Friday 1/6/12. This morning first thing we will go through the Ortona Lock. Pea Soup….We woke up to really thick fog. It didn’t burn off until around 9:00A. Shortly after a sailboat locked through going eastbound and when he came by he yelled to Linda “How did you like the fog?” Linda yelled back “That’s why we’re still here.” Then he held his hands up in front of his face about four inches apart indicating that’s about as far as he could see.
We were under way at 9:30A and waited until a party boat locked through eastbound. The Lock Master radioed “You have a green light Captain. Bring her in.” We dropped eight feet on our way back toward sea level with one more lock to go.
After the lock Linda took the helm for about an hour. This has to be the most peaceful leg of this entire journey so far.
Suddenly I saw an alligator on the bank soaking up the morning sun. We brought the boat to idle and tried to get a few pictures. It was far enough away that it is a bit fuzzy but you can see it’s a gator…I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a fuzzy gator before. It was kind of cool maybe he had a sweater on!
Along the river there is a small town, Ft. DeNaud. It has a swing bridge and a lady bridge tender. I called on the radio to request an opening and she answered back ‘Which way are you headed.” “Westbound” I said. She came back “Keep coming. When I see ya, I’ll be out.” Sure enough when we were about 500 feet from the bridge we saw her walking out to the center. Linda went out to the front deck to take pictures. Soon the bridge started to turn and she called back “Bring her through Cap’tn and have a nice day Hun.” As we went through the bridge Linda yelled a thank you and she waved. She was dressed in very colorful cloths. She had on a red plaid shirt, orange hat and big black boots. I bet she would be a real character to meet in person.
It was our plan to tie up at the dolphins before reaching the Franklin Lock near Alva, FL. When we got there the dolphins were right at the entrance to the lock and it would have felt like we were camping in someone’s back yard because the houses were so close to the river. Plus there was a man flying model airplanes between the dolphins. A quick decision was made to lock through and find an anchorage. The lock dropped us another foot and a half. We are now down to sea level. Less than a half mile from the lock we found a little ox bow and tucked in there for the night. Linda made lemonade and we spent the afternoon sipping lemonade and snacking on mixed nuts on the front deck…..Life Is Good!
About the Burgee. It’s the logo of the Duffy Creek Yacht Club we belong to.
Franklin Lock Anchorage: N26° 43.489 W081° 42.183
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