Harbor Islander: Stuart and Lake Okeechobee

Thursday, January 28, 2016.

It rained all night and is still raining as we leave Manatee Pocket at about 9:00. It’s a short ride to Stuart on the south fork of the Saint Lucie River. We wanted to pick up a mooring at Sunset Bay Marina, but none were available. We saw “Old Rosie” with Ben and Jane, who Frank and Debbie told us to look up. We talked on the phone for a while and Ben said he would call us if a mooring came available. We pulled into Frazier Creek and anchored at the Stuart free day dock at Shepard Park about 10:50.

Dubhe in Stuart

We walked to the Post Office in a light rain but it was further than we expected! Not too wet, we stayed at the dock for lunch then left about 2:00. Since no moorings were available, we anchored across the river in Pendarvis Cove. There were several boats already there, but plenty of space between them. I pulled up as close to the beach as I could because stronger westerly wind was predicted for the night. We were between two boats; one a large derelict power boat, but I estimated to be at least 200 feet from it, maybe 250. We took it easy for the rest of the day, reading, eating, etc. About 8:30 or 9:00 pm the rain intensified and the wind began to blow, maybe 20+ kts in gusts. (25mph). This was a strong storm associated with the cold front, marking the end of our several days of rain. No problem; we were anchored in good bottom, with good protection. Of course it’s dark but before heading to my bunk, I looked outside one last time to make sure all was well…it wasn’t. I was stunned to see the large derelict boat only about 20 feet from us, and it looked like collision was likely. It’s dark, pouring down rain, and blowing. What should I do? No choice but to get the anchor up and move but this is not going to be easy or fun. To make a long story short, Dubhe fired up right away, I got the anchor up in record time and we circled around in the anchorage in the dark. Fortunately, there was so much light from the surrounding town and buildings that I could see well enough to clear other boats and re-anchor nearer the channel. Now we do not have the wind protection of the land, the wind continued to blow hard, and I managed to be closer to another boat than I wanted, but I was not going to re-anchor again. We stayed put, but I did not get much sleep.

The derelict that almost got us.

Friday, January 29, 2016.

I was in a deep sleep when my phone rang at 8:00. (I never sleep this late!) It was Ben calling to tell us that a mooring had just opened up near them. We rushed to get the anchor up and within 20 minutes were riding at a mooring at Sunset Bay marina. We made a trip to Publix then showers, and on to a very nice afternoon walking around the old town of Stuart. We were impressed with the nice waterfront park and old streets full of restaurants, all done very well. This is a place we could come back to for a longer visit. At 5:00 we dingyed over to “Old Rosie” for drinks with Ben and Jane. We took the wine and beer and had a very nice time visiting with them, but I had to go to bed early to make up for the excitement the night before. Ben and Jane are a very congenial Canadian couple about our age.

Dingy Dock

Saturday, January 30, 2016.

I have rarely slept better than I did last night. The wind died and we were on a mooring. My only concern for today is the possible current. I have read reports that because of so much rain, the Corps of Engineers would be releasing more water from Lake Okeechobee via the Saint Lucie canal, just where we are planning to go. It is only about 30 miles, but if we have a very strong current against us, it could be a long day. We started early, slipping the mooring at 7:00. The best part of a mooring is that it is so easy to leave; no docklines or anchors, just let go of the pendent and drive away. The current was significant until we cleared the Saint Lucie Lock but after that, not nearly as bad as I expected. The lock raised us 14 feet and into fresh water. We arrived at the Port Mayaca lock at 12:45 and anchored to the north side of the channel where we did last year. The lock here will raise us about 2 feet into Lake Okeechobee. While we have time to make it across the lake today, we could not make LaBelle, so we decided to have an easy afternoon on Dubhe, writing this blog and reading. Grilled steaks for supper!

Approaching Saint Lucie Lock

Turbulence as the lock fills.

Anchorage just out of the channel at Port Mayaca Lock

Sunday, January 31, 2016.

Brought the anchor aboard at 7:10 and entered Lake Okeechobee via the Port Mayaca Lock about 7:30. It was a very nice trip across, with light wind behind us. Our autopilot “Captain Benmar” steered most of the way. Once we reached the canal on the west side of the lake, we had a nice current pushing us to over 6.5 kts. The next lock was Moore Haven which lowered us about 5 feet. The previous locks requested that we enter and “dock” on our port (left) side. I generally prefer to dock on Dubhe’s starboard side because of the way she “walks” to starboard when in reverse. The Moore Haven Lock gave us the option to hold on either side so we chose starboard. Apparently, there was still a current (from behind me) in the lock as I entered. When I reversed the engine to stop, the stern went to port away from the lock wall. Nancy had a line of the bow but I was now in danger of being completely sideways in the lock…not a good position. After several maneuvers, and “touching” the wall with the bowsprit/anchor, I managed to get it straight against the wall and we continued locking through. I take my boat handling seriously and this was not a pretty example. Fortunately, there were no other cruisers in the lock to witness the event. We continued on toward our destination, LaBelle, Florida where the City has several very nice FREE docks available to cruisers. We had a strong current pushing us to about 7 kts! As I mentioned before, the Corps of Engineers is releasing additional water from Lake Okeechobee which creates a strong current. Going this way it was fun, but in three months, we will have to go the other way! We passed through the Ortona Lock (without incident) which dropped us another 8 feet. I began to worry that there would not be a slip available in LaBelle, and there is no real suitable anchorage, and it is getting late. Much to my relief, one was available between a large trawler and a sailboat, which I backed into as the dock party watched. A long day of 65 statute miles.