Crossing Florida

The second half begins!

No fooling, but on Tuesday, Ap. 1, we left Safe Cove to begin (technically – because we still hadn’t moved onto the boat) the second half of our Great Loop journey. We were joined first by an alligator in the canal (next to the boat!) then by several of our dear friends in our Florida church fellowship group (on the boat!) for this initial, short part of the trip heading across Charlotte Harbor to Burnt Store Marina (BSM).

Once again, we had to traverse the very small South Gulf Cove Lock which only requires that you hang onto a small line. Nelson supervised this maneuver.

We were blessed with a picture-perfect day to cross Charlotte Harbor …

.. and by far the most amazing number of “synchronized swimming” dolphin shows we’ve ever experienced. Pods appeared periodically on both sides of the boat and would swim alongside for quite some time. We were travelling at eight knots, a speed at which we understand they enjoy travelling, as well.

They were jumping up and over each other and turning on their sides, all the while keeping the baby furthest from the boat. At one point, one raised its tail taking part in either some sort of antic or sophisticated operation, as it appeared that the two travelling behind it then drafted like a NASCAR racer would or somehow were able to push along the one in front. Note what appears to be a yellow tag on the dolphin in the last photo. This was spotted by our friend Patti and explained by our friend Mike who indicated that it is a satellite-linked tracking tag for research.

When we arrived at BSM, three other of our cherished group of friends then met us for lunch at the marina restaurant and kindly gave us rides home.

Because this marina is closer to our home and our Looper friend John (“Patti Anne”) was able to secure a slip for us, we were able to keep the boat here a few nights and more easily repack and ready for continuing the second half of the Loop.

On Ap. 2, John and Pat (“Patti Anne”) kindly loaned us their SUV to provision then drop at BSM the following morning. This was a huge blessing, as we were able to fit everything into one vehicle plus leave our car at home the morning we were departing. We also didn’t have to trouble anyone else for a ride to the marina.

That evening, our fellowship group surprised Dennis for his birthday at Carmelo’s Restaurant in Punta Gorda. He was truly surprised and very touched. He received an “official” Looper sign …

… and an amazing handmade journal (below) signed by all with many “secret” compartments! The portion of chart in the second picture below even shows our home port town!

Thursday morning, Ap. 3, we had a chance to visit with John and Pat (“Patti Anne”) before casting off lines, heading to the fuel dock, and then leaving the marina. It was a windy day, so it was bumpy until we joined the Intracoastal Waterway where the waves hit the bow instead of the beam. As we were exiting the fairway from BSM, John, Pat, and her sister Peggy appeared next to us and then later surprised us again when we were coming into the Caloosahatchee River before Ft. Myers! They’d gone to Ft. Myers, had lunch, and started back all before we made it there!

We arrived at the Edison Ford Marina in Ft. Myers by 4:15. Friends Dave and Mike had contacted us about delivering something we “needed” before continuing the trip. The mystery was solved when Dave presented us with his creative replacement for our cardboard channel marker designator (which he’d noticed while riding on the boat Tuesday). He’d fashioned a beautiful wooden version so we’d no longer have to use our previous navigation aid we’d made out of a Cheerios box! Thank you, Dave! And, thank you guys for driving it down to us.

On Friday, Ap. 4, after Den washed the salt off the boat, we left the Edison Ford Marina’s tight quarters and passed under the Rt. 75 bridge we so often travel over when we visit Ft. Myers by car. At Franklin Lock, we had to maintain station quite a while, as the gates closed extremely slowly, and we’d hit it right when boats coming from our direction had just moved into the lock ahead of us.

We entered the Okeechobee Waterway/Caloosahatchee Canal and made it to our planned stop, LaBelle, home of the Swamp Cabbage Festival! However, after viewing the city docks there, we decided to keep moving, as their configuration would have made it extremely difficult for us to get on and off the boat.

Continuing on, we travelled through what is called, The Ditch, a manmade section of the waterway with irrigation canals extending mostly to the north apparently for use by nearby farms. Many beef cows lined the sides of the waterway.

After passing through Ortona Lock, we ended up at a spot that was generously referred to as a marina but had perhaps seen better days. The slips were off the main channel in a small canal that was lined with half-sunken and derelict boats. Motoring into the very tight canal was unnerving, especially with the atmosphere of abandonment on the canal sides. Once in our slip, we discovered that our neighbor was a liveaboard who had a Pitbull. On the plus side, our slip had 50 amp power permitting us to have air conditioning on this very warm day.

The next day, Saturday, Ap. 5, was equally warm and windy. Our next planned stop, Clewiston, also did not pan out, as they had a fishing tournament, so we were unable to get into the marina there. Instead, we ended up at Moore Haven city dock. Nice dock but not much in the area in the way of provisioning, etc.

Because we stopped earlier than planned, we used the extra time to change the transmission fluid on the left engine, all part of the glamorous life of a Looper!

While walking to “town,” we talked with some new Loopers, “Koswekan” plus met “Socially Sea Cure” and “Southern Cross” at the dock.

Early on Sunday, Ap. 6, we left the dock with “Socially Sea Cure” and “Southern Cross” in order to all traverse the nearby Moore Haven Lock together. Once in the lock, we experienced some excitement. The woman aboard “Socially Sea Cure” who hadn’t effectively wrapped the lock’s line around her boat’s bow cleat, was shouting that she couldn’t hold it, and the bow of their boat then swung into “Southern Cross’s” bow on the other side of the lock. The captain holding the line in the stern of “Socially Sea Cure” abandoned his line in order to run to the helm; the woman who had then run to try to hold the stern line that he’d left wasn’t able to hold that line, either. The line then paid out causing the whole boat to swing against “Southern Cross” then start backward toward our boat! The captain was fortunately soon able to power the boat away from both of our boats. We were all anxious to leave the lock but had to use caution, as only one gate opened on this lock (kind of a common phenomenon with the locks in this area). Definitely some tense moments there!

“Southern Cross” was out in front as we started across Lake Okeechobee, followed by “Socially Sea Cure” and then us. With the strong winds that day, we were rocking and rolling. The wind and current both try their best to push you off course, and there isn’t a lot of room for error given how shallow the lake is.

Happily, we were able to sail right through the wide open gates of the Port Mayaca Lock without stopping, a new experience for us. Water in the St. Lucie canal must have been at the same level as the lake.

At Indiantown, we saw the very large and well-protected Indiantown Marina where many large boats are stored in order to weather hurricanes. Such spots are called hurricane holes.

All the way across the lake, we heard Coast Guard warnings about the security perimeter around Mar-a-Lago. We are entering areas that experience a great deal of boat traffic with large marinas and mooring areas such as the one in the following picture.

We weren’t able to get a slip near the campground area by the St. Lucie lock so continued on to the Sunset Bay Marina at Stuart which is on Florida’s east coast, where to celebrate a successful crossing of the lake (and Florida!) as well as Dennis’s birthday, we had dinner at the marina’s restaurant, “Sailor’s Return.”

Tomorrow we will start up the east coast on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.