Across the lake - pictures to follow

Now that we have left Clewiston and are safely in Stuart- I can tell you about my time at the “good ol’ boys” bar & grill that we stayed at last pm. In Clewiston, the people could not have been friendlier- they need rain SO badly- and they are all just doing their things! But I felt like I was from another planet! No recycling! smoking at the gas dock! Smelly propane heaters (not in use because it’s 90 degrees and 99%humidity!and my favorite- burning tiki torches in the middle of a drought right next to the gas dock & propane!!! This is not my idea of safety! AND Bob Smith would have a health inspector field day at this restaurant- sure the dog can come right in & sit with you!!! The shower stall was not as bad as I thought it would be- and we had a good night’s sleep with the alligators RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR BOAT!!!! We left Clewiston this am with another couple we met (from Michigan- in a 4 Winns)- when we turned to look back at where we had been- there was a HUGE fire somewhere in Clewiston! (Of course, there were several fires all around the perimeter of Lake Okeechobee. It’s SO dry here- I really wish these people could get some rain- they have been very friendly, and it must be hard to make a living off the boating community when big boats can’t make it across the Lake. Anyway- tonight we are tied up to a tall concrete wall in a “hurricane hole” called River Forest Yachting Center. There are 4 other boats here- it looks like a storage yard for boats with huge buildings and a quanset hut. Once again- everyone is real friendly, and tomorrow we hope to make it to Fort Pierce where we will get to turn NORTH!! So far we are hot & sweaty (Alison would have melted long ago!)but doing fine. Ken hooked up the rabbit ears to the TV (no service here) so we can watch Survivor tonight!WooWoo!!Thanks for reading & commenting- Happy Holy Thursday, Batman. Love to all- Linda
Wel. we made it across the lake with no problems. We saw depths of 4' in the channel on the Clewiston side of the lake. We stayed directly in the middle of the channel and proceeded at no wake speed for about an hour. At that point you are far enough into the lake that it deepens a bit and you can run faster. We never saw a depth deeper than 8'. There were only 3 others boats on the lake thatwere transitting across - there were a lot of small fishing skiffs. There are no sailboats going across for obvious reasons. We are staying at a basic concrete walled marina - but once again they are very friendly. One of the liveaboards offered us his car to go to town - but we didn't really need anything. We ordered pizza delivered and ate on the boat as we watched Survivor. Then it started to rain.
Woke up this morning with everything wet outside the canvas. But it turned into a beautiful day - we are planning to leave the marina at 1000am. Just a word about our canvas... we are only 2 days into this trip and we have noticed numerous problems with the canvas - 3 zippers have ripped free, a seam has split 12", a snap has pulled out of the boat, and this morning we noticed several leaks. Four Winns needs to use better materials for this - we are "babying" the canvas and have from the beginning. Enough about that.
We talked to a couple of boaters and they told us that you cannot get insurance for your boat down here unless you belong to a "Hurricane Club." Basically it is a marina built like Fort Knox. The seawalls are high and concrete, all buildings are built to withstand 160 mph winds, and there are thick steel rings buried in concrete in the ground for additional holding support in storms. You don't normally stay in these marinas - you pay, I'm sure dearly, for the privelege of using them in a hurricane. Next stop - Ft. Pierce, FL on the ICW!! Ken