2 inches...2 seconds!

Docked at Franklin Lock Marina

At 4 pm we pulled through the hurricane lock into the small town  of Clewiston and docked at Roland Martin's Marina.  The place was jumping because there was a fishing tournament but it finally settled down and we treated ourselves to a fried catfish dinner.  We haven't had that dish since Houston and we really enjoyed it! 

We were now "done with the lake." We motored down the peaceful canals and Caloosahatchee River passing through the small towns of Moore Haven and LaBelle. We descended through the Moore Haven, Ortona and Franklin Locks and passed under fixed bridges and through bascule bridges and one swing bridge that "opened on demand" for us. All the bridge and lock tenders were responsive and friendly.  All the above make up the Okeechobee Waterway. 

The very last bascule bridge did NOT have a name on the chart, which is a problem when calling the bridge tender.  I got on the radio and said "Bridge between day beacon #6 and #8, this is the sailing vessel, Eagles Wings, requesting an opening."   No answer!   Another tactic I then used, was "Bridge near Sweetwater Landing, I am requesting an opening."  No answer.  Then finally, "Bridge near Owl Creek Boat Works, I am requesting an opening." Finally, a bridge tender answered that she saw a sailboat out there, but she did not seem to know anything other than her bridge's name, "Wilson Pickett!"   Note - The bridge name was listed in Active Captain.

We found a wonderful little marina near the WP Franklin Lock run by the Army Corp of Engineers for just $12 including electricity and tucked in for the night.  The next day we decided to make a run for home - and started off at 7 AM. 

The last bridge was Cape Coral with a reported height of 55 feet.  But a note on Active Captain warned that the bridge clearance was really 53 ft at Mean High Water (MHW).  With a mid tide of 6 inches above MLW who knows what we would find when we arrived at the bridge. As we approached, Joanne estimated 54 ft clearance from the tide board. We would make it, but our VHF antenna might not. Oh no, a fast moving trawler was moving toward the bridge from the opposite direction.  If their wake reached us while we were under the bridge, the wake might bump us up into the bridge's bottom. It has happened to others. So Richard blew his air horn repeatedly and they finally held up.  As we went by they yelled, "What's your worry?  You have 2 inches to spare!"  And it certainly looked that way!

As we turned into Charlotte Harbor, the wind was perfect and we motor sailed at 7 knots, which is about hullspeed for EaglesWings.  We arrived home at 5:30 PM.  Yahoo, we made it - what a great adventure.

Bleu Kitty is quite a little sailor.  But Gecko hunting is more to his liking. Not more than 2 seconds after his paws hit the lanai, he had a one of the little critters in his mouth. Bleu is quite happy to be home. 

Today is our 20th Wedding Anniversary and we are very grateful to be home!  However, we are even more grateful for our wonderful years together, family, friends, pets, sailing adventures, vacations, travels, and good health.  Here's to 20 more years!

We really appreciate everyone who provided advice and friendship along the way. Thanks!


Photos

Tipping Day

Port Mayaca RR Bridge with only 49 ft clearance!

8 Water Barrels set up and filled to tip EaglesWings

 After a rain delay on Saturday, we pulled off the dock lines and headed up to the Port Mayaca RR Bridge to wait for Billy, the Boat Tipper.  This pesky, vertical lift span has a vertical clearance of 49 feet.  Since we are 4-1/2 too high, we arranged for Billy the boat tipper to meet us at 8:30 AM to do the job.  Well, Billy is the "only game in town" and he finally showed up at 10:30!  He attached his boat to the side of ours and strapped and winched on 8 huge plastic barrels.  Then he started his high speed water pump and began filling them with river water.  Whoa!  We tipped way over and he expertly guided us through.  Check out our pictures!  

Billy Owens and his assistant setting up to tip boat

Before we knew it, we approached the Port Mayaca Lock and were told to "go on right through!"  As we entered into Lake Okeechobee we noticed the wind pick up considerably and we put out our jib.  We were making 6-1/2 knots and the seas were pretty rough!  This was very surprising , but then again, the lake is roughly 32 miles from north to south and it encompasses more than 730 square miles of water.The depths are pretty shallow - from 6 to 14 feet and this can cause a steep chop.  We thought we saw some wave heights of 3 feet!  The water is quite brown and looks muddy, quite a contrast from the deep inky blue of the Atlantic and the gorgeous turquoise waters of the Bahamas.  

Lots of water barrels tied to port side

Admiral Joanne guides boat through

Cruisers visiting the Okeechobee are pretty much limited to two lake crossings because many of the flood-control dikes and locks constructed after 1928 cut off the canals and other routes.  At 3 pm, we pulled into Clewiston's Roland Martin's Marina.  There was a fishing tournament going on, but they made room for us at their dock.  We had a nice time visiting with some catamaran boaters from Cape Coral and enjoyed a nice dinner at their restaurant.  Tomorrow, we hope to navigate most of the remainder of the Lake crossing passing by the town of Moore Haven and onto LaBelle and possibly transiting the WP Franklin Lock.

Going Home the ALTERNATIVE Inland Route - Lake Okeechobee Waterway

Ever since we heard about our friends, David & Patty's, adventures through The

Stuart's Triple Bridges - 65ft Roosevelt Bridge Not Shown

Inland Route, (AKA The Lake Okeechobee Waterway) I (Joanne) wanted to try it!   Richard was a bit less enthusiastic because it involves taking our 53-1/3 ft sailboat mast through low bridges (54 feet) and even having our boat tipped by Billy, the Boat Tipper, of the Indiantown, FL area.   Billy is known for tipping boats, but it fits into HIS schedule because he works full time.  There is an old 49 foot railroad bridge that he helps boats get under for a fee of $180.   He accomplishes this by hanging water barrels on one side of the boat.   Tomorrow is the BIG DAY when this will happen - delayed one day due to cold front passing with lots of rain and thunderstorms. 

Joanne navigating through the Intercoastal Waterway

Well, what have we been doing since we crossed the Gulf Stream?  We recovered for 2 days at a lovely marina in the Lake Worth Area called Old Port Cove.  Upon arrival, Old Port Cove welcomes you with a free bottle of wine, and does its best to pamper boaters after their journeys.  Next, we motored north through the Intercoastal Waterway up to Stuart.  The Waterway is lovely in many spots; however, there are lots of fast powerboats that don't mind rocking small boats like us!  We passed the St. Lucie Inlet from the Atlantic.  We first considered going through this place, but heard conflicting reports that made us think twice about our safety.  Apparently, it can be pretty rough, but the day we passed by, it looked benign.

Richard was concerned about getting through 3 bridges spaced close together -- one a modern fixed bridge that led to a very narrow drawbridge and another was an old railway bridge.  Once we entered the fixed bridge, there was no turn around space and little holding space should we encounter a current.  We radioed the drawbridge tender, who was very cooperative and everything went smoothly.  We arrived at the beautiful Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart.  What a boater friendly place!  There is a comfortable boaters lounge with a big screen tv, nice showers, facilities and restaurants.  We walked to Stuart's restored Old Town area  and enjoyed window shopping.  The river walk area is very attractive, too. 


The next day we rented a car from Enterprise for $37 inclusive and drove around.  We checked out the town of Vero Beach and even had lunch at The Moorings, a nice yacht club.  Vero is very attractive with gorgeous homes that line the beach road and nice trees and landscaping.  We did some errands on the way back and this morning headed out.   We made it fine under the 54 ft bridge at low tide.  We certainly did not have much wiggle room!  Tonite we are having dinner at an old historic hotel called The Seminole Inn.  We've heard recommendations that its worth the trilp - and the best part is the hotel will pick us up here and take us back. 


Pictures

Crossing the Gulf Stream

Sunrise Crossing

At 3 AM we turned on the coffee pot, detached the dock lines and headed out into the dark channel out of West End, Bahamas.  Destination Fort Worth Inlet, Florida USA!  Boy, it was a black night as we shined our huge flashlight picking our way around the winding channel that took us into the Atlantic Ocean.  We donned our life jackets, of course, and hooked ourselves into the cockpit.  After a few hours we saw a high lighted object "out there." Our radar and AIS told us it was the Bahamas Celebration Cruise Ship going about 12 knots.  We avoided it, but later we heard a Coast Guard announcement that one of the passengers was missing overboard! 

The sun coming up on the ocean is just fabulous - a huge red ball lit up the sky.  I was delighted to see the daylight and the inky blue waters of the Atlantic.  It was a calm passage with gentle seas with one to  two foot swells. A southeast wind made for great sailing.

Richard planned to sail SW approximately fifteen miles to position ourselves south of Lake Worth before the Gulf Stream carried us back north. But then, a bright light appeared in front of us that we eventually identified as the Energy Center, a tanker, not under command, drifting NW at one knot.  Since Richard did not want to turn South we turned west creating a few tense moments before the drifting tanker was clearly behind us.  All turned out well as the Gulf Stream did not appear to be flowing at the ripping four to five knots that some had predicted so we didn't need so much "southing" anyway.  

The Tropic Sun, a container ship, loomed up astern on a course to carry her very close to us. We changed course to give her a few miles separation. Otherwise, we did not encounter a lot of ship traffic.    

Before we knew it, after 10 hours motors ailing, just 12 miles off shore, we could see the condos of the U.S.  As we approached the shoreline, we entered through Lake Worth inlet.  As there is quite a tide ripping through, we carefully negotiated the space between the red and green markers.  We then turned into the calm Intercoastal and after a trip of about three miles, we arrived at Old Port Cove Marina, a lovely spot!  We were greeted with a "free" bottle of red wine and a 25% discount because we are members of Boat U.S.  We are surrounded by many more fishing and speed boats than sailboats.  Everyone is very nice and we celebrated our arrival today with a luscious lunch at the Sandpiper Cove Restaurant here on the premises.  By the way, we had to clear customs.  We had arranged this ahead of time by going to the Fort Myers airport.  For boaters US Immigration  issues a special phone number that we called, and we were cleared via this method instead of having to visit the local airport.  Yahoo!  We are back in the Good Ole USA!

Tomorrow we leave here and head up the Intercoastal Waterway through lots of bridges to the town of Stuart.  From here, we hope to travel Lake Okeecobee.  More later.

JOANNE'S TOP MEMORIES OF THE TRIP      

New Bradenton friends, Barb & Carl 

 - Meeting friendly Bahamians - especially the people of St. Michaels Catholic Church in West End - so nice!

 - Getting to know other boaters and make new friends - Denny & Deb from Deadwood, SD on s/v True North,  Carl and Barb from Bradenton, FL on s/v Wind Traveler, and Fred & Joanie on s/v Heavenly Sent were great! 

-We loved Rib Night at the Jib Room with the Limbo Man.

- Riding in Hammer's white limo from West End to Port Lucaya with Carl & Barb and Fred & Joanie.

 - Hanging out with Sue & Gene on s/v Yorkshire Rose and playing RummyQ, having them for spaghetti on our boat, and going out to dinner with them.  Meeting up with the Buschers and learning a neat art form from Sandy.

 - The gorgeous blue waters, the lighthouse at night on Hope Town, biking Elbow Cay and taking the Gulf Cart around Green Turtle.

Food Note:
The Bahamas are known for "cracked conch."  It is a lightly fried tenderized seafood from the conch shell and it is delicious. Also, "peas and rice" is a common side.  The peas are very small black beans and the rice has some unique spices in it.  Very good!   We went to a bakery and bought their "coconut bread."  It is a delicious sweet bread and we had it for dinner warmed with butter and also made French Toast with it.  Yummy!  We also enjoyed their fresh grilled fish - the local mahi and grouper.

- Pictures





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Coming Home!

After a lovely breakfast at Man-O-War's little town restaurant, we bid our friends on s/v Yorkshire Rose goodbye and we are now on the track home.  Tonight we are at the Bluff House Marina in Green Turtle Cay.  Tomorrow, it is an all day journey to Great Sale, then the next day, another all day motor sail to West End.  We expect to cross the Gulf Stream beginning early Monday morning and head into North Lake Worth to Old Cove Marina.  From there, we head to Stuart, FL, through Lake O and then Ft Myers to home.

Man-O-War Cay

Today we moved off our mooring ball in Hope Town and motored over to the next cay, Man-O-War.  What a strange name for a lovely place.  The residents aren't sure why it's called Man-O-War, but they think the island was named for a vessel that sank close by to it.  It is small and known for its boat building and repairs.  Hopefully, we won't have to avail ourselves of these services!  Our friends, Sue & Gene, are here and this morning Sue and I walked the town.  This will be a short stop and tomorrow we hope to continue on towards Florida.

Elbow Reef Lighthouse

The most recognized landmark in Abaco, the Elbow Reef Lighthouse in Hope Town is the last light of its
kind in the world.  Tuesday evening I dinghied a short distance to the dock below the lighthouse.  Carl and Barbara having arrived a few minutes earlier called to me from the balcony at the top of the lighthouse.   I soon joined them.


While waiting for the light keeper, we admired the harbor view and the sun setting over the Sea of Abaco.

Frensel Lens

 As the sun disappeared over the horizon, Jeffery the light keeper appeared.   After removing palm fronds and lights that decorated the balcony for a special memorial, Jeffery got to work removing the window shades that protect Fresnel lens from the sun. Then we climbed up a ladder to the level of the lens. 




A kerosene burner something like a Coleman camping lantern provides  the light. We watched as Jeffery prepared the mantle.   Alcohol burning in a small pot below the lantern provides heat.  The lantern must be hot before pressurized kerosene flows to the mantle otherwise the kerosene will spray over everything including us.  Jeffery patiently waited for the lantern to heat up as Carl and I trained or cameras on the mantle. 

Upon admitting the kerosene,  the mantle first smoked and then  burned bright white as it has since 1864.

Hope Town from Lighthouse

Sunset  from High in the Lighthouse

Pictures







Postscript ... We had a great time biking from one end of the island to the other about a 10-mile ride from the southside called Tahiti Beach to the beautiful hideaway homes in the north.

Hope Town

Hopetown Harbor from Lighthouse

Easter Monday is a legal holiday in the Bahamas and very little is open.  I guess everyone is recouping from all the Easter celebrations!  The dock music blared to 2:30 AM, so we are told!  We both slept through it.

We had a lovely 4-course meal at Spinnaker's Restaurant with all the Punta Gorda boaters - 7 of us in all!  Next morning, Monday, we big goodbye to everyone and headed to Hope Town, a 3-1/2 hour motor sail south.  Hope Town is just lovely.  There is a large candy-stripped lighthouse built in 1865 that we climbed last night (102 steps)!  We also explored the island and today are going snorkeling off the reefs on the beach.

We plan to stay here a few days and then reverse our route back catching the places that we missed on the way here.  We hope to cross to Stuart Florida and than go through Lake Okacobee (not sure of spelling!).  In order to do so, we will have to be "tipped" that is because our mast is higher than the 49 ft bridge there.  What happens is a "tipper" comes and hangs water drums so that the boat tips and makes it under the bridge.

In the meantime, we hope to visit ManOWar Cay and Iguana Cay.

More later and link to recent pictures coming soon!

Cat Story in the Bahamas

Bleu Kitty taking a nap in net in cockpit

Traveling with our 3-year old Persian cat, "Bleu Kitty" is fun! 

Recently while docked in a Marsh Harbor marina,
this mega yacht called Aries was parked there and I saw no one on it. The second day I decided to take Bleu out on his leach for a stroll.  It was like I was the Pied Piper.  Lots of people talked to us as we went by, and Bleu had a LOT of admirers.


Suddenly, the people on the mega yacht came out.  They told me they terribly missed their cats and came off and petted and loved on Bleu.  Then the Captain  who was over 6ft 4in tall, came out.  He looked so longingly at Bleu - - so I scooped him up and put Bleu Kitty in his arms.  Bleu was loving on him and the Captain  just beamed!  I could hardly get Bleu back!   I was hoping they would invite me on board, but no such luck....but it was pretty funny how much they swooned over our Bleu Kitty!

EASTER in Treasure Cay

Instead of going to Hope Town, we changed our mind and headed for the gorgeous area

Treasure Cay Beach

called Treasure Cay.  That's because our friends on s/v Yorkshire Rose were going there and we wanted to meet up with them again.   So, we left Marsh Harbor and sailed a few hours into Treasure Cay Marina.

Treasure Cay was voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and it lives up to its reputation.  We had a great swim in the gorgeous azure blue water and wiggled our toes in the sugar white sands.  Last night we went to a fish fry overlooking the beach.

Sunrise Service

Tomorrow we plan to attend a 6 AM sunrise Easter service overlooking the beach.  Our new Bradenton friends arrived on s/v Wind Traveler and also the  Bushers are here with their family on s/v Serendipity along with the crew of s/v Yorkshire Rose.

Happy Easter!