Our First Post

O God, thy Sea is so great and my boat so small

February 4, 2022: Pirates Cove Resort, Stuart Florida.

 

 We had an excellent week, arriving in Stuart on Wednesday afternoon February 1^st,  and have settled into The Pirates Cove Resort for the month of February. Certainly the highlight of this weeks journey was crossing Lake Okeechobee, which is the second largest lake in the continental  United States (which I didn’t know) next to Lake Michigan. The other Great Lakes share their shoreline with Canada. Therefore, we have now crossed the two largest lakes in the United States!

How did we get to Stuart from Venice last Saturday? Well, here’s a recap:

  

 

Saturday January 28, 2023, Travel Day # 95 Crow’s Nest Marina, Venice FL. To Cabbage Key Inn, Cabbage Key Fl.  Distance 45 Miles, Total Time 6 Hours, We had spent 2 nights in Venice at Crow’s Nest Marina where we published our last update on the blog. We were able to spend a night with Bob and Barbra Keller at their winter home.  Bob and I played a fun round of golf the next morning, then they dropped us off at the boat.  We left the marina just after 8 AM as we had a 45-mile day. On the first leg of the journey, we had to cross Roberts Bay a fairly wide body of water. The majority of the day’s trip was going  to be in a narrow canal, a high bank land cut that was created to keep the GIWW (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) passable. So, navigation was very easy and we had two bridges that we had to ask to be raised. One was on the hour and ½ hour the second was on demand. We slowed down for the first bridge opening for 3 miles, so we didn’t have to hang out at the bridge and avoid any backups. The landscape was boring and there were very few house and no industry. This is a rural part of the GIWW, so we didn’t take a lot of pictures. The last 15 miles was in the Gasparilla Sound and Boca Grande. Lots of beautiful homes in that are and I do have some pictures of them. It was a sunny day and we had very little boat traffic, until we got to Charlotte Harbor. A very pleasant day to cruise.

Cabbage Key Inn is located 4 miles south of the landfall of Hurricane Ian, which was at  at Cayo Costa. Cabbage Key Inn is located on a private Key, which is owned by a family who have done an amazing job getting the operation back up and running. They have a construction crew of 25 workers living on the Island and they work 6 days a week from sunrise to sunset. These folks worked their tails off, it was amazing to see the progress they have made. Cayo Costa is a disaster area still, no progress was made there. The construction crew leaves for the mainland / home Saturday night and return to the Key on Monday morning. We happened to be there when they were going off Cabbage Key for their one day off. One group of happy workers I can assure you.

 

They have replaced all the docks and were working on getting the cottages and hotel rooms open. They have a great restaurant that was very open and popular on their property, and we had dinner there. They also house 40 employees that run the marina, the restaurant, and the hotel. They do a huge lunch business, (there must have had 40 boats visit between 1 and 4PM and have lunch at the restaurant). Many local folks come by boat from Venice, Englewood, and Fort Myers.  We enjoyed our time there; it was a great atmosphere and a fantastic meal at the Inn.

 

Homes along the way on Lemon Bay Heading to Cabbage Key

Cabbage Key Inn 

  

Sunday, January 29,2023 Travel Day #96 Cabbage Key Inn, Cabbage Key FL. to Sweetwater Landing Marina, North Fort Myers FL.  Total Distance 46 Miles, Total Time 6 Hours, 4 Locks

We departed at 8 AM, on Sunday as our first 20 miles was traveling south in Pine Island Sound which is a large open bay. It is 5 miles wide and 18 miles long with Sanibel Island on the southern tip. We had light winds and the chop on the bay was behind us, so it was a comfortable ride down The Sound. Once again we had a sunny day with unlimited visibility, and it was in the mid 70’s. When we got to the tip of Sanibel Island (which is the Southernmost point on our Loop) we entered the Caloosahatchee River headed to Fort Myers. The GIWW (Gulf) ends and at that point and the folks who head to the Keys and Marathon must do so on the outside.

Once we left the GIWW we then entered the Okeechobee Waterway (OCWW) which is a 154-mile waterway connecting Fort Myers to St Lucie Florida. The OCWW is dredged to 8 feet and is well marked with traditional Red and Green Day Markers. It has over 20 bridges 6 that we had to have opened to be able to get under them, and 5 locks. Oh Boy… locks again.

 We had read and heard a lot about the devastation Hurricane Ian did to the to the waterfront in Fort Myers and so were not really looking forward to witnessing it first hand from Her Idea, kind of like peeking while you like driving by an accident. Some things you can’t unsee!

The good news is there were lots of boats out on a beautiful Sunday that were running up and down the waterways, which helped confirm the navigable channel. The other wonderful thing is the Coast Guard has done an outstanding job in getting most of the buoys and cans back in place, as most had been pulled off station during the storm.

We got through Fort Myers and will attach some pictures below so many months later there still is a lot of boats and marinas in tough shape. Four miles eastbound from  downtown Fort Myers we pulled into Tidewater Marina in North Fort Myers around 2 PM, had lunch, and cleaned up the boat. There was a large Tiki Bar next to the Marina, so we of course had to go check out their specialty Rum drinks, which were pretty good. The Tiki bar had a pool on the side of the channel which you overlooked from the bar, so you can only imagine what that crowd was like at 4 PM on a Sunday afternoon😊

We got back to the boat, we cooked dinner on the grill and had an early night as the next day we had 60-mile day and 4 locks.

 

 

 

 Gasparilla Sound

 Caloosahatchee River, Lots of Boat Traffic Ft Myers

Traveling Through Fort Myers, Scary

Fort Myers Skyline

 

 

Monday, January 30,2023 Travel Day # 97 Sweetwater Landing, Fort Myers  To Roland and Mary Anne Martin Marina, Clewiston FL. Total Distance 59 Miles, Total Time 9.5 Hours

 

We were unsure how long it would take to get through the locks and we had 4 of them on this leg. If each took an hour in each lock which is common, and we had to cover 60 miles at 9 MPH it could be a 10.5-hour day. Therefore, we started out at 7:30 AM on a very foggy morning hoping we would arrive in Clewiston before 5:30 PM! One mile from the Marina was our first lock. When we arrived and I called the Lock Master he would not allow us to lock through because of the fog. He said he needed to have visibility of the entire lock to put boats through. The lock is only 400 feet long so the fact the Lockmaster couldn’t see the end lock which is a good indicator of how poor the visibility was. We had to wait 45 minutes just doing circles until he gave us the green light to enter. The fog had lifted a little by the time we locked through but it was still low visibility. It was 10 AM before we had enough light to see a ½ mile  and by 10:30 the sun was out and the fog burnt off fully.

The next lock was quick, and when we went through our ETA was to arrive in Clewiston at 3:30 PM so we thought we had plenty of breathing room. That was until we got to the third lock in Moore Haven.  We were informed by the Lockmaster that they had divers in the water, and it would be a two-hour delay. Fortunately, they had a marina in Moore Haven and so we made reservations there. Luckily, we got the last 45 feet of available space on the wall, which is when your B Plan comes into play. This was our backup, and I was glad we had it. To get to Clewiston by 5:30 PM we had to depart Moore Haven by 3 PM. We had two hours of travel time (18 Miles) and one last lock to get to Clewiston by 5:30 as sunset is around 5:45. We did not want to dock in the dark.

Thankfully we didn’t check into the slip that we reserved in Moore Haven but rather we floated off the lock for an hour and a half. It paid off as the Lockmaster let us go through by 3 PM. I think the Lockmaster felt sorry for us as I explained why we’re trying to get to Clewiston, regardless it worked out for us. Once we got through the lock we burnt extra diesel fuel and picked up our speed and was able to get to the final lock in Clewiston by 4:30 and into the Marina before 5 PM. It was still a long 9.5-hour day but a bit more stressful than we planned, well who plans on a stressful day right!. Between Moore Haven and Clewiston there is NOTHING, the middle if nowhere. Therefore, once we went through the lock we were committed. The marina in Clewiston  is right next to the lock and had a Tiki Bar which we happily check out once we got the boat cleaned up. This section of the journey was very rural. This section is called the Caloosahatchee Canal and is a narrow channel with hardly any marks. It was 60 miles that we just stayed in the center of the OCWW and very few homes plenty of cows grazing the shoreline. Moore Haven was the only town we passed through in the 60 miles.

The reason we wanted to get to Clewiston is it is next to Lake Okeechobee. The Lake crossing is 26.5 miles and it’s a big body of water. Normally in the  early morning the winds are lower and it takes a while for the waves to build so we wanted to get on the lake early. The only concern was fog again was forecasted for the morning so we were hopefully be underway by 9 AM. That was the plan. We ate on the boat after checking out the Tiki Bar and went to bed early as it had been a long (stressful) day.

 

 

Okeechobee Waterway (OCWW)

Locks 

Meredith Keeping us Against the Lock Wall 

Doors Open, Time to Head Out

With Fixed Docks its a big step to get off the boat

 

 

Tuesday, January 31,2023 Travel Day # 98, Roland and Mary Anne Martin Marina, Clewiston FL. To Indiantown Marina Indian Town FL Total Distance 36 Miles, Total Time 4.5 Hours 2 Locks

 

We got up at 7 and sure enough there was a foggy haze on the water, so we had breakfast and did a few chores and just waited for the fog to burn off. Unfortunately, we could not see the lake from the marina, and it was less than a ½ a mile away.  Things seemed to be clearing up so at 9 AM we untied the boat and went through the first lock of the day and headed onto Lake Okeechobee. The visibility was pretty good as we have 2-3 miles but it’s always troubling to head into a fog bank, it’s just not something I feel really good about doing.  We turned our radar on and said a few extra prayers!

Well, the good lord came through and by 10 AM it was very clear. Also by then we had lost all sight of land and we did not see any boats until we entered the lock on the other side of the lake at the Port Mayaca Lock. We didn’t have any dolphins and very few marks. Once you got 3 miles into the lake the marks were 7 miles apart, which of course you can’t see that far. So, we had to rely on our courses that we had developed the night before.  We have three different navigation aids that we use on the boat. We have a Garman Chart Plotter, Navionics on an iPad, and Aqua Maps software on an Android Tablet. For this crossing all three-applications agreed on the route, so we were confident we were headed in the right direction.  Of course, it is always nice when the land shows up on the horizon. We just followed the three magenta lines and had a very safe crossing.

We made it across in 3 hours and went through the Port Mayaca Lock just after noontime. The wind was light and there was a very light chop on the lake and for the third day in a row the temperatures were in the mid to high 70’s, just perfect. Once you depart Lake Okeechobee on the eastern side, you enter the St Lucie Canal which will take us to St Lucie and onto Stuart. 10-miles east of the lock we pulled into Indiantown Marina for the night. Once again this entire waterway (OCWW) is extremely rural, there were very few towns and an occasional marina, but very few. Indiantown Marina was an interesting spot safe to say a step back in time. The woman who runs it was extremely helpful and she made room for us. They were full and I had been calling her every day for a week and finally she said call me Tuesday and Il see what I could do. Plan B was to anchor 5 miles east, which would have been a good back up. Tuesday Morning she gave us the green light. She allowed us to stay on the fuel dock which was very kind of her. There was nothing at the marina, so we had dinner and just chilled.

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Entering  Lake Okeechobee

Crossing Lake Okeechobee

 

Approaching Port Mayaca Lock

Entering the Lock

Departing the lock back in the OCWW

Clewiston FL

Our Slip at Roland Mary Ann Martin Marina

 

 

Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Travel Day # 99, Indiantown Marina Indiantown FL to Pirates Cove Resort, Stuart FL. Total Distance 30 Miles, Total Time 4.5 Hours 1 Locks

 

We had a relatively easy day on Wednesday, only 30 miles, one lock and two bridges that we had to have raised. One bridge is in Stuart which is on a fixed schedule opening which was on the hour and half hour so had to time our arrival accordingly.  At Indiantown Marina we were at the Fuel dock and had to slip out between two 50-foot sail boats and we did so before any of the crew were up to assist our departure. It is always best when getting in and out of a tight slip to have your neighbors around to assist. Just feels better (unless you bump into them)! Meredith did an amazing job getting us off the dock and we slipped out without issue. Bow and Stern thrusters are a captain’s best friend, sure does making docking easier. We were underway around 8:30 AM and had a pleasant fog free morning ride, clear skies, and very little wind.  We had a Railroad bridge that we had have raised within a half mile once we re-entered the St Lucie Canal. We then had a 10 mile ride to the last lock of the waterway which was the St Lucie Lock. This lock dropped us down 13 feet and is the largest/highest lock on the OCWW. The canal until we got to the lock was still remote. Once we went through the lock the canal became more populated. Also, we saw more recreational boats, folks fishing and just cruising the river. I ‘m pretty sure folks don’t want to hassle going through the locks and stay on the eastern side of the lock. Once you go through the lock you enter the St Lucie River, which we took all the way to Pirates Cove in Stuart. There are three bridges that cross the St Lucie River in the narrows between the North and South Fork. This is kind of a bottleneck area as the clearance of the RR bridge is only five feet so there is always a backup of boats jockeying into position. We had to time our arrival so catch the 11:30 AM opening, which we did. The other two bridges had 50-foot clearance, so we had no issues there. We had 8 boats pass east and west bound for the 11:30 opening.

 

Three miles north of Pirates Cove, which is in Manatee Pocket, we travelled through our third “Hells Gate” since being on The Loop. When we passed through the tides and current were fine and we experienced no issue. We arrived at Pirates Cove around 12:30 and tied up to the fuel dock so we could fill our tanks and figure out our slip arrangements for the month. As it turned out the slip they had assigned us would not work. They insisted we try the slip, which we did, but the problem was , we could not get off the boat. That would certainly be an issue. The dock hands worked with us we ended up in a terrific location right at the main dock.

Oh, and like our location in Sandestin, we have a Tiki Bar at the end of our dock, oh my, more Rum Punches!

Departing Indiantown Marina back on the St Lucie River

Swing Railroad Bridge East of the highway Bridge 

Cows on the River Banks 

Cool Slide

Houses on The St Lucie River

The Railroad Bridge in Stuart that we had to have Raised

 

Pirates Cove seems to be in a terrific location, we have a half dozen restaurants within a 10-minute walk. The marina has mostly sport fishing boats several that are beautiful, Vikings, and Posts, just stunning boats. The Georges have been incredible generous and given us one of their cars for the month, so we have mobility, and will be able to get around hopefully visiting some friends while we are here. Thank you Cliff and Laura! We actually celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary with them last night and spent the night at their home here in Stuart. A fun night and it’s just the beginning. For all of you that know Cliff he has a month of fun planned for us. Its going to be an enjoyable, fun month and blog free.

Pirates Cove 

Our Slip for the Month

The Tiki Bar!

Fellows cleaning fish in front of the boat brings in the Pelicans 

The Pool

Some of our Neighbors 

 

Celebrating our 44th  Anniversary with The Georges

 

Our plan from here is to restart Our Loop on March 1st and then spend the next three months  (March April & May) getting back to Maine hopefully in early June. Pirates Cove is located only a mile west of the Indian River which is where we will pick up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) at Mile 998 and take a left and head north to Norfolk VA. at mile 0.

 

Enjoy your month. 

Fair winds