Wednesday, January 14, 2015

January 13-14, 2015 Anchored near Alligator Creek Punta Gorda and Windmill Village

On Monday the forecast was for steady rain.  So we decided it would be much better if we simply stayed in the marina one more day and did all the laundry and shopping.  And enjoyed the rain at the dock instead of contending with showers anchored.  

As it turned out, the rain wasn't steady and it was rather pleasant temperature wide.  The weather forecasts once again weren't quite accurate.  But it worked out ok.  We don't have a schedule so another day isn't a big deal.  We'll leave tomorrow.

The next morning I was trying to decide whether or not to get a pump out here and fuel up or wait until next week when we’re in Ft. Meyers beach.  When I returned our laundry card to the dock master, he reminded me about the 5% discount on fuel if you stayed at the marina.  Ok, so 5% isn't anything to sneeze at and even though its pretty tight by the fuel dock I've seen other sort of big boats go in there.  

Seemed to be a logical choice to take advantage of the discount and proximity.  So we untied but only after myself and on of our dock neighbors finally got the electrical unhooked.  Seems when they connected our electrical cord, they didn't twist it on.  These plugs are supposed to be pushed in and then locked by twisting them clockwise.  We couldn't twist it because it was never twist-locked into the power pedestal.   I finally just pulled and it almost dropped of in my hand.  Sheez …

Leaving Fisherman Wharf marina after fueling up
We left the dock out and made the three 90 degree turns towards the fuel dock only to find a sailboat occupying a good portion of the dock.  Undaunted I went in anyway and was able to snuggle up to the far end of the dock.  As soon as we tied up the sailboat left.  

We fueled up (only 129 gallons) and pumped out the holding tank.  We had to wait a short time until another boat that had snuck in, left.  We backed away and turned around and out the channel we went. 

It was low tide but we had plenty of water as we made our way the 7 miles down river towards an anchorage near Alligator Creek. 

Anchored in Peace River near Alligator Creek
We found a decent spot that would shield us from the expected north winds tonight and dropped the hook.  But, the windlass suddenly began free-wheeling.  Uh Oh.  It stopped after a few seconds but that isn't supposed to occur.  So we have a windlass problem I think.  We’re staying here another night so I’ll have time to tinker around with it.  Hauling all that chain and anchor by hand is not giving me happy thoughts.

We eventually brought the dinghy down using power from the inverter.   I need to run the generator tonight to make water so we'll have several hours of charging time available.

We secured the davit since we will be towing the dinghy for the next few weeks simply because we’ll be using it so much. 

It started right up and we took off for Alligator Creek which is the access to the Peace River for many of the developments in Punta Gorda including Windmill Village where Mary’s parents lived for several years back in the 70’s.  And I distinctly remember Uncle Ed talking about this 35 years ago when he and lived down here. 

The creek is around 5 feet deep most of the way and it’s a long trek to WindMill Village.  It winds back and forth along mangrove banks on one side, and homes on the other.  Just as we approached a couple in a small boat I noticed the woman using a fish net to bring in what turned out to be a 36 inch snooker.  Ironically we had talked with these folks at the fuel dock a few hours before.

Lock in Alligator Creek
There is a lock about halfway up the creek which was wide open and not operating when we passed by.  I think it connects Punta Gorda Isles to Alligator Creek?  If not PGI, then  some other development.  

We finally found ourselves in the vicinity of WindMill Village, confirmed by a couple sitting on their porch as we went by.  We turned into a small channel and found ourselves in a small basin which turned out to be a secondary marina of sorts.  A nice gentleman directed us to head up the creek a little ways where we’d find the main marina, clubhouse and pool.  And sure enough, we turned into this little canal at marker 55 and after 2 more 90 degree turns we were in the marina basin which I remember from the 70’s.

Windmill Village canal
Windmill Village pool and shuffleboard courts
Windmill Village pool
Windmill Village clubhouse from the marina
Windmill Village clubhouse from the road
The pool looked the same, the clubhouse was all new and most of the homes looked new too.  I went out to take a few pictures and ended up chatting with a man who, it turns out, was from Wisconsin.  He told me after hurricane Charlie swept through much of Windmill Village was rebuilt.  Only the pool and shuffleboard course were basically unchanged.

couldn't remember where the houses were here back then so I didn't bother walking to where I think they were located.  We just took a few more pictures and headed back out the creek and eventually back to the boat.
Windmill Village marina.  Thats Mary in the dinghy on the left
The anchorage here is quite nice.  We aren’t too close to shore due to depths but the mangroves provide a good barrier against the winds and there’s very little current here even though the tidal levels are about 2 feet.  And ideal place to be.  And weirdly enough we get several broadcast TV channels.  The clearest is showing the original superman programs with George Reeves.  Too bad the sun is setting and its cocktail time!

Today we were going to leave but Mary wasn't feeling well and pretty much slept the whole morning.  So the weather was pretty crappy with heavily overcast skies.  The winds were out of the north and should continue from that direction for the next few days which is good for us since we are nicely tucked in here along the mangrove shore which is a good wind and wave break.

While Mary slept I emptied our gas can into the dinghy and then took off back to Windmill Village to mail a letter.  Well, a bill actually.

The gloomy day made the journey a bit less enjoyable but I had to get that bill in the mail.  Perserverence!

I soon tied up in the Windmill Village marina and started walking to the club house next to the marina.  I asked a nice lady who was driving a golf cart where a mail box was located.  She stopped and said in the mail room, and then just took the letter out of my hands and said she'd drop in the mail.  Ok,  I've learned not to argue with little old ladies.

Drove back to boat and basically spent the day cleaning up boat documentation files and bemoaning the pitiful output from the solar panels.  It'll be a long generator run tonight.

Tomorrow though, if Mary feels better, we'll head to Cay Costa.  The weekend is forecast to be sunny and warm and there is a great beach there. 

Monday, January 12, 2015

Jan 1-12 2015 Ft. Meyers and Punta Gorda


Mary and I went into town the next morning to walk to the store for a few things.  We strolled through the downtown area instead of the taking the walking path along the river.

The main drag in Ft. Meyers

A Banyan Tree near the city administration building
We took the dinghy out for a spin.  We haven't run it fast since last week and I wanted to get some fresh gas in the tank because it was stumbling along every once in a while.  So we ran it out on the ICW for a bit and then came in and went over to Legacy Harbour Marina.  Some very fine boats in there and even a few Looper boats.  Returning to our boat, we just relaxed on board.
The Anchorage.  Thats Quimbee on the left.
The next day I ran into the marina but ran afoul of the law!  A FWC boat just leaving the marina basin pulled me over for running too fast.  All of the area around the marina including the anchorage is a slow speed zone.  He also noted our registration sticker had a faded expiration date and that having inflatable life jackets didn't count.  They have to be worn unlike the regular life jackets which can just be carried on board.  All this resulted in a warning ticket with the explanation that if I was caught violating any of these warning items I'd be arrested.  Great start to the day!

I finally tied up to the dinghy dock and went in to the marina office to buy a fire extinguisher for the dinghy.  I had one on board  already but it was a bit too large so I bought a smaller model.  Then I ran the dinghy over to the gas dock and filled the tank with good old marina gas which is real gas, not the alcohol blended stuff which wrecks havoc on some outboard engines.  

Took the dinghy, slowly, out to the ICW where I could run it fast and after I returned it sure was running better.  Went back to the boat and pretty much just relaxed again.  But I did take a permanent marker and write in our expiration date on the  dinghy registration sticker. 

Part of the Ft. Meyers river front
Next day, same as the last.  Boy are we adventuresome.  But today I had a brief spike of adventure when I walked to Publix with the couples from our small contingent of boats.  Seems like we all had to hit the grocery store.   It's only a mile walk right along the river and the majority of the route is through a great park.

That night we had a hot hors-d'oeuvre cocktail party aboard our boat with Steve, Liza, Brent and Susan.  Great fun!  And Mary made great food!  Must be that new stove.

We ended the evening playing a game called Farkle.  We did not exhibit a talent for the game.  So we lost.  Badly.

Looking towards the marina from the river walk
Next morning we took the dinghy into the marina again and did laundry and took a walk around the downtown area.  Fort Myers downtown is only a few blocks from the marina.  Very convenient.

Nice sunsets and pleasant evenings
Later we all  met at the dock to try a place nearby called Stevie B's for a burger dinner.  But as we got there the owner apologised but said they were about to close.  So we headed to downtown and Fords Garage but the wait there was over thirty minutes so we went across the street to Los Cabos Cantina, a Mexican place.  Fun time!  We all set out to head back to the marina but the others wanted to wander over to the park.  Mary wanted to get back so we left the group and headed back to the boat.

Today it was windy but we took the dinghy into the marina again.  Its about a 1/2 mile ride from the anchorage to the dinghy dock in the marina.  If the wind is in opposition to the tidal current it can get a little bouncy like it was today.  

Unique bathrooms at Fords Garage
We were determined to try out Fords Garage since everyone we've talked to recommended it as a place not to be missed.  So we walked downtown and into Fords Garage.   No wait. 

 Mary ordered the Ford Standard, a heart attack burger with bacon and an egg on top.  The few tomatoes they added came off immediately and were flung over to my rather bland, normal cheeseburger.  In the end, we ate enough to suffice for lunch and dinner

Fords Garage
At Fords Garage we finally hatched a new  plan different from the one we had figured out before.  We decided to stay here in the Ft. Meyers Yacht Basin (cheap!) versus running up to Punta Gorda tomorrow and staying there at double the price.  We are meeting Greg, Dona, Don and Carole, there for a few days later in the week.  Seems we have some old cruising friends stopping in Venice now too and that’s where some other old cruising friends are staying so we may just end up going up that way for a few days.  We are still planning on getting on a mooring in Ft. Meyers Beach until the end of January where we'll hang around with Dave and Joanne a few days before leaving for the Keys.  We might be traveling with Quimbee down to the Keys.   They are planning on returning to their boat near the end of the month are heading to Marathon around Feb 1.

So after formulating this new plan and consuming several thousand calories of Ford’s Garage finest, we left the place and walked up McGregor Blvd. to see the Edison and Ford Winter Estates again although we didn’t pay the fee to take the tour again.  

The dark overcast slowly lightened up and turned sunny!  Maybe that’s what motivated Mary to purchase a few more herb plants.   I like sunny days for a number of reasons, not the least being the impact it has on our solar panel output.  Lots of suns equates to lots of amps to keep the batteries charged.

We returned to the boat around 5 and read for a while before I got antsy and dinghied into the marina and took a walk for awhile.  The wind died down a little so the dinghy ride wasn't too wet this time.

Small but it zips around just fine
The second day we were here I had finally deployed our alternate, little dinghy and tried it out with the motor Dave let us try.  The motor is a little 2 hp Nissan 2-stroke.  Runs sweet!  But the motor has no transmission so once its started its going some where.  I forgot about that and when I started it the first time I pretty much drove the dinghy up on the swim platform.  Ooops.

The dinghy is a tiny, only 8 feet in length.   It’s also heavy duty PVC, not the sturdier Hypalon material on our large dinghy.   I originally purchased this for taking Cleo, our old dog, to shore.  Getting the big dinghy down is such a hassle and this thing is easy to blow up.  So now, with a nifty little motor, it'll be the new dog dinghy when/if we ever get another dog.  Or a better alternative for going short distances.  Although both Mary and I have yet to experience dinghy co-occupancy.  The initial attempt of both of us getting in to it might be worthy of some video.
  
Brent's brother, Chuck, was in town with his wife and they were saying aboard their boat.  So using that as an excuse to go out on the town, we made plans to try Stevie B’s again. 

Steve and Liz at Brent and Susan's boat
At 5pm we went over to Steve and Liz's boat and gave them a ride in to the dock.  Brent, minus Susan and his brother who weren't feeling well, brought Cheryl in so it was only 6 of us. 

We walked over to Stevies confident they would be open since I had stopped there on the way to Publix earlier in the day to confirm their hours.  The place has a little bar which was fully occupied when I walked in.  The owner assured me he be open late, but, "get there by 6".  

Stevie B's
What a fun place.  Two guys, who appeared mildly high,  ran the place which is basically a bar which serves hamburgers.  Too funny!  We sat down and the bar tender/waiter came over and after cracking a number of jokes, took very precise notes as we ordered.  But nothing came out quite right.  They had run out of coleslaw so we received a free lemon cake desert instead.  We, well Cheryl Steve and I, tried his homemade pea soup.  Never had anything quite like it before.  The hamburgers were, well hamburgers.  But the two guys running the place were entertaining to say the least.  Very funny.

In the past there was usually a guitar player banging out classic songs but alas, not the days we were there.

We all got in our respective dinghies and shoved off after walking back to the marina from Stevie B’s.  It’s only about a half mile and it was a pleasant evening.

Brent and Cheryl left first and then we pulled away from the dock.  Not 30 seconds later the engine up and died.  Steve and I both figured something was caught in the prop.  And sure enough, one of the dinghy stern lines was wrapped around the prop.  So I got out on the back of the boat and teetered there as Steve raised the engine up enough for me to untangle the line.  Took us only 5 minutes which is unprecedented for a problem to be diagnosed and solved.  Our luckily night.  Brent and Cheryl, noticing our absence came back in looking for us just as we got the engine going again.

I was able to do our pump out at the dock!
Everyone else is leaving tomorrow for Ft. Meyers Beach.   Except us.  We’re executing our Fords Garage plan and heading into the marina.  We can get the batteries fully charged up and do all the laundry and get pumped out while there.  And escape the gale force winds predicted for the next day.  These winds and cold air are the remnants of that big bubble of arctic air that descended on the country last week.    I was receiving a few weather related complaints from several people we know who still shiver up there in the hinterland.  Guess now its our turn.  55 degrees!  We’ll all freeze to death!

The channel into the anchorage is narrow as I've said before.  But its also a bit shallow too. So, risking mutiny, I wanted to leave around 8am while the tide was relatively high.  There was no mutiny because I've learned the power of  a cup of coffee.  And we ended up leaving at 8:30 and were tied up at the dock by 8:45.  The poor engines barely got warm.

Meanwhile Steve and Liza and Brent and Susan pulled their anchors and left right behind us.  An unspoken cruising rule is for the deep draft vessels to always go first thus assuring a safe passage for those of less draft.   Ok, I’m kidding … sort of.

Tied up.  A day later we had a boat right in front of us.
We cleaned the exterior of the boat and washed the windows today.  It was forecast to be blowing gale force winds the following day so we worked on the outside today.  Tomorrow out comes the vacuum cleaner and dust rags.  I suppose its better to do all this stuff in warm temperatures under a sunny sky then gray clouds and frigid temperatures.

After midnight the winds picked up dramatically.  There is a long fetch and very strong northerly winds roar down the river kicking up some impressive waves.  Although there were still some boats out in the anchorage they were bouncing around pretty good.

We spent the day cleaning the inside.  An later in the morning an older Marine Trader 49  pulled in right in front of us.  The dock was clear for a few hundred feet before they came in.   

Leaving early in the morning would have been a breeze.  Now though, not so much.  Their stern was about 5 feet from our bow.  If the winds are still strong tomorrow it will be exciting getting off the dock since the wind has us pinned pretty tightly to the pilings.

The owner of the 49 footer in front of us is a Canadian named Steve.  I talked with him briefly after he tied up.  They are sort of doing the loop, having begun their journey in Ontario.

 He was up around 7am when I was taking in the dock lines and preparing to get underway.  He helped and I was able to easily pulled the stern off the dock and straightened out in the fareway before heading out into the ICW.

A houseboat bar about 10 miles down river
So once again we started out on another long, rather unexciting trip through a well marked channel.  We eventually went by Sanibel and Cabbage Key before 11 am so we were making good time.  We had to be at the marina up in Punta Gorda before 5pm.

As we passed Cabbage Key I remembered my vow to return there and visit Floyd , the burger stealing Heron again.  This time though I’m ordering a salad.  We’ll see what he does with that.   

We ran by Cayo Costa where we’ll anchor for a few days and then made the turn to head up the Peace River towards Punta Gorda.

By afternoon it was getting pretty rough in the river with the strong north winds and long northern fetch.  And we, of course were heading north right into it.

As we neared Punta Gorda the winds continued but the swells began to lessen to a great degree.   And as we head into the Fisherman’s Wharf  channel it was basically calm seas and only mild breezes.

Entering the yacht basin
We made it in the basin but didn't make the correct turn to port so had to turn around and re-trace our route for a small distance until we came to B22.  I backed it in and after several minutes we were tied up.
All tied up
Come on Don.  It's not that bad!
Don and Carole arrived a few hours later and soon after Greg and Don.  We enjoyed a reunion of sorts on the boat for a few hours until heading over to the The Captains Table which is on the upper floor of Harpoon Harrys, one of restaurants in Fishermans Wharf right across from the maina.

Dona and Greg planned on staying aboard for the next two nights.  But I hadn't looked at the weather.  The temps overnight plunged to a bone chilling 48.  Now I know some of you are rolling your eyes.  48?  Bone Chilling?!  But consider that we've now become acclimated to this sub tropical climate.  If its 60, out come the jackets.  If its 50 Mary has on ear muffs and gloves.  We are wusses no doubt!




House of Breakfast.  Really good!
Next morning we went over to breakfast at the local breakfast place, House of Breakfast.  Greg drove us in their new Honda Fit.  Sweet car.

We came back to the boat and while I reconfigured our onboard router the others engaged in conversation or TV.  Our router lost its configuration and I couldn’t locate the backup so I had to re-do it all again from memory. 

That completed and the Ohio State basketball game having ended, we left for Don and Carol's place in Venice where we enjoyed drinks and a great dinner before heading off to the Venice Theater.  We were joined by Dave and Barbara, Don and Carol's friends.

I’m not much if a play person, but this play was really quite good.  Very entertaining, and with all local actors.  It was a musical about the life of  Buddy Holly and his music.  The cast did a great job playing the songs so I’m assuming they were all musicians as well as actors.  Very nice time!

We went back to Don and Carol's house but it was so late we just ate desert and abandoned the previously grand idea of playing games after the play.  We were all too tired.  It was 11:30.  My, how we've changed.  Anyone remember Putin Bay?

Next morning we walked into Punta Gorda and had ice cream.  Before noon!   We started to head back to the marina but with Mary on a mission, we had to pick up the pace and had a brisk walk back to a bar, Harpoon Harrys to watch the game.  And, as always, there were plenty of other Packer fans all decked out in their regalia. 

Mary (#18) and the other rabid Packer fans
The bar couldn't turn the volume up on the projection TV (a 9 foot screen) So Mary joined the old men at one of the bars where there were TV’s with sound while Greg, Dona and I watched the big screen and conversed about non Packers related things.  We ate there.  Fried food.  Is there any other kind at a sports bar?
Mary, Greg and Dona before Mary ditched us for her fan friends
We left at half time and watched the 2nd half on the boat (they won).  Dona took me to the local Publix  during the 4th quarter so I missed the controversial play.   After we returned Greg and Dona left to head back to their place in the Villages

A section of the downtown area

River front is lively.  Hwy 41 bridges in the background
I took another stroll to a different section of downtown Punta Gorda and still can recall anything familiar.  Did get caught in a brief downpour though.

Tomorrow we head to Alligator creek where there is an anchorage.  We plan to take the dinghy up the creek to Windmill Village to see what that look like after 35 some years.    Then the next day we’ll anchor at Cayo Costa for a few days before heading to Ft. Meyers Beach and the mooring field there.  Or maybe we’ll head over towards Venice and Englewood where there is another nice anchorage.  We’ll have to decide that though based on the weather.









Tuesday, January 6, 2015

December 27-December 31 Stuart to Ft. Meyers via Okeechobee Waterway


The 2 ring leaders who were the loudest
We began our normal processing for leaving a dock by unhooking shore power and cutting over the boat electrical system to the inverter, starting all the navigation systems and untying dock lines.  This however seemed to irritate the gaggle of annoying pelicans surrounding us and they became unusually ardent in their disapproving squawking and fluttering around.  Tuff!

Through all the pelican commotion we eventually did leave the dock  and ran up to the fuel dock for fuel and a pumpout.  The fuel price was cheap.  But of course the one time I dont read the details ... It didn't include tax so the 150 gallons we bought cost us about $14 more than another fuel stop further down the South Fork of the St. Lucie River.  Oh well.

Leaving HarborTown Marina in Ft. Pierce
We made the uneventful 3 hour journey to Stuart down the now familiar ICW.  The Crossroads (Satellite picture below.  Ft. Pierce is to the top.), is where the St. Lucie Inlet meets the ICW and St. Lucie River .  It, as usual, was busy and all the markers were re-arranged which is typical of this area.
Ocean to the right St. Lucie River to the left, ICW top and bottm
And, of course, we got waked (when a boat passes by leaving a large wake which rocks and rolls your boat sometimes dangerously) by a huge sport fishermen that blew by us in typical south Florida fashion.

And for the curious, the story of St. Lucie (or Lucy) is here.

We called Loggerhead Marina and they found a spot for us to tie up alongside instead of going into a slip.  This afforded us the ability to get our dinghy down.  I wanted to run it for awhile because it wasn't doing too well in Fort Pierce.   And we will be using it quite a bit now that we can anchor out frequently.
Tied up at loggerhead
We were in the little fuel dock basin, all alone actually.  Steve the dockmaster is still there and so is Tommy and a new dock master, Jim.  Loggerhead has stumbled into a weird situation where you cannot stay on board your boat for 5 consecutive days because that violates the marina's live-aboard license issued by the state.  Seems the condo owners (the marina is really in a condo complex) are pushing this and the marina has no choice but to enforce it.  So the marina was forced to ask 48 boats to leave earlier this spring.  Many of them ended up in Ft. Pierce at Harbortown.  In any event our stay is limited to the 5 days.

We did get the dinghy down again and sped around Stuart simply to run it for a while.  And ended up going to Sunset Marina for a drink and then went down the south fork of St. Lucie River to check on the shallows where we have to head in a few days.

I really like Stuart and took several walks around the town along familiar routes.  We're just hoping Loggerhead gets everything straightened because we'd stay here over the winter next year. Well, for a little while since the Keys are the best place to be!

Happy breakfast eater at roosevelts (owner in the background)
While we were in Stuart we hit Uncle Giuseppe's Lil-Bit-A-Brooklyn, our favorite pizza place.  We also stopped and had breakfast another favorite place, Roosevelts.  It's this little dinner owned by a family.  Its cheap and good!

After breakfast at Roosevelts we walked about 6 miles to various stores obtaining fabric for curtains.  So here I was carrying a bag and a 5 foot roll of fabric down Highway 1.  Stuart doesn't have a lot sidewalks along this stretch of the highway so were pretty much walking in the road.  Quite a sight I'm sure.

And we did make the obligatory stop for frozen yogurt at this yogurt place we discovered, Hoffmans.

The day we left, Monday, we had a diver over to clean off the bottom.  Nothing badly overgrown with barnacles and the pronouncement was the bottom and running gear were in good shape.

The day before, Brent and Susan along with Quimbee went by us heading down to the Okeechobee Waterway.  We planned on leaving a day after.  Steve and Liz had a starter issue and will probably be delayed a day after us so it looks like we'll be alone for a few days.

Map of Okeechobee Waterway
The Okeechobee Waterway provides a short route over to the est side of Florida from Stuart.  It runs through the St. Lucie River, and Lake Okeechobee and eventually into the Caloosahatchee River .  For anyone wishing to sample a bit of old Florida, this provides a good taste.  And its only about 120 some miles from Stuart to Fort Myers so a 2-3 day journey at our speeds.

While the diver was at the boat, I biked a few gallons of used oil to a re-cycling place.  I had changed the transmission oil while we were here and also did all the on-engine fuel filters. I already swapped out all 4  Racor Fuel filters while Mary was at Church the other day in Ft. Pierce

So we left around noon with 22 miles to go to Indiantown Marina.  But we had one lock to go through which can be a cause for delay in some instances and we wanted to get into the marina before dark.  Its a rather small place and we're a big boat so having a few dock hands around is always a good thing.

Loggerhead marina (not visible) is around and to the left of the large bridge.   The railroad bridge is raised and behind the Roosevelt bascule bridge in the foreground.
We headed out towards the Roosevelt Bridge (one we've walked across several hundred times in the past) but before we could go through it there is a railroad bridge about 20 yards in front which has to be open.  This is a railroad bridge which opens only when trains are on the way.  A horn blows and the lights at the waterline turn yellow.  This action is repeated for 10 minutes, the interval slowly growing shorter until the bridge finally squawks one loud blast and starts to draw down.  I've seen this numerous times from shore.  Luckily this time the bridge remained open so we could go right through.

 We called the bridge and they opened and we went through and heading down the south fork of the St. Lucie River.  The indicated shallow spots were indeed really shallow.  At times we had maybe 2-3 inches between the bottom and our hull.  It was dead low tide though so at higher tide levels I'm sure it wouldn't present an issue.

St. Lucie Lock (note the gate partially open)
The St. Lucie Lock was actually ready for us so we slid right in.  It took a few seconds remembering how we did the other 150 locks we've been through.  But it came back,  This lock raised us up 14 feet.  The locks on the Okeechobee Waterway fill and empty their chambers by opening the appropriate lock gate a small amount to allow water to spill in or out.  There can be some substantial current generated as we found out in the St. Lucie lock.  But it was manageable.  This lock had the highest lift/drop of all the locks we'll need to negotiate.

We slowly cruised through the St. Lucie Canal and on into Indiantown Marina.  The canal is simply a very straight and rather narrow waterway lined on either bank with mangrove and swamp.

They are kinda cute aren't they?
 And yes, I saw two gators out sunning themselves.  I'm guessing this isn't a popular waterskiing area.














Entrance to the marina
Its almost too easy to miss the entrance channel to Indiantown Marina it's so small.  But we turned in and it was tight!  wasn't sure where I was supposed to go as all the docks were filled ... except the one right off pur port which, as it turns out, is where we were suppsoed to tie up.  Thats why all the guys were stading around waving at us!

I spun the boat around and nestled it into the dock and we tied up in no time.  Paid ($1 a foot) and we enjoyed a quiet evening.  Very calm inside and they had a neat little outdoor gathering area there for us to use.
All settled in.  Delightful place









We left Indiantown marina early, 7:30am.  Luckily it was calm and no tidal current because we had very little room to navigate in the basin. I pushed the boat off the dock and we made to hard right turns and were in the canal again!



Turning into the channel leaving the marina
In the canal leading up to Port Mayaca
Got near Port Mayaca and Port Mayaca and the Port Mayaca Lock but we were  confronted with a lift bridge.  It's actually a railroad bridge that, when I looked through the binoculars a few minutes previously, was high and in its 49 foot open position.  Now though when we were were right in front of it, the almost imperceptible downward movement caught my eye.  So we stopped and sure enough the darn thing was slowly moving down and made it the water level in about 5 minutes.  Then, as we waited, a train lumbered its way across the bridge.  That took 10 minutes.  And finally, after several more minutes of waiting after the train passed, the bridge began to rise at an infinitesimally slow pace.  We were idling around for 40 minutes before being able to proceed to the lock. 

Railroad Lift bridge
The Port Mayaca Lock connects the canal to Okeechobee Lake.  We were able to drive right in and get lowered 2 feet to the lake level.   We went right through and out into Lake Okeechobee.    The lake was wonderfully flat and calm but fog obscured much of the shoreline.  Visibility seemed to be about 1/2 mile so I lit off the radar and we immediately saw several boats a few miles out from us.  So we weren't all alone in this all encompassing grayness.



Lake Okeechobee is huge.  And shallow, with depths anywhere from 7-15 feet and numerous shallow spots.  Its all soft mud.  We even toyed with the idea of just anchoring in the middle of the lake.  It's a viable option if its calm.  But any northerly winds have a long fetch and can make the lake here on the south end untenable.

Port Mayaca Lock

Entering Lake Okeechobee
In the middle of Lake Okeechobee

Channel into Clewiston 
It took us several boring hours to to finally get across and into the entrance channel for Clewiston.  There is a lock there but its only used if you want to visit the city.  Actually this time the lock was open so the water levels were equalized. 

The Army Corp of Engineers manages the lake levels.  When we crossed it was 15.8 feet.  In practical terms that meant the route we took across the lake, route 1, could accommodate a vessel with a draft of 9.2 feet. 

As we approached the Clewiston lock there is a channel off to the right which is the route to Moore Haven and the next lock in the Okeechobee Waterway.  No signage and no buoys either. You just have to know. 

Long straight canal to Moore Haven
So we took the hard turn right and found another 10+ miles of ditch and flat swampy shoreline.  This channel runs along the Lake shore, in about a mile.  It was very calm, smooth.  And boring!

Moore Haven Lock
We came up to the Moore Haven Lock and called them on the radio.  We were told we'd have to wait about 20 minutes.  Once inside the chamber we dropped 8 feet.

Free docks in Moore Haven
We ran out of the Moore Haven lock past the city of Moore Haven which has some varied and free docking facilities.  Many people stop here because of that but even though they were all empty we wanted to push on closer to Ft. Meyers.

I throttled up so we were doing 8.2 mph as we boggied on down the river to the Ortona Lock.  When we arrived there was no response from the lockmaster on the radio.  Even after repeated calls on the radio and sounding our horn no reply or anyone on the lock.  We finally dug up a phone number for the lockmaster and he promptly answered citing radio problems.  I didn't ask we he couldn't hear the boats pretty loud horn even though it seemed to register with the campground on the opposite shore.

He came running down and got the gate open so we could enter.  It was a quick 8 foot drop.  The lockmaster did tell us that all the locks would be open tomorrow, January the 31st so we didn't have to wonder of we'd be stranded in the middle of no where with just the alligators, birds and a few snakes for company.

Ortona Lock
Being delayed another 20 minutes isn't normally a cause for concern.  But by the time we exited the lock it was late and the sun was on the horizon and the only place near enough for us to reach was this free dock I heard about.  Or a certain marina which, when we called, had a message making perfectly clear they were closed until after the new year.  There were not many other other options so we pushed on towards the free dock.  If that didn't work out we could always just toss the anchor in the center of the channel until dawn.
The free dock 
Approaching the Free Dock
 Luckily though, as we came up to this free dock we saw it was unoccupied so we just slid in and tied up.  It was just shy of the town of LaBelle and seems to be in an area of subdivision development.  So the term "free dock" might be a stretch.  However no one was around and it was in a deserted area and well, what the hell.

Tied up at the free dock
The dock itself was only about 40 feet long so we stuck out on both ends and the depths were around 5 feet.  But it was easy to tie up there and we are relatively protected from wakes and any bad weather.  Only downside was the darn cows mooing in the background as it got dark.  

Tomorrow we'll be in the Ft. Meyers anchorage!

We were under way around 8am and ended up backing out the of the dock because the depths were 4 feet up towards the bow of the boat.

Once Upon a Time and Quimbee

After a few miles down the channel we went through the bridge in LaBelle.  As we cleared the bridge I was trying to take a few pictures and noticed one of the boats on the free docks looked very familiar.  Before it finally registered it was Brent and Susan we were passed them but Mary called them on the phone and we made arrangements to meet them in the anchorage.  Quimbee was with them on the free docks there in LaBelle. 

We got to the Fort Denaud railroad swing bridge and the nice lady got us through in record time.  Then to the Franklin Lock were we were again able to tie up on our port side.  Port side is the side we prefer to tie up on because the stairs to the bridge are on that side and it makes it easier for me to leap up and down.

We went up 8 feet, the second highest lift/drop we experienced and we drove out into the Caloosahatchee River.  Right after the bridge is Sweetwater Marina where Bad Bob, one of the people we traversed the inland rivers with the previous year was staying.  Alas, no sign of Bad Bob's boat.

We wound our way down the river as the cows and farms gave way to subdivisions and large houses.  Went by the Ft. Meyers power plant where we passed by a manatee sight seeing boat.  The power plant is reputed to be one of the favored congregating places of Manatees although we didn't see any.

Narrow channel
We eventually came to the three bridges where the  Ft. Meyers City Marina is located.  The very (and I mean very) narrow channel is between the 2nd and 3rd bridge right near the marina.  We're a fat boat, 15 1/2 feet wide and we saw only a few feet on either side of of the channel markers as we went through to enter the anchorage area. 

 Its a very big anchorage with 7 widely dispersed mooring balls.  We picked a spot and dropped the anchor and were securely stuck to the bottom.  We quickly took dinghy down and went into the marina office to pay $10 for the privilege of using their (glacial) wifi and showers (door codes).  Still a nice place.

Once Upon a Time (Brent & Susan)
Brent and Susan came in a few minutes after us along with Quimbee.  We end up going over to Quimbee who were cruising with Once Upon a Time for cocktails and dinner.  Happy New Year!   Em, and Bev are great people.  Really nice boat (Solo 43).  We eventually came back to our boat and went right to bed.

We'll be spending a few days here as we get organized for a jaunt into Punta Gorda next week to see some friends, Don & Carole and Greg and Dona,