Howdy ICW fans Stuart FL is on the St. Lucie River. We took a mooring ball at Sunset Marina so we could get an early start crossing Lake Okeechobee via 3 locks. However... the genset took a time out and decided to run about 5 minutes and stop. Genset is pretty vital so we stayed an extra day and got Adolf to get the genset going. I called three numbers and all went to Adolf. Pretty funny because I emailed our sales gun in Annapolics (Cary) and he also recommended Adolf. Clearly Adolph is the man! So Adolf got two guys on my boat within 30 minutes. Figured out the radiator cap on the exchange heater was faulty and the genset did not have an overflow tank. Patti and I walked about 4 miles to an auto parts store and got one. Then we had a nice anniversary dinner at Sailor's Return and finally left one day later.Today we went thru 3 locks and are about 50 miles from Ft. Meyers FL on the west side of FL. The Okeechobee Waterway winds through the marshes and the birds were prolific. I tried to get some pictures of the birds, but it wasn't easy.
We crossed Lake Okeechobee under cloudy skies and sporadic rainfall. It's about 25 miles across from lock to lock.
One of the locks raised us 3 ft and another 2 1/2 ft. About the time the back door closed, the front door began opening. The first one raised us 13ft. so that was definitely worthwhile. After the third lock, we decided to stop for the night and continue on tomorrow. So we tied to the dolphins on the west side of the locks. They put cleats on the dolphins so boats can tie to them and wait for the locks but overnight stays are OK. . . and free!
Here is Manitou tied to the dolphins. Another new experience for us, trying to get this done.
One more thing. The ICW is full of signs telling you where to go. This is one example. Gotta love the road signs on the water. Don't miss the turn!
Steven, Have fun in Maui!!
No comments:
Post a Comment