This is our second passage on the Okeechobee Waterway. We followed the GICW (Gulf Inter- Coastal Waterway) east past Fort Myers and into the Franklin Lock. There is a nice Federally run campground adjacent to this lock and we anchored in a bay overlooking the campground and boat ramp. We were going to attempt to tie to the massive "dolphins" (groupings of 5 big pilings tied together) which were spaced about 60-70 feet apart. Day Dreams is about 42 feet overall, so we would have to sling between them. Doug, being the expert Captain he is, maneuvered me & our stern right up to one of the "dolphins" (not the mammal, have no idea why they are named dolphins) and I was able to reach around one of them and secure a line, but very quickly I could tell that my line was not long enough for Day Dreams then to move all the way forward so I could secure a bow line to the "dolphin" 70 feet ahead of me. We hadn't thought this plan all the way through before our attempt. We aborted our plan and resorted to what we do best-anchoring. We will try again some other day!
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Moore Haven & new boaters
From Australia |
After a quick thunderstorm in the evening and then a quiet night on anchor, we continued traveling east and locked through the second lock called Ortona. Both lock masters have been so pleasant and the locking process has gone smoothly. We docked in Moore Haven on the City Wall across from City Hall and the library. There is a minimal charge for the dock but water & electricity is included. If you arrive before 5:00 PM, you pay @ City Hall, after hours a community member comes by and collects. The bath/shower house is in the the park and the showers are disgusting; we did not use the facilities, just the electric & water. We were alone until around dinner time, when we helped a cruiser tie up in front of us. Michael & Candy are from Australia and just recently began cruising. They were in need of some wine and there are no places for provisioning nearby and I wanted them to know that we Americans can be as friendly & giving as the Canadians so I gave them a bottle of red & a bottle of white. Along with our gift of wine, we imparted some of our best wisdom regarding one of the most important tools for all cruisers: the Active Captain App. No cruiser should hit the water without it! We wish them calm waters and fair winds.
Before reaching Lake Okeechobee, there are 2 more locks to get through, we were lucky and the Port Mayaca lock was open just to cruise through due to the water level. It was specially helpful for us because as we entered the Moore Haven Lock our bow thruster decided to stop working. When we left the wall @ Moore Haven, there was a lot of vegetation & weeds on the surface of the water at our bow, we think some of that was sucked into our bow thruster & became tangled with the crustaceans that had deposited themselves in the thruster tunnel. The blades were then unable to rotate which then in turn caused the coupler to snap, protecting the motor. Doug figured all this out as we crossed Lake Okeechobee. Doug made some phone calls: thanks John Gear for giving us a great referral. Our friends @ Krogen Yachts are always there for us when we need them for help & advice. We set up appointments with two Daves: a diver and a mechanic to help us out once we arrived in Stuart.
Matt, the Harbor Master @ Sunset Bay also helped us out by assigning us to D5 fixed face dock rather than a slip because we thought it would be easier without our bow thruster. Wrong, the current was quite strong and we slipped quickly & safely in between the 2 yachts but both our heart rates accelerated a tad. It's definitely a tricky spot. In the next few days, our bow thruster was cleaned out of the bad crusty guys, the coupling was replaced on the motor of the thruster and all is well. Just be wary paying an exorbitant amount of money for overnight air shipping when it is Friday because on Fridays overnight air comes on Monday!
The rest of our short stay in Stuart was much more fun because we were busy socializing. Our long time friend Deb, her daughter & granddaughter came for a visit. Anneliese loved the boat & water, she was a happy girl! We walked to Pelican Bay twice, sharing a glass of wine with Paul, the owner the first time while listening to a great musician singing & playing. Our second visit was to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Paul, Linda and their fun neighbors. The entertainment @ Pelican Bay is top notch along with the sand between our toes, the waterfront view and of course the fabulous owners!
We also enjoyed a wonderful evening at Linda & Paul's beautiful, tropical home. Drinks, laughs, food and company were outstanding. Thank you so much for your friendship and sharing your joy!
We reconnected with Bert, a friend from Toledo Beach Marina, Michigan where Day Dreams & Indemnity were docked together for a few years. Bert & Steve, the proud owners of Indemnity left us at TBM to begin their Big Adventure of full time cruising years before we were ready. Now they have become land lubbers here in Stuart. Unfortunately, Steve was out of town so we missed seeing him but we really enjoyed spending time with Bert. Thanks for the Marina tour Bert. Hopefully we'll see Steve on our next visit.
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| Old Port Cove Marina |
Our visit in Stuart wasn't all fun & games, Doug did follow his Doctors recommendations and kept his appointments for both his cardiologist and hematologist. All is good! Thanks to Ellen & Jeff for borrowing their car to drive to Cleveland Clinic in W. Palm Beach. While there, we checked out a few marinas and loved Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach.
Happy Mothers Day to all those wonderful, caring, unselfish Moms out there!
This is our second passage on the Okeechobee Waterway. We followed the GICW (Gulf Inter- Coastal Waterway) east past Fort Myers and into the Franklin Lock. There is a nice Federally run campground adjacent to this lock and we anchored in a bay overlooking the campground and boat ramp. We were going to attempt to tie to the massive "dolphins" (groupings of 5 big pilings tied together) which were spaced about 60-70 feet apart. Day Dreams is about 42 feet overall, so we would have to sling between them. Doug, being the expert Captain he is, maneuvered me & our stern right up to one of the "dolphins" (not the mammal, have no idea why they are named dolphins) and I was able to reach around one of them and secure a line, but very quickly I could tell that my line was not long enough for Day Dreams then to move all the way forward so I could secure a bow line to the "dolphin" 70 feet ahead of me. We hadn't thought this plan all the way through before our attempt. We aborted our plan and resorted to what we do best-anchoring. We will try again some other day!
Matt, the Harbor Master @ Sunset Bay also helped us out by assigning us to D5 fixed face dock rather than a slip because we thought it would be easier without our bow thruster. Wrong, the current was quite strong and we slipped quickly & safely in between the 2 yachts but both our heart rates accelerated a tad. It's definitely a tricky spot. In the next few days, our bow thruster was cleaned out of the bad crusty guys, the coupling was replaced on the motor of the thruster and all is well. Just be wary paying an exorbitant amount of money for overnight air shipping when it is Friday because on Fridays overnight air comes on Monday!
We also enjoyed a wonderful evening at Linda & Paul's beautiful, tropical home. Drinks, laughs, food and company were outstanding. Thank you so much for your friendship and sharing your joy!
We reconnected with Bert, a friend from Toledo Beach Marina, Michigan where Day Dreams & Indemnity were docked together for a few years. Bert & Steve, the proud owners of Indemnity left us at TBM to begin their Big Adventure of full time cruising years before we were ready. Now they have become land lubbers here in Stuart. Unfortunately, Steve was out of town so we missed seeing him but we really enjoyed spending time with Bert. Thanks for the Marina tour Bert. Hopefully we'll see Steve on our next visit. 