Along the way we were followed; led; and run along side (like this group) by LOTS of dolphins
We arrived at Melborne Marina, and ate lunch at the dockside restaurant
The next day we went further south, to Fort Pierce
Along with other things...this is a big charter boat area. This captain is cleaning the dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi) he caught today
A shot of the center of town in Fort Pierce
The next morning, we woke to lots of storms in the area. You can see on our weather radar the red, which means heavy storms. The good news is they were a couple hundred miles south of us when we left Fort Pierce
By 10:30 that morning we had made it to the Okeechobee Waterway, and Sunset Bay Marina
This is a new marina...and 1st class
As we left Sunset Bay the next morning...this is a typical shot of the waterway heading to Lake Okeechobee
The lock before Lake Okeechobee was open on both ends, so we just drove through. You can see on the other side is Lake Okeechobee...but it might as well be an ocean, because you can't see any land.
45 miles after leaving the lock we came to Roland Martin's marina
This cool Tiki Bar was right beside our boat
The docks aren't much...but it is a nice stop
On Friday morning we left Roland Martin's Marina and turned hard port (NW) to follow the rim route along Lake Okeechobee to our first lock at Moore Haven
But it still takes 2 people to work the lines
Along the waterway is another of the old fashion swing bridges
At mile 133 on the Okeechobee Waterway you come to Fort Myers, and Legacy Marina
This is B dock at Legacy...our home for 3 nights
Log 188
Day 556
Saturday, November 28, 2009
6:30 AM EST
Location: Legacy Harbor Marina; Fort Myers, FL.
Weather: 58 degrees...heading for 68 today.
Here are my captain’s logs for the last week:
Sunday at Titusville Marina...was a beautiful morning. Light winds and warm temperatures. A little hazy, and almost 100% humidity, but very nice. Not a lot to report for the day. It was one of our “typical” Sundays at the Koerner's (on the boat...or at home). Just putzing around in the morning; chili at 11:30; watching football and racing; Deb working on the computer, and doing some laundry; naps later in the afternoon; pizza for dinner. Ahhhh...the perfect day.
Monday...up early, and listening to the VHF, to determine when the Titusville swing bridge would open, so we could head south. It turned out that they had a restricted opening until 7:15, so we left the slip at 7, and at 7:15 we were sitting in front of the bridge...along with several other southbound boats. After clearing the bridge, the 42 miles to Melbourne was easy to navigate, and uneventful. Except...for LOTS of dolphins everywhere. Many times they would swim beside the boat, for a mile or so, and then just disappear. It happened several times, and each time Deb would be “gitty”. She never gets tired of seeing dolphins (Don’t tell her...but neither do I). Our slip for the night was at Melbourne, FL. Not much of a marina, but a convenient place to stop. We arrived about 11 am, and after tying up, went up to the on site restaurant for lunch. (Side note: this is only the second time since we left Holland, 551 days ago, that the marina did not have 50 amp power. We had to use our new 30 amp power adaptor we got in Baltimore...which worked great) After lunch Deb walked into town to check things out (not much to see she said) and I putzed around on the boat...after a short boat nap. Not much to report on the rest of the day. Dinner on board, and watched something on the DVR.
Tuesday...up about 6, and left the dock a little after 7...heading for Fort Pierce City Marina. Another day of light winds, sunny skies, and warm temperatures. The cruise down the ICW was easy cruising and uneventful. Like much of the east coast ICW it is very narrow, and very shallow just outside the channel, but if you watch yourself closely, you have no problem. Along our route today, we passed the towns of Palm Bay; Sebastian; Vero Beach; and at mile 966 we came to Fort Pierce City Marina. After a 48 mile run, we arrived at the marina at about 1 pm. Deb and I decided that Headquarters needed a good washing, so we took our time and completely washed the boat. By 3 pm we were done with our chores, so we walked up to check in, and then walked around the town...which is just across the street from the marina. Fort Pierce has a very nice downtown and water front area, but nothing struck our fancy, and we were back at the boat by 4:30. Dinner was a small salad, and Castle for the movie.
Wednesday...up at 5;30, and LOTS of rain in the area. I was considering not leaving today, because of the weather. NOAA was calling for some strong storms, with wind, but checking other weather sites, and watching the radar I figured out the worst of the storms were around the Miami area...far enough south of us, so it would not be a problem. It was also very warm (75 degrees) so I took off the front isinglass, but, within an hour, we had to put it back on because it started to rain. In the beginning, it was just sprinkling, but soon, it was raining hard enough we had to close up everything. At mile 985 on the ICW (we have come 985 miles since Norfolk) we came to the St Lucie Inlet (which goes out to the Atlantic), and made a hard turn to starboard, and joined the St Lucie River and mile 0 of the Okeechobee Waterway (it’s 147 miles to the gulf from here). From here, we went another 8 miles to Stuart, and arrived at 10;30, just as the skies opened up, and we ended up tying up the boat in heavy rain. Our marina for the night was a new one called Sunset Bay Marina...which is built and owned by Wayne Huizenga (former owner of the Tampa Bay baseball team, and the Miami Dolphins). It is a first class facility, with a great new restaurant on site, that we took advantage of for lunch. The entire site reminded Deb and I of pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale (which, by the way, he once owned as well). In the afternoon we did some boat chores, and had a boat salesman show us a couple of Ocean Alexander’s that they had for sale in the marina. A beautiful 2010 60 footer, and a 2006 64 footer...only $1.6 million each. Dinner was another light meal (getting ready for Thanksgiving), and Lie to Me was the movie.
Thursday...the morning was warm (72) and the rain had moved through. It was still fairly cloudy, but you could tell the sun would shine soon. We left our slip at 7 am, and headed SW on the Okeechobee Waterway toward Lake Okeechobee. The waterway is part river, and part canal, but nice scenery; deep; and easy to navigate. At mile 15 we came to St. Lucie lock, which lifted us about 5 feet, and then at mile 38, we came to Port Mayaca Lock, which is at the eastern edge of Lake Okeechobee. Because of the level of the lake, both lock doors were open, and we just motored through. At that point, we could just as easily be in an ocean, because looking west, or north, or south, you could not see any land. We also saw that the NW winds had caused a chop on the lake, that would be on our starboard beam and make it very uncomfortable to make a slow run to Clewiston. So, after rocking and rolling for a little bit, I picked up our speed to about 20 mph, which made for a comfortable ride, and ran that way all the way to Clewiston...25 miles away. We arrived at Roland Martin’s Marina about 11 am...just in time for us to get plugged in, and for Deb to start cooking Thanksgiving Dinner. For my taste buds, she makes the best dressing there is (just like Mom’s), and her Thanksgiving dinner is to die for. I am happy to report that this years dinner (which we had at 3 pm) was the best she has ever made, and we ate until we were stuffed. To top it off, she made bread pudding (another BEST for her) and we were so full, we actually had it for dinner. Actually...that is all we had for dinner.
Friday morning at 5:30 am...pitch black outside the boat this morning, with fairly strong NW winds and a cool 54 degrees. I stuck my head out the side door once, only to decide I did not want to go for a dock walk. We are in Rolland Martin’s Marina this morning, and I can’t help but think back to when we were here on New Years Eve, in 2000. We were moving the boat (on our first great circle trip) from Clearwater, FL to Fort Lauderdale, and stopped here for the night. They had a big New Years Eve party, and we had a ball. On board, we had Steve and Chris Thoke, and Carl Melville, and we were having a great time. This marina is located at the very southern tip of Lake Okeechobee, in a town called Clewiston, FL. Called the bass fishing capital of the world. After working on the captain’s log a little, I went up to the marina restaurant for a good, ole fashion, southern breakfast (meaning lots of butter and grease). I was not disappointed. My bacon; eggs; hash browns; and biscuit, were excellent, and I went back to the boat ready for cruising. After washing down the boat to get lots of dead bugs off it, we left the dock at about 7:30. The winds were still fairly steady at about 15 mph, but because the “rim route” of Lake Okeechobee is protected by land we had no waves...just some light chop on the water. Our route took us along the SW edge of Lake for about 11 miles (actually heading NW) and then to a lock (drops 3 feet) at Moore Haven, FL (note: when you head toward the Lake the locks take you up...as you head away from the lake, the locks take you down). At this point we are still on the Okeechobee Waterway, but we left Lake Okeechobee behind, and joined the Caloosahatchee Canal...which will later become the Caloosahatchee River. At mile 94 (the Okeechobee Waterway is 147 miles from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico) we came to Ortona Lock (a drop of 8 feet)...number 4 on the system. And then at mile 121 we came to Franklin Lock (3 foot drop), which the final lock, and at that point we are officially in the Caloosahatchee River. At about 3:30 pm (mile 135), we came to Legacy Harbor...our home for the next couple of days. We really like this marina. We stayed here last year for a little over a month, and really liked the people, and the location. We were greeted by Dave, the Harbormaster, and felt very welcome (we would love to spend the winter here, but need to go to Galati’s at Cape Harbour Marina to sell the boat). We had dinner aboard (another turkey dinner...YUM) and watched a Survivor episode we had recorded.
Today (Saturday)...up about 6; it’s now 8:45, and I have been working on this log (off and on) for a couple of hours. It got down to 54 last night, and this morning it’s a little windy, but bright and sunny. The forecast is for 68 and sunny today, and then back to the 80’s for the rest of the week. We plan to walk into Fort Myers today for lunch, and we’ll see what happens from here.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
