Boating with Sunset Delight: W. P. Franklin Lock Park

Sunday 11/26/2017
Depart: Port Mayaca Dolphins 8:30
Arrive: W.P. Franklin Lock Park 5:00
Distance: 70 NM
Locks: Port Mayaca, Moore Haven, Ortana

Being tied up outside the lock made for a exceedingly short trip to enter the lock. Clark called the lock master to let him know we wanted to lock through. He told us to come ahead as soon as we had disconnected our lines from the dolphins.

Bow Line Tied to Dolphin at Port Mayaca

Port Mayaca Lock

After a reasonable-sized drop in the St. Lucie Lock, I anticipated something similar at the Port Mayaca Lock. I did all the normal prep work required to lock through

* got gloves for handling the yicky lines and grabbed boat hooks to snab them
* selected lines hanging from the lock walls that seemed reasonable length for a boat our size - some are longer than others
* wrapped the lines around cleats to help hold the boat as the water adjusts level

I ended up changing lines twice to get the right angle of the line to the boat to provide the best holding capability. Finally, the lock master asked if we were all set for the drop. We said okay, and when done, the water had risen somewhere around 6" in height! I wondered if the lock master had a sense of humor and got a big kick out of folks preparing for a 6" change as if it would be several feet. After that, I decided to go refresh my memory of what to expect for the remainder of the Okeechobee Waterway.

Lock	Lift to Lock
St. Lucie	14'
Port Mayaca	6" to 2'
Lake Moore Haven	Okeechobee 1' to 2'
Ortona	7.5' to 8.5'
W.P. Franklin	2' to 3'

Given the ridiculously short ride in the lock, we exited the lock no more than 15 minutes after entering. Port Mayaca Lock is the last lock traveling westward before arriving at Lake Okeechobee. After the lake (heading west), the locks take us down instead of lifting us up.

We were fortunate today as the lake waters were relatively calm and we had a pleasant crossing. After traveling a canal, the lake offered lots of open water and some interesting sights.

Crossing Lake O (Okeechobee)

Uncharted Island on Lake O? Or is this floating?

Smoke over Water - fires on the shore
(They do "prescribed burns" to burn off excessive weeds that choke the lake.)

We wove our way in a somewhat zig-zag pattern across the lake following the channel. For a few minutes I got busy reading email on my cell phone. When I looked up, I was absolutely shocked by what I saw surrounding the boat.

What happened to the open water? Are we entering a field?

Following the markers took us through the marshes towards Clewistown. We decided to bypass Clewistown on this trip; otherwise, we would have had to traverse the Clewistown lock to visit there.

Clewistown Lock coming into view

Park by Clewistown Lock

We had two choices for crossing to the west side of Lake Okeechobee - cross directly across the lake or take the "rim" route. After exiting the lake we made a right turn at Clewistown lock and intersected the rim route to continue on our way.

Because of the burns along the lake, the smell of smoke seemed to follow us on our travels. After Clewistown the acrid smoke made my eyes burn. Rounding a bend in the waterway, I saw why.

Heavy smoke made my eyes burn

cough - cough

After passing through this section, Clark found bits of burned, black grass on the boat. Traveling the open lake, we traveled 39 statute miles instead of the 50 we would have traveled had we followed the rim route. Perhaps we avoided a good portion of the smoke and fallout by avoiding the rim route.

The next lock after the lake was the Moore Haven Lock.

Park at Moore Haven Lock

After exiting the lock, we had a skinny railroad bridge opening to pass through. We came face-to-face with a sports-fish boat. Once again, we had the current with us and limited maneuverability. Clark called the captain of the fishing boat on the VHF radio, and before Clark could say anything, the other captain said, "I coming ahead." Clark said, "I have the current with me.", and he replied, "I have to make that lock before they close."

Rude boater at railroad bridge opening
made us fight the current while we waited for him to pass.

Moore Haven City Hall

Clark grabbed the camera for some photo opportunities as we traveled the waterway.

Building with what Clark called
"the ugliest windows I have ever seen"

Cows on shore
(I pictured the one lifting his leg saying, "What did I just step in?!")

Trees reflected on the Okeechobee Waterway

After traveling all day and about 70 nautical miles, we finally arrived at the W.P. Franklin lock and park at 4:40. The locks stop operating at 5:00. Clark saw on Active Captain that we had a number of opportunities for places to stay for little to no cost on the east side of this lock. We could tie up to the dolphins again, or several dock options presented themselves including staying at a hotel dock or docks provided by the Army Core of Engineers at the lock park.

Clark had called ahead to the lock park to request accommodations for the night. The person he talked to said space was available, but she had no idea if our boat would fit. When I heard Clark tell her that "the bow is the pointy end and the stern is where the work happens", I knew she was clueless about boats. We had time to either try to make the lock before they stopped operating, or we scope out the park to see if we fit - not both. Clark opted for checking out the park.

Docking bow in, we fit, but just barely. Our bow was in the lily pads and our stern hung out beyond the end of the dock by several feet. When we checked in, we got a very pleasant surprise. The normal overnight stay for a boat of any size is $30 and includes free electric. Because we had National Park passes, we paid half price for the night!