After reading my blog entry last night, Clark's only comment was that I forgot a story. To make up for the oversight, I decided to include it to start today's entry.
Pulling into the River Forest West marina, we had to travel through a narrow entry with little room for a boat our size to maneuver. I stood on the bow of our boat preparing to tie to the dock and suddenly Clark gave a couple of toots on the horn. I looked up to see two guys messing with a pontoon boat.
As we approached on Sunset Delight, the man driving the boat had backed out into the middle of the narrow fareway at a 45 degree angle. By the soppy look on his face when he turned to look, I surmised two things: 1 - he had a little too much to drink and 2 - he did not expect anyone else to be using the waterway. He pulled the boat forward out of the way, and when he did, Clark said that he crashed into the rocks with the bow of his boat. Ouch! At least he didn't crash into our boat.
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| Narrow fareway at marina where Clark had to alert the pilot of a pontoon boat to our presence. |
Just after 8:30 this morning, we left River Forest West marina for River Forest East marina . Since we had multiple locks again today, we did not want to get caught having to race to the finish line like yesterday. The winds that have plagued us the last few days continued today. We could tell it would be a long and less-than-ideal travel day.
Our route today took us to Moore Haven lock about 15 miles away. From there we traveled 39 miles to cross Lake Okeechobee and arrive at Port Mayaca lock. After Port Mayaca lock we had another 25 miles to go to arrive at our marina for the night. With constant 20+ knot winds and gusts as high as 37 knots, the trip was grueling and tiring.
Normally, two options are available to navigate Lake "O" -- The "Rim Route" and the "Direct Route". Traveling the "Rim Route" adds miles but reduces travel on open waters of the lake. Clark had seen a report that a bridge under construction rules out the Rim Route as an option. We would be forced to take the shorter, choppier path east.
Mostly fishermen braved the elements today, i.e. the wind and choppy waters. However, we did catch up to one vessel, Blue Goose, heading our way at the Moore Haven lock. After exiting the lock, Clark called Blue Goose to request a "slow pass", and when he did so, they briefly discussed travel plans and conditions.The aged couple on Blue Goose II said they planned to stop at Clewiston for lunch and then decide if they would travel on today or cross Lake "O" tomorrow.
Since neither he nor Clark had ever crossed Lake "O" in 20 to 30 knot winds, Clark said he would call the bridge tender to verify the bridge situation and get more information on lake conditions. The bridge tender confirmed the bridge status that the Torry Bridge on that route is under construction. Work at that site damaged a water pipe, and a temporary pipe now runs across the bridge. Consequently, the bridge will remain in the closed position for the next three weeks. Only vessels requiring less than 9' vertical clearance can pass. Since we need 24' of clearance, we are out of luck.
The bridge tender also reported 3-to-4 foot, confused seas on the lake. Clark relayed all the information to Blue Goose, who said that since he comes from Maine with a "Down East" type hull, the choppy conditions did not cause him concern.
The waterway offered little of interest really. Clark wanted to get an end-view picture of a railroad bridge. We had a couple of opportunities for him today to accomplish this goal.
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| Looking down a Railroad bridge |
We also saw a dike.
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| Herbert Hoover Dike on Okeechobee Waterway |
We traveled within sight of Blue Goose until Clewiston ,where they stopped for lunch and we continued on to cross the lake. At 11:45 we passed Clewiston and headed out towards the lake to check out the conditions. The well-marked channel had to be followed carefully to avoid shallow waters along the edges.
I had the helm as we traveled out towards the lake. Spray flew over the boat repeatedly due to our direction relative to the heavy winds. I ducked behind Clark when I saw spray coming. After a while I suggested Clark take over, and he said, "Is the AutoPilot still on?" "What!", I exclaimed. "I thought I was doing such a good job steering the boat." Clark had a good laugh over that one.
Shortly after that I left the helm in a bit of a sulk to find a drier spot to sit. Why take a face full of water repeatedly while doing nothing particularly useful. My timing was excellent. After I abandoned Clark to the helm, the spray came more frequently and with more force. Who got the last laugh on that one?!
As we entered the lake, I happened to look behind us and saw that we had acquired a flock of birds following us in hopes of fish scraps. Sorry - we don't fish! However, one fish did find its way onto our boat today. When I went out onto the cockpit to prepare for a lock, I found a four-inch, dead fish lying there. Apparently it got swept onto the boat as part of all that spray! He quickly went to a watery grave.
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| Birds chasing boat looking for a free lunch |
Chop on the lake ran about one-to-two footers to start. Clark called Blue Goose and told him that he would get wet but he would willingly take his dinghy out on the lake in the current conditions. However, as we moved further onto the lake, the chop became worse.
"At least we haven't heard from Wilhelmina today", Clark said. "Who's that?", I asked. "Our bell", he replied. "The only part of the boat that still holds the original name." Two hours into the ride across the lake, Wilhelmina let her presence be known. Clang, clang, clang! Dong, dong, dong!
Twenty-something knot winds gusted to 37 knots on the lake. Getting drenched by the resultant spray over and over and over again became quite tedious. Clark decided we should close the front panel of the full enclosure. We would be dry but visibility would be seriously decreased. Due to the force of the wind, it took the two of us working the zipper, with the boat on auto pilot, to get the panel closed. By the time we were done, water had soaked my coat, pants, and boat shoes. I had been mostly dry up until then, but after that I had to go below and change clothes.
Clark asked for my help finding markers as we crossed the lake. With low visibility he wanted to make sure he did not hit them! He also looked for a wreck on the lake in order to avoid a collision with it. He found it.
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| Wreck on Lake Okeechobee |
A very pleasant surprise greeted us when we reached the Port Mayaca lock at 3:15. We did not have to "lock through" as the water levels were even. Now that is the kind of lock I like!
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| Port Mayaca - pass through locking - yay! |
As we exited the Port Mayaca lock, Clark reported that we had another 25 miles to go to get to our marina. Wishing for an immediate release from the wind and chill in the air, I groaned at this revelation.
With more than two hours to go, we had plenty more sights to see.
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| Lift railroad bridge |
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| End view of RR bridge |
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| Indiantown Marina |
Clark called someone who he knew from his high school that now has a house on the Okeechobee Waterway. They had told him they would come out and wave when we went by, but today they were away from home when he called.
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| House owned by someone Clark knew from O.T.H.S. |
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| Swing Railroad bridge |
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| Railroad bridge end view |
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| Derelict Sailboat on waterway |
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| The long, straight final stretch |
Finally, at 4:30, Clark said we were getting close, so I went out to get the lines ready for docking.
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| Bundled up to stay warm and dry on a wet and windy day |
River Forest West had a lovely floating dock and easy tie up. No such luck at River Forest East. We tied to a high-in-the-air cement dock that took us forever to get the fenders and lines positioned to make us comfortable for the night. When we declared ourselves done with the lines, I went inside and collapsed on the sofa. Clark grabbed the hose to wash off the brown, yicky mess from the Okeechobee Waterway spray we had received all day long.
Apparently, while washing the boat, he somehow managed to get gorgeous sunset pictures. A fire along the Okeechobee Waterway added to the colors of the sunset.
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| Smoky sunset on the Okeechobee Waterway |
We ended the day with a lovely Skype session with my elder son and his family. In fact my three-year-old granddaughter, Sierra, specifically requested talking to her Nana on TV today. Even though she is only 3 months old, Sierra's sister, Violet, also participated in the call with more than a little help from her mom and dad.
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