Randy Kambic

Special to The News-Press

Known as the Venice of America, it’s no wonder many of its canals have names like Mona Lisa, Genoa, Portabello, Messina, Casanova and Fermi. De Leon, the famed explorer who reached our shores, is represented, along with his homeland - Seville, San Jose, Don Pedro, Valencia and Alahambra. Classic English authors including Shakespeare, Keats, Brontë and Shaw appear. There are signs for Nevada, Vermont and Delaware; Florida is signified with Tamiami, San Carlos, Bonita, Seminole and Sarasota.

Bordered by water on three sides, Cape Coral – Florida’s third-largest-in-area city – has been a magnet for residential boat owners for decades. With more than 400 miles of canals — from short cul-de-sacs to several miles long with boundless four-way intersections constituting one of the most extensive systems worldwide — plus 20-plus lakes and basins, it affords a highly unique boaters and lifestyle experience.

Growth began in 1957 when Leonard and Julius Rosen of Gulf American Corporation purchased 103 square miles of land along the north shore of the Caloosahatchee River across from Fort Myers, plus 15,000 more acres two year later near Redfish Point. As showcased in an extensive permanent exhibit at the Cape Coral Historical Museum, more than 50 million cubic yards of dirt had been excavated by 1963 and development of canals continued through the mid-70s.

In “Selling the Dream,” David E. Dodrill, a history teacher at Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers, wrote “to reach the county-mandated minimum elevation of five and one-half feet above sea level, many of the canals in the yacht club area ended up nearly 200 feet wide, dredged the yacht basin to a depth of 32 feet” while “canals in the higher lands were often widened to 80 feet at a depth of six to 15 feet.” Other canals are 100 or 200 feet wide.

Marketed as a “Waterfront Wonderland” where one “didn’t have to be a millionaire to live like one,” the community grew rapidly and was incorporated as a city in 1970. These days, many local experts and boaters fully enjoy the unique waterways.

Along with pleasure-seeking passengers, Pat McCarn, owner of Cape Coral Canal Charters since 2009, and his wife Nancy, both U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary members, show prospective home buyers vantage points they can’t get from land with their 31-foot-long Sea Ray Sundancer.

“We’re a gateway to the Gulf including Matlacha and Pine Island, and people want to know what the best paths are before deciding,” said Pat. “All boaters should know heights of bridges, water depths, canal widths and locations of weirs (barriers between fresh and saltwater canals).”

“They also get ideas for their docks, waterfront gardens and yard decorations” by plying the canals, added Nancy.

The McCarns, who also help perform weddings and funerals at sea, helped organize Operation Tribute at Sea, the annual regional salute to fallen armed forces members sanctioned by the Wreaths Across America organization three miles out in the Gulf on Dec. 12. The Cape Auxiliary 9-10 conducts boating proficiency, safety and environmental education classes, and water quality tests among other services.

Paul Sandborn, official city historian and a president for 10 years and current board member of the Cape Coral Historical Society, previously worked in community relations for Gulf American. The canal structure was “incredibly unique, it was really kind of unheard of at that time.”

“If you live north of Cape Coral Parkway, you can’t use the Rubican Canal (a lengthy north-south waterway with many curves and bends that parallels Country Club Boulevard in many sections) to get into Bimini Basin,” which was the starting point for the annual holiday boat parade. Research is being done on potential ways to connect the waterways.

The Cape’s southeastern portion, between Herman Horton Memorial Park near Veteran’s Bridge Parkway and the Cape Coral Yacht Club near Redfish Point, sports many canals that provide access to the Caloosahatchee, including Minstrel, Mandolin, Flamingo, Bayside, Lafayette, Everest, Plato, MacKenzie and Lido.

Recreational boating is further enriched along the southern coast with two nearby resorts offering many wet slips, fuel, maintenance, dining, shopping, lodging and residences — Tarpon Point Marina and Cape Harbour, which is next to the Chiquita Boat Lock along South Spreader (rim) Canal, one of Pat McCarn’s favorite stretches with its “beautiful homes and nice slow going.”

The North Spreader Canal provides access to Matlacha Pass for boat-owning residents in the northwestern region of the canal system.

The Cape Coral Cruise Club, started in 1963, conducts monthly cruises for its 40-plus powerboat-owner members to area marinas, plus picnics on a portion of an island it owns near Alva. Public relations director Bruce Longman said his favorite waterways are the Bimini Canal that connects Bimini Basin and the river (“beautiful homes with so many great side canals”), the “river approach to Tarpon Point, where the marina expansion has given boaters another great option, and then just a little north to Cape Harbour.”

“When my wife and I moved here from Chicago in 2001, it was important to have access to the river, and we have it from our home on Pelican Canal.” He noted that a little less than half of all the canals are saltwater while the rest are land-locked fresh.

Along with being the club’s membership director, Phil Kryger belongs to the Cape Coral Sail and Power Squadron. He volunteers along with about 20 others in doing boat safety inspections in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard.

One river-access canal starts as Casaba at marker 92 near Cape Harbour at its southern extreme, with slightly deeper water than others according to Kryger, and then becomes Bluejay, Gloriana and ultimately Maraudeur after it goes under Cape Coral Parkway.

Reflecting on the original concept of the canal system, Sandborn concluded, “I’m pleased the idea was so successful.”

More Information

Cape Coral Canal Charters, 239-673-8749, capecharters.net.

Cape Coral Cruise Club, 239-541-0236, c-c-c-c.org.

Cape Harbour, 239-945-6116, capeharbour.com

Cape Coral Historical Museum, Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Wed & Thurs.; 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat. Adults: $5. 12 and under: $2. 544 Cultural Park Blvd., 239-772-7037, capecoralmuseum.org.

Cape Coral Yacht Club, 5819 Driftwood Pkwy., 239-574-0806

Tarpon Point Marina, 239-549-4900, tarponpoint.com