2021: Okeechobee Waterway to Vero Beach FL

 17 April 2021

Depart: W. P. Franklin lock dock 10:40

Arrive: Clewiston - tied to dolphins 5:50

Distance: 45.3 nm

Locks: 2 (Ortona and Moorehaven)

Conditions: Hot, humid, west wind

Thankfully we had electricity at the W. P. Franklin docks. Having air conditioning for the boat made sleeping possible. Without the a/c, the stateroom felt like a steam room!

We traveled 28 miles (24 nm) to Ortona Lock where we had a change of water level of about 8 feet for the locking through. From there we traveled 16 miles to the Moorehaven lock where we had a similar change in water height. I had to laugh as I heard Clark talking to the boaters in another vessel locking through with us. When asked where we were heading for the night, Clark said, "I haven't decided yet. Often I don't know where I'm going until I get there!"

Near Lake Hicpochee, we heard a pop pop sound. Clark said, "that sounds like gun fire"! I hoped they weren't aiming at us! A short distance later we passed a site where a man was firing his rifle off the tailgate of his bright red pickup truck. Fortunately, he was aiming at some objects he had lined up on shore!

Knowing we would not arrive in time to lock through, Clark called the lock master at the Port Mayaca lock and asked about tying up to the dolphins outside his lock. The lock master could not recommend that we do that, so Clark decided that we should stop at Clewiston for the night instead. 

Scenes we saw along the way ...

Cars waiting for bridge to close

Busy woman bridge tender with a 
strong accent - hard to understand.

Lone cow enjoying the greenery at the side of the canal

Dolphins along Okeechobee Waterway

"Down the tracks" view

Lock up ahead

Digger on a barge - ongoing work on waterway

Tying to the dolphins at Clewiston was no less than an ordeal. The space between the two was just that much too far for the longest line secured at the bow of our boat to allow us to reach the dolphin to secure a line at the stern. We had a strong wind driving us in a direction we did not want to go while we fought with the line to try to get it around a post (any post) of the dolphin. The cleats were way over our heads and not reachable to tie to. 

I tried to do it with Clark piloting. I knew I could not reach unless I stepped out onto the swim platform, and I was terrified to do that. We traded places as I thought with Clark having a longer reach he might be able to be successful. I am sure we provided great entertainment for folks watching from shore. My lack of skills at the helm shown through with flying colors. I had the boat every which way but where Clark needed it to be. 

Finally, I heard him say (we were wearing headsets), "Oh, this is ridiculous!" At that point we attached a second line to lengthen the line at the bow, so we could take the boat far enough astern to more easily reach the dolphin posts. With that, we got a stern line and could then position the boat equidistant between the dolphins for the night. We both felt like we had one heck of a workout by the time we called ourselves done!

On our travels today we saw alligators crossing the waterway. After we moored, one swam directly behind our boat!

Yes, there is an alligator in the picture.

Watching sun set while tied to Dolphin at Clewiston

18 April 2021

Depart: Clewiston Dolphins 8:40

Arrive: Jensen Beach Bridge anchorage 5:30

Distance: 63 nm

Locks: 2 (Pass through Port Mayaca lock, Lock through St. Lucie lock)

The harsh winds of yesterday had vanished when we woke in the morning, so disconnecting from the dolphins proved much easier than connecting yesterday evening. I fed out the bow line while Clark pulled in the stern line. The knot he tied to connect us to the dolphin gave him a hard time, but he eventually worked it loose. Once he had the stern free, I pulled the boat up to reach the knot for the bow. 

Other than the fact that Clark had put away my boat hook in an unlikely place (so I could not find it), dropping the bow line turned out to be pretty easy. For safety, we attached fenders to both the bow and the stern lines so that we would not lose our lines should we drop one. That also prevented the lines from sliding too far down the pole to be able to retrieve the loop and disconnect the lines.

After we got going, I went searching for the missing boat hook. Clark had said he left it on the bow overnight. It sure as heck was not there. I checked the places in the stern and along the side where it might be hiding. It even crossed my mind that someone had climbed on the boat during the night and took it - where could it have gone?? I finally spotted it buried behind a broom and some fenders. Clark had put it away just not where it belonged! He hid it well. Since I had yet to eat breakfast, I was not amused!

We had the usual boring trip across Lake O and got a nice surprise when we reached the Port Mayaca Lock. The gates at both ends were open - no locking required for this one today. We had to wait for the lockmaster to tell us we could pass to be sure no traffic approached from the other direction. Basically, though, we had no wait at all!

Port Mayaca Lock - no locking necessary

As we passed through the lock, Clark pointed out the bright green algae collecting against the lock walls. When we heard the 6 o'clock news, they had health advisories about touching or breathing in the algae. Terrific! 

Green Algae at Port Mayaca Lock

Green Algae along side of waterway

The number of boats we saw on the Okeechobee Waterway was minimal. We saw more birds, cows, and alligators than people. 

"Big John" tug on Okeechobee

Bird Cluster on OWW

Thus, it was a culture shock once we finished locking down and exited the lock at Port St. Lucie to see boats and particularly sailboats galore! 

Moored Sailboats as we enter Port St. Lucie

We stopped for the night at Jensen Beach and dropped anchor near a bridge there.

19 April 2021

Depart: Jensen Beach Bridge anchorage 7:50

Arrive: Vero Beach - Bethel Creek - private dock 12:30

Distance: 24 nm

Conditions: Thunderstorms

After all the good weather we have had, we woke this morning to a gloomy day. Storm clouds filled the sky and the weather reports threatened thunder and lightning throughout the day. 

Storm getting closer

Normally we pilot the boat from the upper helm. When the rain got too much, Clark changed stations to drive from the pilot house. He prefers the visibility of the upper helm, so as we came in to Fort Pierce to get fuel, he switched back to the top. We could hear thunder in the distance as we filled up with fuel. 

The hoses did not allow for a fast fill, so it took a while to get the tanks topped up. Each tank showed just over 1/3, so we had a lot of fuel to pump in. Finally, we completed the job, pulled in our lines, and got underway. What perfect timing! 

No sooner did we leave the dock then we got a thunder and lightning show with a heavy downpour. I thought to myself, "I bet that dock hand is happy we left when we did!"

We saw some colorful sailboats as we passed by the Vero Beach marina.

We arrived at our friend's dock after lunch. It was still raining lightly as we tied up, but shortly afterwards the rain stopped long enough for our friend, Don, to walk down from his house and join us on our cockpit to chat. Afterwards, I took advantage of Don's offer and used his washer and dryer to get a clean start on cloths, towels, and bed linens!

At "Martini Time" our friends, Cathy and Franklin, joined us for cocktails  on Don's patio. Later we called for pizza and dined outdoors until the bug drove us away!

Sunset view from our friend's home in Vero Beach

20 April 2021

No boat travel.

At dinner last night, Cathy offered to take me shopping today. We made a quick stop to mail a letter for Clark and then she took me to Publix to fill up on fresh fruits and vegetables as well as bread and milk.

While we were gone, Clark replaced a bad board in our salon air conditioning unit.

Part on green circuit board went bad, so
Clark replaced the board to fix the A/C

 

Cathy and I went to the store early to avoid the predicted thunderstorms of the afternoon. As Cathy said goodbye, she said she could feel the first drops of rain. Shortly after she left, the rain came down in buckets. What great timing once again! 

It rained off and on throughout the rest of the day. Besides the items I planned to buy at Publix, I found an unexpected selection of t-shirts. They all advertised Vero Beach, but I decided that I needed some, so I got 3 in different colors - blue, lime green, and pink. In between raindrops, I ran up and used Don's washer and dryer once again. This time to wash the chemicals out of my new t-shirts so I could start wearing them immediately!

Cathy and Franklin came over again today for "Martini Time". As the time got on, we finally decided we needed to do dinner. The decision was made to get Chinese takeout. Since today was Don's birthday, Clark and Cathy came back with ice cream as well as the Chinese food for dinner. 

We had another great sunset tonight.

Sunset on Bethel Creek, Vero Beach, FL

21 April 2021

Maintenance run to Vero Beach Marina for a holding tank pumpout

Distance: 1 hour round trip including time at dock to empty holding tank

Clark said he wanted to take the boat over to the marina for a pumpout today since we planned to leave the next morning. He was not sure how long it would take as he was nervous that we might have another clogging issue. 

The one thing I wanted to do today was go for a bike ride. Vero Beach is a great place to ride a bike. Due to the last two days of rain, I wanted to take advantage of the sunny day today. I decided I better get my bike ride in before the pumpout or it might not happen at all.

As I prepared for my ride, Clark was up at the house talking to Don. When he came back, he said he was leaving to go with Don to recycle some batteries. Good! That meant it would be at least an hour until he got back. I was free to wander on my bike with no worries of when I needed to return! 

Sights I saw on my ride ...

Fishing pier under bridge

Vero Beach Marina

Arched walkway to park

Firefighter Memorial by fire station

I got back to the boat about 5 minutes before he came back from his outing with Don.  Since my bike was where he had left it, he wondered if I had even gone!

After lunch, we dropped our boat lines and headed over to the marina for the pumpout. Fortunately, the pumpout went smoothly. Phew! Franklin keeps his boat at the municipal marina, so we swung by to say hello from the bow of our boat to the stern of his before heading back to Don's dock.

Cathy and Franklin invited us to dine at their house tonight. Don drove us over and we had "Martini time" at their house followed by a lovely dinner and dessert prepared by Cathy. I gave Cathy two pictures I painted of birds. 

Osprey and Pelican paintings
(Clark thought my Osprey was an owl!)

 

Knowing we would be leaving in the morning, we said our farewells tonight. What a lovely visit we had!