On the move

Sheila and crew with the Big Giant Head on N. Captiva :

 

After 3 weeks of very pleasant lollygagging around Gulf coast Florida, we have resumed more focused travel, with the focus being on our return to Maine.

 

We left Safety Harbor on North Captiva Island at about 4 pm last Saturday, timed to agree with high tide. This allowed us enough time on Saturday to borrow Deane and Sandra's electric golf cart for a trip to the SW corner of the developed part of the island, then a nice walk down the gulf beach in the state nature preserve section. When we returned the golf cart we were ready to hit the Over the Waterfront for lunch but instead found that Sandra had just fixed a great smelling lunch and we couldn't turn down their invitation.

 

When we left the harbor Deane escorted us out in his smaller boat, just as he had done when we arrived. Our visit to N. Captiva will remain a highlight of our journey.

 

Since it was late afternoon we made a short trip south to Captiva Island and anchored near a very nice restaurant, the Green Flash. We used their docks to land dogs and later had a nice supper there. Captiva is more upscale and civilized than N. Captiva, and you can drive there. These are negatives to the Richardsons, and to us. Still a nice place though.

 

On Sunday morning we were up early to walk the dogs and visit the Chapel by the Sea, which was setting up for its morning service, both indoors and outdoors. A very unique church experience no doubt.

 

Then back on the water and off to Ft. Myers, a 26 mile run down Pine Island Sound then up the Caloosahatchee River. It was Sunday so the local boaters were out in force. Here's an armada approaching us in an area known as the 'miserable mile'.

Eventually we reached the Fort Myers Yacht Basin Marina to starboard and pulled in to tie up directly behind the Siegels aboard aCappella. We had last visited them in Sarasota and they had been roaming around the area since as had we but now also were planning to cross Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway.

 

We had a pleasant overnight stay at this marina, which abuts downtown Ft. Myers. We walked 4 dogs along the waterfront park, caught up with showers, and Sheila did laundry plus even got her hair cut on this cool houseboat :

We also emptied Spray's waste tank, and filled her water and fuel tanks (80 gal. diesel @ $4.21).

 

Monday's cruise was to be a fairly short 27 miles so we didn't leave until 11 am, then headed farther up the Caloosahatchee to the W.P. Franklin lock on the Okeechobee Waterway, which raised us about 3 ft. into fresh water. Here's our crew observing the locking process.

We continued on towards the NE through scenic farmland until we reached the town of LaBelle, where we nosed into a slip on their municipal wharf. It was hot (mid 80's) here inland so after exploring the town a bit we had sandwiches for supper. Sadly we were too late for this festival:

Tuesday morning we started with ball/frisbee play at the adjacent park, then continued up the Caloosahatchee (now canal rather than river) to the next lock at Ortona which lifted us another 8 ft, then onwards to another lock at Moore Haven which lifted us another 3 ft to the level of Lake Okeechobee. We turned to starboard to follow the rim of the lake, with a large dike to starboard and swampland to port. It quickly became clear that we were in alligator country. After a while we pulled in to our destination : Roland Martin Marina in the farm and fishing town of Clewiston.

 

Once again we tied up aft of aCappella which had arrived a bit earlier. The marina here is basically a long channel with a wooden dock on one side and while we could drive in and then turn around before leaving, aCappella's 53 ft length required that Jeff back her a couple of hundred feet down the channel, and that with a large attentive audience at the Tiki Bar. Now that is pressure.

 

After draining the dogs the Tiki Bar beckoned for cool drinks, then a much needed shower for me. It was sweltering aboard Spray and we tried not to be too envious of aCappella's air conditioner. Here are the 2 boats stern-to-stern.

Wednesday promised strong SW winds, so we started early so as to cross Lake Okeechobee (22 miles of shallow water) before the waves kicked up too much. For most of the crossing the waves were from astern so not bad to deal with. Spray headed out first and was followed by aCappella, the idea being that with our shallower 4' draft we could report any shallow spots such that aCappella (5.5 ft draft) could steer around if needed. I set our depth finder alarm for 7.5 ft and while it did sound off a couple of times, both boats had plenty of depth for the crossing.

 

At the east side of Okeechobee we left the lake through the lock at Port Mayaca, which had both ends open since water levels in the lake and the St. Lucie Canal were the same. It was a bit hairy passing through the lock with lake waves at the entrance and some current running through. Here is aCappella following us through with Jeff keeping her centered :

As you can see above, the St. Lucie Canal was much calmer than the lake, so the next 20 miles towards Stuart FL, were very easy going, with minimal boat traffic. Nearing Stuart, aCappella pulled into a marina and a mile later we reached the final lock at Port St Lucie but, rather than lock through, we nosed into a slip at the park here which like the lock is run by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

 

[Fun diversion - on aCappella Jeff mounts a GoPro camera pointed forwards and records time-lapse video as they travel. Here's the link to Wednesday's travel across Okeechobee and down the St Lucie Canal. If you view with a big screen you can see Spray leading the way. I think the vid needs race car sounds added.]

 

This is a nice park, with power for us to plug into, clean showers, 8 boat slips plus several RV and tenting sites, and lots of grassy space for dog play. We can even play horseshoes right off Spray's bow. If we get bored the lock here provides a great show.

We are staying 2 nights as a front went through yesterday evening, bringing welcome cooler temps (mid 60's) and gusty N. winds. Tomorrow we will lock through, dropping 14 ft back to sea level (and salty water), then only 7 miles to the mooring field at Stuart, where we plan to hang for a few days. We don't want to overdo this 'on the move' thing.

 

 

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