Day 187: Sunday, March 10, 2013
Port to Port: Fort Myers, Florida to Labelle, Florida
Underway: 8:28 am Motor Off: 3:14 pm Miles Traveled: 32 Stayed At: Free Dock
First Things First: Cindy’s first time seeing a manatee from the boat – we saw its nose and then it rolled a little and flipped its tail; first time seeing a cow in someone’s front yard.
Mile 135 to Mile: 103: We’re off! We finally broke free of our marina fix and headed across Florida. It was nice to be underway going somewhere again. And we enjoy watching the changing scenery passing by at a little over 5 mph. We went through one swing, three basqule draw bridges and one lock (plus a couple tall bridges which we passed under just fine) in our 32 miles.
The locks are interesting along the Okeechobee Waterway. They are smaller than the ones we have been used to and, instead of opening valves and letting water in or out through underwater pipes, they just open the doors a little to let a waterfall of water flow in/out. Simple and effective but kind of disconcerting seeing a 5’ head of water rushing in – they probably do this when the water levels are relatively low to save wear and tear on their piping system.
The wind picked up as the morning wore on and was probably gusting to 20 mph but we were fairly well protected going up the channel – a little wind blown but when the sun finally came out for good, it was warm.
We decided to stop in Labelle for our first night back on the water. They have a free town dock (sort of) but you need to tie up Med style with an anchor at the bow or stern and then tie off the other end to the dock – we’ve never done that (and we actually didn’t find the town dock hidden right next to the lift bridge until I walked into town). We tied up to a dock right next to a nice town park on the opposite side of the river from town and relaxed for a while glad to be moving again. It was quieter here too.
I walked into town over the bridge – only about a 20 minute walk. Cindy is resting her feet a little after all of our walking around Fort Myers. The trees were the most memorable part of the walk. Big, ancient oaks spreading out over whole yards. And, of course, when I walked far enough to the main highway, I found a McDonalds, Burger King and a Little Caesars Pizza. And I didn’t buy anything. I returned to the boat and got the gas can and walked back to the gas station a 1/2 mile from the boat to top off our tanks. We are all set for tomorrow.
We met Joe and Gloria (and Teak, there little terrier) on a 26’ McGreggor who Cindy helped dock while I was in town. They just happen to be from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota and are spending the month of March down here to get away from winter. They have sailed a lot here and up in the Lake of the Woods. We had a blast trading stories and enjoying a beer or two until well after Cindy’s bedtime. They have the Great Loop on their bucket list in the future. Go for it!
In Passing: Beautiful Island, Olga, Upcoball, Trout Creek, Franklin Lock, Hickey Creek, Banana Branch
Total Miles to Date: 2,050