traditional farewell
dinner. Since we were taking dinghies to the island, skippers
selected different anchorages, depending on their reading of the
winds and personal schedules for the morning’s departure to home
ports. Some of us headed back to the east side of Useppa, others to
the island’s west side, off the ICW. A pair of boats decided to
tuck into the secluded horseshoe bay at Punta Blanca. They got a
good look at the island’s wild hogs and other native wildlife.
Cabbage Key’s restaurant lived up to its reputation and served us a
delicious dinner. We celebrated the wonderful experiences we had
exploring new places, and the close friendships we established
during the week afloat. Making our way back to our boats across the
ICW in the moonless night, we got to test our night navigational
skills,
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Cruise
members enjoy the beauty of the Upper Peace River
near Arcadia
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There are many
other interesting anchorages in Southwest
Florida where Waypoint Six and the RPYC cruising
fleet have enjoyed the best Paradise has to
offer. I will try to do them justice in a
future article.
The Gunkhole
Cruise is one of many types of cruising
experiences boaters can enjoy as a member of the
Royal Palm Yacht Club. The club is a
sixty-year-old, private, not-for-profit yacht
club located in downtown Fort Myers.
For more
information about becoming a member, call
239-334-2176.
Traditions Ashore & Afloat is a column
about the activities of Royal Palm Yacht Club in Fort Myers, written
by club member Ellen Schneider of Cape Coral. Ellen and husband
Herb Schneider have been boating for over 20 years and currently ply
the Florida waters in their 37’ Marine Trader, Waypoint Six.
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