Getting from the Gulf coast to the Atlantic coast by boat can be a long and uncomfortable trip, if you have to route around the Keys and through the Miami area. Fortunately, there is a short cut through the middle of Florida, the Okechobee waterway. It starts in Ft Myers and ends in Stuart, via the Okechobee lake.
The route is through the heart of Florida and to some small towns like LaBelle, who has a small public dock for transient boaters located on a small park next to their library.
At each end of the waterway, the US Corps of Engineers have campgrounds with small transient docks for a highly reduced rate compared to a marina 30.00 vs 90.00.
We went through 5 locks, 4 ups and one down and saw a lot of wildlife along the way.
And some interesting trees that were very Lord of the Rings Ent like!
Crossing the lake, we had birds following us, at 1st we thought they were dive bombing Oma, but instead they were feeding on the fish our small wake stirred up.
The day after we crossed the lake, the weather turned nasty (not Chicago weather nasty) with winds 25-30 knots with gusts in the 40s with the temperature at night in the 20’s. (What happened to sunny Florida?) We holed up at a boat yard the had a secure sea wall, electricity and clean bathrooms for 3 days waiting for the weather to improve, along with other loopers and boaters. On the upside we had a nice clear sky and full moon.
We survived the cold and wind and made our way to Stuart and the Atlantic ICW.
Comments
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Loved the nature comments. Who would have ever thought Paul such a “nature lover” ! Truly a good sailer, and master nautical mechanic.
Paul, Suzanne — great reads. Keep it up. And our thanks.
Wahoo! Good to hear that you’re on the “other side!” It sounds like the crossing was interesting, with lots to see. I love the Ent reference!Glad to hear that you found a good spot to shelter from the weather! Looking forward to seeing you in just a few weeks! Hugs
So awesome!