The Okeechobee Waterway

 I had 1.5 lay days in Stuart. We were held up by the malfunctioning Ortona Lock on the west side of the Okeechobee waterway. We were supposed to depart from Stuart on Tuesday am for the 2 day journey to the west coast. With the lock closed and limited places to stay within the waterway, it was prudent to wait in Stuart. 

I stayed an extra day at the Safe Harbor Marina but then moved to a town mooring to save $. The only info on the lock was that they were awaiting divers to assess/repair. There was a possibility they would be functional wed or thurs or in 2 weeks! I didn’t end up saving much money after all…the moorings were $30/night (compared to $133 at marina) so I reserved 2 nights. Of course, on the water one loses track of days, so I reserved for the wrong nights (lost $30 there). Then, by late afternoon Wednesday there was still no news from the lock so I extended another night (thurs, the night I thought I had reserved to start with).  I spent the evening at Frank & Maryellen’s and did laundry. One more call to the lock after 4:30 and we learned it was operational!  We quickly changed the plan to depart early thursday morning - so much for the other $30!

We had great weather conditions (temps in 50’s in am and 70’s in afternoon. Very light wind…all favorable. 

However…the Okeechobee Waterwsy has its challenges. It takes every bit of 2 days for a slow trawler (or even a fast one). Below is a pic from the cruising guide with full list of bridges and locks that must be dealt with to get to the west coast. 

The first bridge closed moments before we reached it…2 quick trains and one extraordinarily long freight train!  That was a 50 min wait. Fortunately with just about 15’ height we get under most of the bridges without waiting for an opening but not train bridges and not a few of the highway bridges. 

Locks are another story. The first one seemed to take forever, and if it’s not waiting open for you it takes forever and a day!

We did manage to get through the eastern side after quite a delay and with good weather we were able to cross the lake rather than taking the ‘rim route’, which adds several miles to the trip. The crossing was uneventful, but it was surprising just how big it is!  Even on a clear day one cannot see the opposite shore of the lake. 

We were staying in Clewiston the first night, so that actually meant one additional lock that we had to go through to get in and again to get out the next morning (today). 

Gerry and Amy were with us in Clewiston so we once again enjoyed their company for dinner at the tiki bar. 

We got an early start out of Clewiston but the locks ate up a lot of time. When we arrived at the Ortona lock we learned that the previous lock at morehaven had shut down after we passed through!  We were fortunate once again. 

I videoed the closing gate in one of the locks - don’t feel obligated to watch it through to the end!  But this is why it takes so long to get through locks!

Just to make life a little challenging, we were looking at arrival to destination marina 1/2 hr after their closing time.  I called and got all the info from dock master - slip number, location, which side to tie, etc.  POC, right?  Nope.  He told me if docking stern-to it would be port side tie.  So we (the royal We) dragged the dinghy up to starboard bow and readied lines on port.  The slip was way in close to land and as I turned to back in we saw that it was a starboard side tie!  Nothing like a Chinese fire drill as you’re drifting towards a stone wall!

Fortunately there was no wind so we just went slowly and managed to back in (to a slip just 1 1/2 ft larger than the beam of my boat) and tie without any yelling or tears.

So we are safely in Fort Myers and ready to become a northbound vessel tomorrow!