On to Ft. Pierce...

Leaving Clewiston and entering Lake Okeechobee, looking back, we must not have fully extinguished our campfire. Linda thinks it must have been the tiki torches next to the propane. The follower is "Wally World," a couple from Michigan that crossed the Big O with us.

Yes - that is an alligator quietly passing in front of us as we enter the lake. As if we weren't worried enough.

The vastness of Lake Okeechobee - this scene in all directions - and never more than 8' deep - and much shallower in most areas. It took about 2 1/2 hours to cross and it is about 27 miles on the route we took.

After reaching the far side of the lake we entered the St. Lucie canal at Port Myaaka - greeted soon after by this guillitine (sic) bridge - the first of its kind that we have seen.

The "hurricane hole" marina that we stayed at last night. Note the climb to get out of the boat - Cory was humiliated with being carried up and down repeatedly. This is just a concrete lined inlet from the St. Lucie canal that you can see at the top of the picture. It rained soon after this picture was taken. Linda asked for the rain for the people of Clewiston, next time she should wait until we are out of the area.

The St. Lucie Canal - 10 ft. deep and this wide for about 25 miles. Some areas that are developed and many that are not - we like the not developed areas because then we can go faster. Lots of fish jumping from the water 3' into the air - we were told that they are mullet and are used for bait. They're about a foot long - I don't know what they're using them to catch!
Ospreys and herons and hawks, oh my!

The St Lucie lock was opened just for us - we even had an audience of people on the top of the lock from New Jersey. I watched the depth gauge and we were lowered about 7 ft. in this lock. Going down is much faster than going up. We were the only boat because traffic is so light across the big lake.

This bridge, in Stuart, did not have to open for us - we squeezed behind a HUGE Hatteras, brand new, and went thru after they opened for him. They started to close the bridge before we were through.

Cory met Julio at the Harbor Town Marina in Ft. Pierce where we are staying tonight and tomorrow night. Neither liked the other but no fight.

Tucked into our slip - safely resting in 3' of water. We're staying here until Sunday. We've made about 175 miles in the past three days - only 1400 more to go! But we are now on the ICW heading north - we are officially at Mile #965. The main ICW, which we were only on today, is crowded with boats - both power and sail. My first impression is that sailboaters and power boaters do not play nicely together. The radio is full of sailboaters yelling and reporting powerboaters with too much wake, and power boaters responding by making bigger wakes. Some very unhappy people on the water - but not us!

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

We're off and away!!!

This bridge actually opened just for us - it was our first swing bridge and also the first bridge that Linda talked to the tender and asked for him to open it for us. The bridge is on the Caloosahatchee River in Denaud, FL. It turns out that the VHF radio is used constantly to talk to the bridge and lock tenders. The tenders have turned out to be very friendly and helpful, which is a big relief to us "newbies."

This is the first lock that we entered (the Franklin lock) and the shot is to the rear where other boats are still entering. The boat directly behind us is the next size up Four Winns from our boat. We rode with them for a while and then went on by ourselves after they stopped to get gas. We then met up at the same marina at the end of the day.

This is a picture of the same lock facing forward. In this lock, unlike the others where we were only raised a foor or so, we were raised about 5 feet. It's interesting to be in the lock as they start to open the doors and let the water in. Also in this lock with us was a manatee about 8ft. long. We only saw it twice when it came up for air and were unable to get a picture of it. Very cool.

This picture was taken in the 13 mile stretch along the southern part of Lake Okeechobee. We are in a narrow canal (75 ft. wide, depth 7-10 ft.) and thru that grass is the lake on the other side. You can see how high the water should be.

Another view showing how low the canal is. This is a boat launch and a gas dock - see the gas tank on the hill? Good gas, I'm sure. And yes, this canal, 13 miles long, is absolutely full of alligators! As we approach their beady little heads just slowly submerge.

This friendly scene welcomed our arrival at the Clewiston lock. This is directly across from the entrance to the lock. The lock is currently wide open because the lake is so low. We entered that area and found the channel to be 3' deep. We are staying at Roland Martins Marina - a very friendly but funky marina with a restaurant, bar, and gas. We are trying to find a marina for tomorrow night and it looks like we might have to make it all the way to Stuart before finding an open marina.

This is Linda speaking now- we saw more dolphins and herons and ACRES of crap land -don't worry about "open spaces" in Florida!!! Of course, no one lives there except gators and birds!

We are hot & sweaty- thank GOD for AC! This IS a funky marina for tonight, compared to the upscale Fort Myers marina we were at-but we all are glad to stop after a long day of boating (especially Cory- he REALLY thinks he's gone to hell now!!) More later- love to all- Linda

Ready to set out

Help - they continue to hold me prisoner! If you would just send $5.00 each I am sure that I could buy my way past the guards! If only I had thumbs, or pockets, or a forehead...

Do not let this picture fool you. Although it looks like I'm sleeping on a pillow, I'm actually posing for the evil doers camera. By the way - notice the most important electronic navigating piece of equipment behind me? Got to keep watching Survivor.

Two days before take-off picture of the boat.

This picture was taken especially by request of Alison. Sorry about the quality but the delay between pushing the botton and taking the picture is about 3 seconds.

Florida is beautiful with ugliness hiding behind the landscaping & security gates. Today we drove past the Red Sox training field (for Lanny & for Peter) We drove thru some scary, poverty-stricken areas of East Fort Myers- where you may have read they recently found 8 bodies buried- (CSI for REAL!)
Every evening since we got here, a sweet smell is everywhere- at the beach, in the city, at the marina. I found out it’s night-blooming jasmine.
So with all the gorgeous flowers & aromas&blue sky&dolphins& warm& miles of sugar-sand beaches- there are slums & VIOLENT crimes & drugs & bugs. I guess it’s like that everywhere- good & bad- but Florida seems to me to have EXTREMES of both.
I am so glad we did not move here- I would love to spend winters in Florida- but the culture seems tacky &fake to me.
The last 2 pm’s on the boat have been sleepless for both of us- Ken in the aft cabin with a VERY low ceiling & the AC blowing fiercely on his right side! Meanwhile- Cory & I are in the front V-berth, very hot & then cold (as usual)- but instead of a flat bed-my “mattress” is a mogul hill of lumps and bumps. Imagine a bunch of skinny bolster pillows abutting unevenly, then put an ill-fitting sheet over the whole thing. If I want a flat surface, I need to lie on my back like an Olympic luge person- but with a slight lateral bend!
Garth was right- we should have gotten the 40 foot boat!
Ken puts up with my griping and even makes chores like washing and waxing the plastic windows of the canvas fun! Love to all- Linda

Tomorrow - Wednesday is the day we leave! We gassed up today with 41 gallons at $3.13/g and pumped out. We are ready to go. We have planned the first lock to arrive about 1 hr. early - at 0900 hrs. It only opens 4 times a day so we can't be late. After that it is about a 65 mile day - transitting one more lock before arriving at Lake Okeechobee. We then continue down the south side of the lake to about 1/2 way where we spend the night at Roland Martin Marina - I forget the name of the town. The next day is the crossing of the lake.

Many, many boats are no longer able to cross this way because of the low water. I called the Army Corps of Engineers and the official height of the lake is 4.28 ft. There are areas of the channel where the depth is about 3' 6" - which is about what we draw. Everyone that crosses needs to pay real close attention. So - the next 2 days could be nerve wracking. But there is no time but the present - actually both Linda and I are getting a little tired of the constant sun and heat - everyday has been at least 85 and sunny. We are looking forward to Spring time weather. See you all tomorrow.

Off of the beach and onto the boat!

No photos today cuz we're on dial-up @ the marina "Capatin's Lounge"! Fri pm we moved a TON of stuff onto the boat. Sat we cleaned the beach house and moved another TON of stuff onto the boat-it's a wonder it still floats! We even had to adjust the bumpers due to the weight added to the boat- either that or I've eaten too many Peeps! Last pm was our first night sleeping on the boat- neither of us slept well- just new surroundings and sounds. My favorite sound is of the AC on the boat, but poor Ken has it blowing directly on him in the aft cabin!Cory & I were much more comfy in the forward berth. Today we drove the boat an hour East on the river up to the first lock we will be going thru on Tues (hopefully). It looks very interesting! The people with money are building all up & down the river. We passed a power plant that was huge! And, of course, saw several dolphins (I thought of Tammie!) More from the captain....
We now have 15 hours on the engines and a little problem with the power trim seems to have popped up. The boat's being pulled tomorrow for the 1st service so they'll take care of that, I'm sure. I'm a little nervous about the first lock we are going to go thru - not knowing what to do, etc... I'm sure other people have made it their first lock too, so they'll probably be used to a novice. We'll have every line and bumper at the ready. I've been told that because of the extreme drought here in Southern Florida, that the controlling depth of Lake Okeechobee is 4 1/2 ft, and is decreasing at a rate of 1" per day. We hope to be staying on the shores of the Okeechobee on Tuesday night and crossing it on Wednesday - but many things can change that. We draw about 3 ft. so we shouldn't have a big problem. But we have to get going soon before they close the Lake to boaters. Larger boats in this marina all have to go south and around the Keys - that would add several days to us and we would rather stay inland. Hopefully we'll have pictures tomorrow - see ya all. Ken

Trying again...

Not too many places where you can still find a drive-thru package store. I guess they figure that with all the traffic you can't get going fast enough to hurt anyone. Either that or they're trying to get rid of the old, slow people.

Here is the gazebo on Sanibel where we took the boat to get lunch at Grandma Dot's restaurant.If you look on the very right side of the photo, you can see a friendly "pirate" who watched us eat! Our boat is the little one just off my left shoulder- a pretty great docking job in such a small space!

This is a little spreader canal on Sanibel. There are private residences on both sides. The depth is about 4 1/2 ft. and it is just wide enough to turn around by doing a 'K' turn. A very beautiful area with friendly people.

Here is the new haircut- I look tired, but it's just me "au naturale"- no make-up and VERY relaxed and happy! Behind me is the enclosed porch which overlooks the Gulf of Mexico- I wish it would stay warm like this all year round!

Proof that Cory is still alive and our prisoner.

This is Barbara and Paul our next door neighbors - at least until today. They left this morning to head north. They have a cottage on Lake George and we had a wonderful evening at their cottage here swapping stories of Lake George and looking at their pictures. We hope to visit with them again this summer in NY. Wish them luck on the drive north - from what we hear all the northbound routes are packed as of 04/01.


Just to bring you up to date - I finally gave up on the Averatec Computer which I hoped would work until I got home. It just wasn't worth the trouble. This posting is brought to you courtesy of a Toshiba Satellite A135 from Best Buy. It was on sale. Let all your friends that don't read this blog know that I have a real deal for a mint used Averatec laptop for sale. Comes with the "White House Guarantee" - Linda says, "It comes with the anchor line attached!" See you all tomorrow - which is our house cleaning move out day! Ken and Linda

We were going to post pictures...

Aaaarrgg!!! I'm starting to hate this computer. Once again the wireless is not working. The card works but the computer doesn't. I didn't need to take boating courses for this trip - I needed to take computer courses. Well... that will explain why there are no pictures. However, both Linda and I wrote our blogging narrative without knowing that we wouldn't be able to download the pictures tonight. So I'm just going to post the narrative and if they refer to a picture just try to imagine what it might have looked like.
We'll try again tomorrow. Ken

Today was another long boating day. We put 4 more hours on the engine by going to Sanibel for lunch. We found a marina where we could tie up to the dock (for free) and they had an excellant restaurant on site. We sat in a gazebo watching a white egret-looking bird fishing. Everyone was extremely friendly, moreso than we expected. Linda had her haircut again today, the shortest yet, and it looks great. We’ve posted a picture of Cory at the dog park yesterday.

Today I saw a dolphin as we were boating, and 2 rays (I don’t know if they were “sting” or “manta”!)feeding at our marina. We rode thru the “miserable mile”- a stretch of the ICW that is definitely misnamed. You can go 25 mph -it’s about 40 feet wide- 8 feet deep, and surrounded by mangrove islands! It should be that “miserable” all the way home!
I got brave & had my hair cut REALLY short this am. Tammy, my hairdresser in CT, knows I am a chicken & took it easy with me! “Rosie” (here in Fla)- must think I’m much braver than I really am- so she chopped it off! But I have 2 months or more to grow it back. See- retired people have lots of things to do!!!! Love to all-Linda