Okeechobee Waterway - Finally!

October 10^th:  There are 5 locks on the Okeechobee Waterway with the #1 lock (St. Lucie) and the #5 lock (WP Franklin) operating on a restricted schedule of 7am - 1pm - 7pm daily. In order to "make it" from one end to the other, you have to do it in six hours (or wait for a total of 12 hours)

So this morning, we left Stuart, FL at 5:45 am in the dark, slowly and carefully working our way up the St. Lucie River, navigation lights on, spot light over the bow targeting the next marker.

Pre-dawn approach to the first lock

 We made the #1 Lock with about 10 minutes to spare. The best way to understand what the locks do is "lift" you about 8 feet up toward Lake Okeechobee (which is Indian for "Big Water") -- in fact it is the second largest fresh water lake in the USA next to Lake Michigan! There are a total of total of 5 locks to get from the east to west coast (2 "lifts" and 3 "lowers"). The timing was critical -- had there been just ONE hiccup along the route and as little as 15 minutes delay, we would be spending the night among the Bubba's and alligators.

The Admiral handling lines and fenders

Flooding the lock

Some 6 hours after we entered the 1st lock at 7 am, we had reached the final lock on the waterway that would grant us freedom to the Gulf of Mexico and me redemption for waking the Admiral at 530 this morning. It was actually a very beautiful and relaxing day, as we saw scores of Osprey, Eagles, Dolphins, Manatees and even the occasional alligator along the waters edge. 

Crossing Lake Okeechobee

Locking out of Lake Okeechobee

We decided to press on past Ft. Myers (our original planned stop for the day) and headed another 45 miles to Captiva Island and one of our very favorite places anywhere, the South Seas Yacht Harbor. We basically have the place to ourselves and are docked at a location where the bow of the boat faces the Gulf of Mexico and the stern faces the Intracoastal Waterway. We are going to stay here a couple of days to relax and unwind before heading to our final destination in Sarasota.

Tucked in for the night at South Seas, Captiva