Across Okeechobee

 TRAVEL DAY 7 - Clewiston to St. Lucie Lock

February 22, 2023

6.4 Hours/49.5 Miles

    Every day is a planning session that continues throughout the day evolving as the scenery and conditions evolve. What time to leave, where to go, where to stop, where do we get fuel, where do we pump out, can we dock there, should we go to a marina, should we anchor out, what's the weather, and on and on. It may sound like it takes all the fun out of the trip but it doesn't. What it has done is teach us to be resilient and not complacent. To be ready for change and to adapt. It's half vacation, half military mission and still an amazing amount of fun. We are learning to live with each other and work together. We have a new phrase "Getting smarter everyday!". 

Roland Martin Marina

Side Tie at the dock

    Today we left our side tie berth with another boat "Irish Hurricane" to travel a couple hundred feet to the lock that got us in to the basin and Roland Martin Marina. Irish Hurricane had called the lock and told them the two of us were coming in and what side we wanted to tie up on, he on their port and us on our starboard. The Lockmaster gave us a green light and instructed us as to where on the wall she wanted us. 

Ready for the Lock

    We're getting pretty good at these locks. They really are easy. We put fenders out on both sides just in case we or the Lockmaster gives us different instructions. There are lines hanging from the sides to pick up. Beth grabs a line at the bow, I kill the engine and climb down from the bridge and get a line at the stern. The lines do not get cleated to the boat because once the water starts going down or up, if the boat snagged it stops, the water keeps going and you could capsize. You basically hold the line or pull it under a horn of the cleat and tension it as the water level changes. When the "lift" is complete, and depending on how soon we move out (generally, first in, first out but it is up to the Lockmaster) I drop my line, go to the bridge, start the engine, give Beth the que to push us off the wall with the boathook and we idle out. 

Lake Okeechobee on the other side!

    We couldn't have picked a better day for the lake crossing. Virtually no wind, a light breeze and flat water. Lake Okeechobee is huge. At over 730 square miles and shallow for a lake of this size, with an average of 9 feet. It is not only the largest lake in Florida, it's the largest in the southeast US. It is so large, it seams like an ocean and you cannot see across it. We could see huge fires beyond the shores and at one point ash was floating through the air like giant Lovebugs, which left the same debris on the deck of the boat as a swarm of Lovebugs.  

Out of the Lock

Onward across Okeechobee

    We chugged along the coffee colored water with Irish Hurricane a 1/2 mile or so to our stern. As we reached the Port Mayaca Lock, we radioed the Lockmaster and requested our lift. The lockmaster gave us instructions of how he wanted us. This guy was another professional, calm, cool and cordial. He gave a few good tips to Beth about line handling and warned us that as soon as the doors opened the wind would push us against the wall. 

    With the Port Mayaca Lock behind us we headed across the St. Lucie Canal. With no current we moved along at 8+ mph. We saw very few boats and as we proceeded east the closer we got to Stuart, the more the landscape changed from farms to tropical. 

Railroad bridge Across St. Lucie Canal

Starting to see the huge Sportfisherman boats of the eastcoast

    We had hoped to stay at Indiantown Marina but they were full. As we passed it, we felt that it was just as well as it definitely was nothing special. We considered an anchor by the bank at the Indiantown Park no wake zone, then decided we would go to the St. Lucie Lock and get a slip at the campground there. We had to make a reservation through the Recreation.gov website These are great options, There wasn't a single boat at the campground, it was $30/night flat fee, no tax, electric and water included. There are also restrooms and showers! We called safe travels to Irish Hurricane as they locked through.

St. Lucie Lock Campground

    About an hour after we got tied up, Volition (our new Canadian friends) showed up. We helped them get their lines on, chatted some, then went back to the boat to grill some hamburgers.