April 4, 2016
All went according to plan
yesterday, getting ready, and this morning for our departure at first
light. We had moved to the fuel dock to
top off and stayed there overnight which made getting away easier in this
current. We had a few rain showers first
thing, but mostly, the weather was good.
The first set of locks (Lincoln) went fine and there were slips
available in LaBelle, one of our favorite stops because they have excellent
docks with power and water for FREE! We had dinner at the local barbecue
restaurant with a couple we “met” in the Lincoln lock and traveled with to
LaBelle, Bob and Mary on Journey On. Long day, but a good start to our return and
crossing of Lake Okeechobee.
April 5, 2016
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| Anchorage wildlife |
We started at 8:00 because we
were not sure about the next lock, Ortona.
Reports were that it would have restricted hours due to construction so
no need to hurry. As it turns out, that
was not an issue and they opened on demand.
Because the weather is questionable tomorrow (east 15-20kt) and we have
never done the rim route, we decided to go that way. This route goes around the south side of the
lake to Port Mayaca Lock on the east side, rather than straight across. The west side and south of the lake is a
fairly protected canal and on the east side it runs along the levee, open to
the lake. But since the wind would be
out of the east, we would have protection the whole way. This route is also about 10 miles longer but
we went about 10 miles into the route and anchored in an area known as South
Bay. We were alone except for a few bass
fishermen and the wildlife, especially gators.
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| South Bay Lake Okeechobee |
April 6, 2016
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| The Lake |
The wind was predicted to be strong
from the north then turn east but we almost did not even notice the wind in our
anchorage. We started early, about 6:45
because we had a long day ahead. There
is one swing bridge along the route which is, at least partially, manually
operated. We had to call the bridge
tender who made his way from his nearby bait shop to the bridge. It took a few minutes longer than a normal
bridge but we were soon on our way. As
we rounded the south (bottom) side of the lake we encountered some pretty good
chop left over from the north wind, but as we made our way around the east
side, the water was smooth despite a 15-20 east wind. The Port Mayaca Lock was open on both ends
when we arrived, so we could just drive straight through. At the last lock, Saint Lucie, we were
dropped about 14 feet back into salt water.
We decided to pick up a mooring at the Sunset Marina in Stuart after a
long 10 hour day, showers, steak for supper, and a quiet night. Getting through the Okeechobee Waterway is a
major milestone. My repair to the heat
exchanger pipe seems to be working as there have been no leaks (so far) and
Dubhe is running cool!
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| Best deckhand at Saint Lucie Lock |
April 7, 2016
Another long day ahead, so we
started at dawn (about 6:45). Just
outside of the mooring field was our first drawbridge, but adjacent to it is a
railroad bridge that is normally in the open position, except when trains are
coming. Wouldn’t you know it…it was
down, ie closed to boat traffic. Forty-five
minutes later after two trains crossed, we got on our way. Sunny
and very pleasant day but a little breezy.
The major events of the day were caused by the large fast “bleach bottle”
boats operated by people with little interest in courtesy for their fellow
boaters and minimal brain capacity. One
event was a large motor cruiser that came up on our port side very close and
would not have slowed if I had not seen them at the last minute and called them
on the radio…we were rolled pretty badly.
Just ahead was a small jon boat with two people fishing. I called the motor cruiser and asked them to
please not sink them. Later, we were
passing (meeting) a pontoon boat which was less than 100’ off of our port
side. Without warning, a large Grady
White with twin outboards came from behind, between us at high speed. Way too close, way too fast, and everything
went flying. The second of our two favorite
coffee cups was broken in the melee. We
rafted Dubhe up to our friends on Imajine at a mooring in the Vero Beach
mooring field. Happy hour and a great
evening!
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| More drawbridges - Fort Pierce |
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| Rafted up at Vero Beach |
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