Archive for June, 2012

Creating a New Reef

On July 2 the cutter Mohawk will be scuttled to become the Mohawk Veterans Memorial Reef dedicated to all veterans.  The 165 foot World War II Coast Guard cutter will be sunk in 90 feet of water, 30 miles off the coast of SW Florida.  One thing that will set apart the Mohawk from other military ships sunk as reefs... Read More »


Tropical Storm Debby Impact

Although the storm is far from us we are getting quite a bit of gusty winds and intermittent rain.  The south west winds are forcing more water into the Bay which is then washing up on shore.  Canal levels are very high with many docks under water.  We are lucky though as there doesn’t appear to be any major damage. ... Read More »


2012 Summer Newsletter

The real estate market on this island paradise is doing just fine. The positive movement we reported in our last several newsletters has continued into the first half of this year. Read More »


Sanibel Bear Relocated

Yesterday afternoon a Florida Fish and Wildlife officer was able to successfully tranquillize the black bear that has been on Sanibel for a year now.  He had been roaming around the island more, presumably looking for a mate and was almost hit by a car on the east end of Periwinkle Wednesday night.  They estimated his weight at 200-250 pounds and he is approximately 3.5... Read More »


Sanibel’s July 4th Celebration

The theme for this year’s parade is “Sanibel Island – #1 Destination”.  After the parade there is food and drinks available at Baileys and also at Jerrys with additional activities at Jerrys for the kids.  The Optimist Club annual Road Rally takes place at noon.  Then from 6-9PM there is a community party at The Dunes followed by the fireworks display which starts at... Read More »


Classical South Florida

After several years with no classical music stations on the local radio, a new one has just debuted in our southwest Florida area.  Classical South Florida is a nonprofit, listener-supported, public radio organization dedicated to broadcasting classical music and it can be found at 88.7 on the FM dial.  Our local NPR station 90.1 used to broadcast classical music, but changed their... Read More »


Island Bear

After several months of no sightings, Sanibel‘s lone black bear has been spotted several times lately.  He was on the road behind the Dunes for awhile and has recently been seen back on conservation land.  He first appears over a year ago.  No one is quite sure how he got here, but he either swam over or paid his $6 and... Read More »


Banner Year for Sanibel Ospreys

A grand total of 125 osprey babies fledged this year making it the most successful osprey nesting season since records started being kept back in 1979.  Out of 133 nests, 78 were occupied.  One of the worst years was 2007 when only 48 babies fledged.  It’s good to see this magnificent bird making a comeback. Read More »


Sanibel Real Estate Stats

Here are some interesting statistics comparing sales so far this year to the total sales in previous years: Sanibel Sales for 2003 through 2012 Houses       Number Sold (closed)       Average Sale Price 2003                       238                       $698,622 2004                       269                        $851,418 2005                       266                        $1,017,864 2006                       156                        $1,144,135 2007                       143                        $1,024,007 (-10.5% from ’06) 2008                       147                        $957,316  (-6.5% from ’07) 2009                       144                        $755,003 (-21.13% from ’08)... Read More »