Hi Pete

Agree -
Lived in Cape Coral ,--some time ago -
We started a local fleet ,-in the 80s and had some excellent sailors - A number of us would travel to the Florida events and often win in class.
We used to sail off what was called locally
Bunch beach ,-near the causeway out to Sanibell and Captiva Island . It is most likely not there any longer due to growth in the area.
The budget resources and number of sailors was limited,
I obtained 4 large intertubes ,spray painted them with day glow orange spraypaint,-got some cement blocks from the job site and would set the course off the 18 and often serve as committee boat ,then race the course . Every one had a great time , great practise too.

It is a wonderfull place and area to sail ,-The sea life in that area of the Gulf is fantastic -Used to also hop on the 18 and sail down the coast to Naples , race with local mixed fleets there ,-then sail back up to Ft Myers.
Only possible on a fast cat

We used to also sail the river some nights and go to the waterfront restaurants and nightspots on the cats ,-
Tieing up on the dock in front ,-or beach if available.
great fun , never recieved a DWI on a cat {hick}
or ever ,---There must be areas that would welcome sailing craft left ,-either public or private .

NAMSA will be the central organization that represents sailors to help address these problems on several levels -
http://www.catsailor.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=NAMSA