End to end

We crossed the Okeechobee Waterway and have a buoy for the week in Stuart, FL. 

 While the lake crossing was uneventful the locks entering and leaving the lake proved stressful. We were delayed 2 hours leaving the marina because a boat club of very large yachts had to pass before us, and their size allowed only one boat per lock through - at 15 minutes per boat. Finally at 10:30 am with another small boat we were allowed to pass. 

 On the east side of the lake we had a short wait before the lock master called us into the lock. I was pulling to the wall and saw just ahead a couple stalks of sugar cane in front of us. With no where to go I went over it and not only heard, but felt it in the prop. After the gates opened we left at idle speed and tied up to a dol. Dols are for big barges to lay aganist while waiting for a lock opening. We tied tight and I gunned reverse a couple times. Problem solved! Sugar cane is grown in this area, and we saw a lot of it - just not in the water, until we were in a lock. 

 On buoy in the Sunset Bay marina:

 

Locks and concrete

We left Fort Meyers Saturday morning to cross the Okeechobee waterway. An hour and a half later we entered our first ever lock. It was not too stressful and we only bumped the concrete wall a little bit, and fenders absorbed the blow. 

 We spent the night at the cheapest marina in Florida - $1.00 per foot. No electricity or WIFI, but hey, we could rough it one night! It rained off and on so ports and sliding windows had to be closed multiple times. Between showers mosquitoes staged attack waves. 

Tonight we are docked at Roland and Mary Marina just a couple hundred yards west of Lake Okeechobee. The boat is plugged in, AC is on, and I have WIFI. The local pests will have to find dinner elsewhere. 

We will wait out tomorrow's storms and cross to the east side of the lake on Tuesday. 

 Approaching Franklin lock:

Sunday afternoon on the dock at Roland and Mary marina. The black gate in the background is a hurricane gate that is almost always open.... except for us, so De Anne declared it our third lock of the day:

Trump visit

Today President Trump visited the Fort Myers Convention Center which is about 2 blocks from our slip. Free entertainment! Because of closed streets and police tape we did have to walk a few extra blocks. 

 One short cut when De Anne held up the tape for me to duck under:

We also crashed the line to get into the convention center but just when we thought we would get in some police officers shooed us back behind the barricades:

So we saw hundreds of Trump supporters, maybe a dozen Biden supporters, and one tattooed kid, dressed in black, with a skateboard who looked kinda like Antifa.... maybe.

As cruisers we take our fun where we can find it. Note that in all the pictures I am standing away from the crowds!

Chores

When you live on a boat the chores list never quite gets finished. I am proud to report that it has been reduced over the past week to a manageable level. 

 De Anne has found time to kayak, and on Monday we did a barnacle run accompanied by Linda and Larry - former cruisers we first met in Marathon a dozen years ago. They now live in Cape Coral across the river. It was great to have them along and Larry was gracious enough to man the starboard side of the boat to push off the piling, thus avoiding those little nicks that upset De Anne's day. 

 Also in the below picture of De Anne in her kayak, you can see evidence of one of my boat chores. It seems the installer of the davits (me) did a poor job of sealing the davit bases and in the rain, water was seeping into the lazarette. We took down the dinghy, removed the davits, and made a better attempt at weatherproofing.

Second mode of transportation

We have a second mode of transportation carried aboard. A folding bike sits undercover on deck ready to deploy when in port.

In just the first week the bike has proved its' worth. I can accompany De Anne to Publix without slowing down her brisk walking pace by sedately riding at her side. On the return trip the rack on the back of the bike can hold a weeks worth of Diet Coke that is so necessary as mixer for our Sailor Jerry rum.

After several days of wind and occasional light showers we were brave enough to walk/bike the bridge. When I slowed down on the uphill De Anne was kind enough to assist with a hand on my back pushing. The metaphor does not need belaboring.

From the apex of the bridge with the marina to the left: