Sunrise before storm at Marco Island
Anchorage in 10,000 Islands near Goodland, FL
Monday night anchorage near Goodland, FL
Marco Island is 4 miles wide by 6 miles long and is home to 14,000 year around residents. During the months of January to March the Island population swells to over 30,000 vacationers and winter residents. A large number of the snow birds are from the Mid-Western states of IA, IL, MN, WS, OH, MO and also Canada. Actually we met quite a few friends from our home turf in several Cities located on the south western coast of Florida.
History informs us that probably around 4000 BC the Calusa Indians, who may have been the descendants of the Mayans, inhabited the island. Due to disease brought to the island by the Spanish explorers, the Calusa were wiped out by the mid 1700s, later replaced by the Seminole. Until after the Civil War, there was little population occupying southwest Florida.
In 1870, W.T. Collier brought his wife and nine children to Marco Island. His son, William D. “Captain Bill” Collier, opened a 20-room hotel in 1896 that is today known as Olde Marco Inn. In 1922 Barron G. Collier (no relation to the other Colliers) purchased most of the island. Unfortunately, the depression took its toll and development of the island was postponed until 1962. It was at this time, when brothers Elliott, Robert and Frank Jr. Mackell developed a master plan for the island, after purchasing it from the Collier estate for the paltry sum of seven million dollars. Not surprising, prior to its development in the mid-1960s, the population was a mere 550, as the only way to reach the island was by crossing a narrow, wooden, hand-operated swinging bridge.
Around 1938 new development plans were in works for nearby Caxambas, (Marco Island) so 20 families and their simple early-Florida homes, the local store and the post office were relocated to Goodland free of charge by the Mackell brothers. This migration swelled the population considerably, changing the face of the village, but not the Old Florida hospitality. About 200 people now call Goodland home.
Our plan was to leave Marco today but when we looked at the sky this morning we remembered the phrase: “Red sky in morning sailors warning”. Due to the rotation of the Earth from west to east, storm systems tend to travel eastward across a local region of the globe. A reddish sunrise caused by particles suspended in the air, often foreshadows an approaching storm which will be arriving from the west, within the day. Conversely, a reddish sunset often indicates that a storm system is on the east side (opposite the sunset), travelling away from the viewer. A similar movement is noted all around the world, in both the northern and southern hemisphere. You can see from the picture it was pretty red.
We had heavy showers and winds around 11:00 and then it seemed to clear up a little so we elected to venture out, winding though the Marco River ( often not clearly marked with navigational aids and shallow) to an anchorage seven miles and 1 ½ hours away. Tomorrow we hope to make it 60 miles to Little Shark River for another anchorage, weather permitting.
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