What an absolute pleasure to be underway again. Ft Myers was a great place to take a break and have work done on the boat but a month in one place while on this adventure is too long. We are pleased that the boat is operating better than it was when we arrived in Ft Myers but the town officials asked us to leave when they found out that our pockets were empty ;-)
We decided to turn east after leaving the Fort Myers Yacht Basin and follow the Okeechobee Waterway to the FL east coast. The low water level in Lake Okeechobee requires restrictions in the locks that control the flow of water into the adjoining rivers. The freshwater lake is at least ten feet above sea level and is an integral part of the ecosystem of Florida. So far the waterway has been a pleasure to travel though and the weather has been great although we had to wear jackets on the flybridge. Tonight the temperature is forecast to be in the high forty's. Today we passed through the Beautiful Island Railway Bridge, The W.P. Franklin lock, The Fort Denaud and La Belle Bridges, and the Ortana Lock before trying to find a place to anchor for the night. However once through the Ortana Lock the pickings were slim for anchorages but we discovered the River Forest Yachting Center tucked back in a very narrow opening north of the waterway. A sailboat from Maryland pulled in an hour behind us and we are the only boats in a marina. We got together with the other crew and had happy hour on our boat.
The scenery has been quite different along this waterway. There are stretches where there are beautiful
expansive homes and other stretches where nature prevails with levees, cattle ranches, orange groves and an array of different wildlife. We saw one alligator but could not get close enough to take pictures before it dove underwater. People watching from alongside one of the locks said there was a Manatee in the lock with us. We didn't see it but the lockmaster said it swam out of the lock before we were cleared to leave.
One of the many tasks we had done in Ft Myers was to have a diver remove the prop and had it sent to a shop for repair and balancing. We have had a vibration in the boat ever since we backed out of a bayou in Lousiana and may have hit something with the prop. Now the vibration no longer exists and the boat is running well.
In case you are interested, the River Forest Yacht Center has a website: www.riverforestyc.com
Y'all take and stay vertical,
Capt John and First Mate Sue
Glad to hear you are back on the loop. I know it can be a difficult crossing when the water level is low in that lake. Good luck. Linda & Jose are on the other side in Wellington if you are near there.
ReplyDeleteSorry we missed you when you returned to CT. We may get more snow next week but at least it is warmer this week.
Stay safe and enjoy.