Today is the day we begin cutting across the state of Florida to return to our home port in Fort Lauderdale. This route should take us two days. The Okeechobee Waterway which opened in 1937 offers a chance to see rural Florida, with small towns much as they were early in the last century. The scenery varies as the passage progresses from east to west from river to canal, to lake, to canal, and back to river again. The Okeechobee Waterway (OCWW) is 134 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and can be divided in three distinct sections: 1) From Mile Zero (the intersection of the OCWW and the ICW at St. Lucie Inlet - see yesterday's photos) down the South Fork of the St. Lucie River to the St. Lucie Canal to Lake Okeechobee; 2) Lake Okeechobee itself (two routes here); 3) From Clewiston through the Caloosahatchee Canal and down the Caloosahatchee River to the end of the OCWW in San Carlos Bay, at Mile Zero of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway heading north. The following is an overview of the first two sections of the OCWW.
Here we are leaving our anchorage on the St. Lucie River and starting
our way on the OCWW via the St. Lucie Canal.
The very beginning of the canal looks much like one would expect.
Of course there has to be crabpots!!!😠
Just ahead we notice some people out on this early Saturday morning enjoying the canal.
There are a few nice homes, but gone are the mansions of the ICW.
As well as marinas.
Soon the canal becomes more natural and we see . . .
a few oxbows that we haven't seen since the Tenn-Tombigbee Waterway.
Life reappears, with a marina/boat fix-it shop,
and what's this?!?!?! A MANSION or maybe this would be considered an estate!!!
This estate includes a tennis court, swimming pool, and
its own walking path!!!
our first lock!
We will be raised thirteen feet in the St. Lucie Lock.
The water level in Lake Okeechobee is higher than anywhere on the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf ICW. Whether you're headed east or west, you ascend through the locks to Lake Okeechobee and then descend after you leave. The OCWW has five modern, spacious and well-handled locks and more than 20 bridges, ranging from electronic controlled to hand operated. Locks aren't open around the clock like in most of the country; just 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. . . so you need to be planful with your day.
This is where the story of our first lock gets interesting; we are told two things from the lockmaster: 1) be prepared for moderate turbulence as water rushes in the lock 😨 and
2) have your camera ready!
There are no valves in these locks, instead the water from the pool outside of the lock is used to raise the lock chamber by OPENING the gates a foot or so!!! OMG!!!
I held on tight to that rope, but because we were the only boat in the lock chamber, the lockmaster positioned us towards the back of the wall, and the raise really was pretty smooth; what a relief!!!
We're about half-way!
Almost there!
And gates are opening!!! I'm a happy boater!😁
Where we came from, and
where we're headed.
As we exit the lock, we are at Indiantown.
After Indiantown, the canal looks like this for quite some time.
Except for the palm trees, this stretch of waterway reminds us of the Erie Canal.
Okay, REALLY?! Cows in Florida?
This is just a strange picture; cows next to a palm tree!😏
There is quite a bit of farmland here. The canal helps with irrigation.
And then we look ahead and see this boat come out from literally nowhere!!!
Passing by the two small while buoys, we see a large marina!
Soon these two boats pass us (it's like a freeway, now 😉!) and the first boat hails us on the radio. He sees our boat name and where we are from and tells us that about ten years ago he slipped a Carver that he had on the land side of the Miss Croix and remembers our Trojan!
What a small world!!!
The water is quite brown here.
No marina here; just construction with a VERY heavy duty travel lift (check out the tire next to the truck!) and brand new cement slip . . . hmmmm.
A swing bridge awaits us, followed by . . .
this bridge!
We are now entering Port Mayaca and Lake Okeechobee is just ahead.
And here we are . . . Lake Okeechobee! This lake is the second-largest freshwater lake located wholly in the continental United States (after Lake Michigan). Lake Okeechobee is shallow, with normal depths from 7 to 11 feet, depending on the season and annual rainfall.
There are two routes you can take to cross the lake: 1) The Open Water Route - which we end up taking - is 25 miles and takes us a little over two hours; 2) The Rim Route - this route is 35 miles long and extremely shallow (the summer of 2016 depths were just over 5.2 feet) - the Corps of Engineers has warned that boaters use this route at their own risk. While the channel is marked, there are submerged obstructions and uncharted shoals to contend with.
Hmmmm . . . I think "The Open Water Route" was a wise choice!😉
Birds greet us on the port and starboard sides!
Besides a large amount of water,
we see a few white pelicans hanging out on a wreck. Unlike brown pelicans, which plunge-dive from high above the water for their meals (if you've never seen this, it's hilarious), white pelicans scoop up fish by merely submerging their heads and necks while swimming.
Parts of the lake are like glass. Once we can finally see land in the far distance, we see smoke/fog on the water.
We later learn that this smoke is from the burning of the sugar cane fields.
We follow the channel to get to the Clewiston Lock.
On our starboard we see a bass fishing boat; that's a popular boat around here and
you'll understand why in a couple more photos.
In we go!
And out of the lock we enter the town of Clewiston.
We stay at the popular and famous "Roland & Mary Ann Martin's Marina".
"Roland & Martin" was a famous bass fishing show back in the 70's and 80's. Of course I had never heard of it, but Captain Dave has and assured me many others have, too!
What a fun marina to stay at with a large tiki bar; I think the whole town came to the tiki bar where there was a band for a wonderful St. Patrick's celebration!
We will be raised thirteen feet in the St. Lucie Lock.
The water level in Lake Okeechobee is higher than anywhere on the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf ICW. Whether you're headed east or west, you ascend through the locks to Lake Okeechobee and then descend after you leave. The OCWW has five modern, spacious and well-handled locks and more than 20 bridges, ranging from electronic controlled to hand operated. Locks aren't open around the clock like in most of the country; just 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. . . so you need to be planful with your day.
2) have your camera ready!
The lockmaster was happy that we were wearing our life jackets (and so was I!),
so both Dave and I received this special towel!
As we exit the lock, we are at Indiantown.
We haven't seen any boat traffic until this guy passes us.
Soon these two boats pass us (it's like a freeway, now 😉!) and the first boat hails us on the radio. He sees our boat name and where we are from and tells us that about ten years ago he slipped a Carver that he had on the land side of the Miss Croix and remembers our Trojan!
What a small world!!!
A swing bridge awaits us, followed by . . .
We are now entering Port Mayaca and Lake Okeechobee is just ahead.
Here is our second lock of the day, and I don't think it could be ANY easier!!!
We wait for the boat coming through towards us,
and then it's our turn!
And here we are . . . Lake Okeechobee! This lake is the second-largest freshwater lake located wholly in the continental United States (after Lake Michigan). Lake Okeechobee is shallow, with normal depths from 7 to 11 feet, depending on the season and annual rainfall.
There are two routes you can take to cross the lake: 1) The Open Water Route - which we end up taking - is 25 miles and takes us a little over two hours; 2) The Rim Route - this route is 35 miles long and extremely shallow (the summer of 2016 depths were just over 5.2 feet) - the Corps of Engineers has warned that boaters use this route at their own risk. While the channel is marked, there are submerged obstructions and uncharted shoals to contend with.
Hmmmm . . . I think "The Open Water Route" was a wise choice!😉
Captain Dave surveys the seas!
We follow the channel to get to the Clewiston Lock.
you'll understand why in a couple more photos.
Well since it is St. Patrick's Day, we are lucky,
as we get to cruise right through this lock as well!
"Roland & Martin" was a famous bass fishing show back in the 70's and 80's. Of course I had never heard of it, but Captain Dave has and assured me many others have, too!
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