Heading up the St. Lucie River towards Stuart. This is the start of the Okeechobee Waterway.
A classic Alberg 37 from Jedor Harbour, NS. They set off for the Bahama's the next day. Taken at the Mooring field, Sunset Bay Marina, Stuart.
Sight-seeing in Stuart, our friend John Corbitt is wintering here and gave us the grand tour.
Inside the St. Lucie Locks, we raised 10 ft. into the waterway, all fresh water, the 1st Moxie has been in since we got her.
Along the St. Lucie canal. The interior of Florida is very agricultural. We saw a lot of cattle, orange groves, sugar cane and nurseries along the route.
The infamous Port Mayaca Railway bridge with a vertical clearance of 49. ft. We are 46 ft high so had 3' to clear, though when looking up, you would swear your mast is going to hit the bridge. Boats with 55' masts can get through with listing their boats with 55 gallon drums being strapped to their sides. There is a guy that does this for about $250.00.
Leaving the Port Mayaca Lock. We were now in Lake Okeechobbee, with about 25 miles to go to the other side.
There was a bit of marine traffic on the lake, including this small sailboat.
Tall grass growing along the western shore of Lake Okeechobee.
Locking through at Moorhaven, into the Calasoohatchie Canal.
Swing bridge on the Calasoohatchie canal/river.
Around LaBell, Calasoohatchie River.
Getting closer to Ft. Myers. Most of the shoreline is developed with cottages and homes.
The 37' Nordic Tug "Celebration" anchored off Ft Myers. We met Warren and Judy In Vero Beach.
Richard and Lisa Tamargo, Moira MacDonald and you know who in front of Richard and Lisa's house near Sarasota.
The Thomas Edison Museum in Ft Myers. We spent a good part of the day here with Deb's uncle and Aunt who are wintering at an RV park, not to far from Ft. Myers.
One of Thomas Edison's labs. Part of the Museum complex.
We had a hard time spotting alligators, but managed to get a shot of one in a wildlife park. They are suppose to be everywhere. I was not interested in going for an afternoon dip anywhere along the waterway.
Name this bird. I know we don't have them in Nova Scotia.
Pot Luck Christmas Dinner at the "Glades" RV park. Arch and Ann Chisholm, Debbie's Uncle and Aunt had invited us to spend Christmas with them.
Christmas time in Southern Florida. Not the same without the cold and snow...
Stuart is a sweet place for sailors and the scenery going by St Lucie Inlet is beautiful. We moored there and had excellent facilities at a top notch marina , with walk ways going to the riverfront and down town. Gerry’s good friend John Corbit is in the area for the winter, so we hooked up with him for a walk through the farmer’s market and old town, he treated us for lunch and then a drive in his cool BMW to the beach area and shopping. Great to catch up !
We moved on to the Ockeechobee Waterway and on the first day anchored at the Fort Mayaca Canal. The alligators, that the “Active Captian” folks expect you to see there, were hiding in the mud because of the cold water. The next day was sunny and warm and a perfect day to cross the lake (the second largest in the US). We were well welcomed at Moore Haven by seasoned boaters, Chuck and Clarica, along with Judy and Warren who we met in Vero Beach (from M/V Celebration- a snazzy Nordic Tug). The famous Mexican Restaurant closed early so we had a great pot luck on M/V Odyssee. (It was Judy and Warren’s anniversary and our first-borns 30th B/Ds). The next day we called Arch and Anne and they came to pick us up to take us the Glades R/V Park ( and Marina). Had another nice visit ,got laundry done and went for a drive to get the lay of the land around the waterway going to LaBelle (so had to do some provisioning– Thanks Anne!) Also had a great supper with them and Arch drove us back (it was a bit out of the way by car). S/V Moxie moved on to LaBelle the next day just behind 2 Nordic Tugs that left Moore Haven about the same time, and guess who got there first? Anyway we did not get a spot on the new town dock, but went across the river to the State Park and dingied back over to town. Lots of social boaters around and an interesting town, thought we would stay a few days and take advantage of free docking but after chatting to Eddy and Moira decided to move on to Fort Myers (after all, when will S/V Moxie be back this way again?) It was a lovely trip and a hot day! The excellent facilities at Ft Myers Yacht Basin are open to those on mooring balls for a small fee.
We rented a car and drove to Sarasota- one of the most beautiful places we have ever been and we visited friends there! Stopped at Trader Joe’s, West Marine and we both got hair cuts. Ed and Moira made us a very tasty supper and we had a great time- while having the benefit of showers, laundry and a comfy bed .The next day we visited Richard and Lisa’s wonderful home for lunch , stopped at Costco, bought a topper for the boat mattress at Macy’s (with Moira’s help) and then went out for dinner at The Lazy Lobster ( Ed’s treat). We were spoiled to say the least! Glad we stayed an extra night. Next morning, we had so much stuff we had to make 2 dingy trips to boat. And had lots of time to take the car back and meet Arch and Anne for our planned outing to the Ford-Edison Museum. There's something for every one here and we had a fine day to sit out and have lunch at a restaurant on site. Next day, we motored back to The Glades on a somewhat foggy morning, that turned nice and hot. Arch hopped on the boat at Labelle to see the terrain by water, Deb went back with Anne. Anne prepared another of her great meals. Took a drive the next day to see some alligators- there were not too many hanging out on the ditches by the road so we went to Billy’s Swamp and Safari park where there was lots of wildlife and later we visited a Seminole Indian Museum for a picnic lunch. Debbie was fortunate to be introduced to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas autobiography ( she is the nature conservation activist who wrote River of Grass) by Anne, so interesting- didn’t know it would be a Xmas gift!
Christmas day was all about calling family and friends, cocktails, eating and gift exchanging-Thanks to Arch and Anne for sharing their Xmas with us –not to mention their car! All the facilities we need are here, so after doing laundry and updating the blog we are back to our our goal of getting S/V Moxie to The Bahamas.
Dec 13-14/14 Mooring, Sunset Bay Marina, FL (Mile 8 Okeechobee Waterway )
Dec 15/14 Anchorage, Fort Mayaca Canal, FL ( Mile 36, Okeechobee Waterway
Dec 16-17 /14 Moore Haven City Dock, FL (Mile 78 Okeechobee Waterway)
Dec 18 /14 Port LaBelle, FL (Mile 103 Okeechobee Waterway)
Dec 19-22/14 Mooring, Fort Myers Basin Marina, FL (Mile 136 Okeechobee Waterway )
Dec 23-26/14 Anchorage, The Glades RV Park and Marina ( Mile 90 Okeechobee Waterway )
We moved on to the Ockeechobee Waterway and on the first day anchored at the Fort Mayaca Canal. The alligators, that the “Active Captian” folks expect you to see there, were hiding in the mud because of the cold water. The next day was sunny and warm and a perfect day to cross the lake (the second largest in the US). We were well welcomed at Moore Haven by seasoned boaters, Chuck and Clarica, along with Judy and Warren who we met in Vero Beach (from M/V Celebration- a snazzy Nordic Tug). The famous Mexican Restaurant closed early so we had a great pot luck on M/V Odyssee. (It was Judy and Warren’s anniversary and our first-borns 30th B/Ds). The next day we called Arch and Anne and they came to pick us up to take us the Glades R/V Park ( and Marina). Had another nice visit ,got laundry done and went for a drive to get the lay of the land around the waterway going to LaBelle (so had to do some provisioning– Thanks Anne!) Also had a great supper with them and Arch drove us back (it was a bit out of the way by car). S/V Moxie moved on to LaBelle the next day just behind 2 Nordic Tugs that left Moore Haven about the same time, and guess who got there first? Anyway we did not get a spot on the new town dock, but went across the river to the State Park and dingied back over to town. Lots of social boaters around and an interesting town, thought we would stay a few days and take advantage of free docking but after chatting to Eddy and Moira decided to move on to Fort Myers (after all, when will S/V Moxie be back this way again?) It was a lovely trip and a hot day! The excellent facilities at Ft Myers Yacht Basin are open to those on mooring balls for a small fee.
We rented a car and drove to Sarasota- one of the most beautiful places we have ever been and we visited friends there! Stopped at Trader Joe’s, West Marine and we both got hair cuts. Ed and Moira made us a very tasty supper and we had a great time- while having the benefit of showers, laundry and a comfy bed .The next day we visited Richard and Lisa’s wonderful home for lunch , stopped at Costco, bought a topper for the boat mattress at Macy’s (with Moira’s help) and then went out for dinner at The Lazy Lobster ( Ed’s treat). We were spoiled to say the least! Glad we stayed an extra night. Next morning, we had so much stuff we had to make 2 dingy trips to boat. And had lots of time to take the car back and meet Arch and Anne for our planned outing to the Ford-Edison Museum. There's something for every one here and we had a fine day to sit out and have lunch at a restaurant on site. Next day, we motored back to The Glades on a somewhat foggy morning, that turned nice and hot. Arch hopped on the boat at Labelle to see the terrain by water, Deb went back with Anne. Anne prepared another of her great meals. Took a drive the next day to see some alligators- there were not too many hanging out on the ditches by the road so we went to Billy’s Swamp and Safari park where there was lots of wildlife and later we visited a Seminole Indian Museum for a picnic lunch. Debbie was fortunate to be introduced to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas autobiography ( she is the nature conservation activist who wrote River of Grass) by Anne, so interesting- didn’t know it would be a Xmas gift!
Christmas day was all about calling family and friends, cocktails, eating and gift exchanging-Thanks to Arch and Anne for sharing their Xmas with us –not to mention their car! All the facilities we need are here, so after doing laundry and updating the blog we are back to our our goal of getting S/V Moxie to The Bahamas.
Dec 13-14/14 Mooring, Sunset Bay Marina, FL (Mile 8 Okeechobee Waterway )
Dec 15/14 Anchorage, Fort Mayaca Canal, FL ( Mile 36, Okeechobee Waterway
Dec 16-17 /14 Moore Haven City Dock, FL (Mile 78 Okeechobee Waterway)
Dec 18 /14 Port LaBelle, FL (Mile 103 Okeechobee Waterway)
Dec 19-22/14 Mooring, Fort Myers Basin Marina, FL (Mile 136 Okeechobee Waterway )
Dec 23-26/14 Anchorage, The Glades RV Park and Marina ( Mile 90 Okeechobee Waterway )
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