Thursday 1/5/12 Brrrrr. There were frost warnings for the Indiantown/Port Mayaca area. It was 42° in the cabin when we got up at 6:30A. The First Mate thought it might be a good idea if we fired up the generator and turned on some heat! I decided it’s probably a good time to swap out the fuel filters so I did a little more maintenance and we got a late start. We entered Port Mayaca Lock and expected the usual close to an hour lock through. Although I noticed when Harbornate went through it didn’t seem to take very long. The Lock Master cleared us to enter and instructed to take a starboard tie up. We were the only boat locking through. Linda grabbed the bow line and held on with both hands (it can get turbulent in a raise). The Lock Master yelled across the lock “Ma’am…You’ll only be going up two inches”. Linda answered back, “I think we’ll be able to handle that”. That’s why the lock through was so quick. It wasn’t the eight to thirteen feet we were used to.
At 9:00A on the dot we cleared the lock and ahead lay the great expanse of Lake Okeechobee. Okeechobee is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the U.S. and its 730 square miles is half the size of Rhode Island. It’s the second largest freshwater lake entirely within the U.S borders. (Lake Michigan is first.) The lake is so big you never see both shores at the same time. Two thirds of the horizon is water. The route we took started half way down the eastern shore then went 25 miles southwest to Clewiston at the southernmost point. The wind was at our back at about 10 to 15 with a light rolling chop. After we left the lock and turned southwest it was 45 minutes until we saw the next marker nine miles away.
As we came into the channel leading into Clewiston there are spoil islands and marsh grass on both sides. Ahead we could see the steam rising from the sugar cane refinery giving Clewiston its nick name, ”America’s Sweetest Town”. (Watch out Hershey)
There is a lock leading into Clewiston but the OWW (Okeechobee Water Way) turns west and follows a shore line channel next to the large dike that surrounds most of the lake. This channel leads to the Moore Haven Lock which connects to the Caloosahatchee Canal later becoming the Caloosahatchee River. It was in this channel we spotted our first alligator! He was floating in the water just off the bank with his nose pointing toward the channel. As we slowed to snap a picture he just sank below the surface. I guess he was shy.
Moore Haven Lock threw us a curve. When we arrived there were two boats waiting to lock through. We called the Lock Master and he said he was only opening the lock on the even hours. The next lock through would be 2:00P. Okay so we have a 30 minute wait. No biggie. But then he told us only one gate on each end of the lock was working. We would enter on the port side and exit on the starboard. This would give us a 25 foot horizontal clearance. The boat will take half of that. It seemed like a tighter fit than it was. Sliding by those big steel doors, about thirty feet high, was a bit intimidating. But it worked!
Now we were in the Caloosahatchee Canal. It’s wide, deep, with no current to speak of and although there are quite a few curves they were gentle. I told Linda this would be a tugboat captain’s dream. I think it would be cool to have a small tug (push boat) with a barge equipped with all the amenities for motorhomes. Load them on at Stuart and take them to Ft. Myers. Then return back with a different set of passengers. They could set out their lawn chairs and enjoy the ride! Dream on Captain says the First Mate!
About 4:00P we arrived at the dolphins just east of the Ortona Lock. We tied up and settled in for the night. Zzzzzz
Ortona dolphins: N26° 47.492 W081° 17.968
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