Monday, May 1, 2017

At anchor...

Our last Anchorage on the East Coast. Tomorrow our home will be loaded on a ship and travel to Victoria British Columbia.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Okeechobee Waterway





Beautiful evening in the canal crossing over the Okeechobee Waterway which provides the mariner with an inside protected passage across the Florida Peninsula. There are (5) locks on the Okeechobee Waterway. We have completed 2 so far and plan to cross lake Okeechobee today.

Yesterday was a very full day of traveling, starting from anchor at N. Captiva.  Pulled up the anchor in a hard rain, Leigh's job alone today since Wendy has a pretty good cold going.  It rained hard all morning through Ft. Meyers, until there began to be a crack of blue in the all gray sky.  I guess this weather is getting us ready for the Pacific NW.

We planned to stay at the free town dock in Labelle on the Okeechobee waterway.  It even has power, so we planned to give a batteries a good charge after being on a mooring ball for a month.  They have been ailing.  We were very excited to fill our very empty frig and cupboards and go to a good breakfast the next morning.  But when we arrived at four o'clock the few deep water slips were taken.  One boat had just arrived and was finishing theirs lines.  Darn.  So after a few tense minutes, a couple of radio conversations with the bridge tender and realizing we would have to dig deeper in the cupboards for supper, we kept going to the dolphins at Ortona Lock.

So, tying up between two dolphins (big pilings) was an adventure.  First, looping the cleat for the stern, then moving ahead to get the bow secured, but it was too far, not enough line even with two long lines!  We decided to move to a smaller space between two other dolphins.  This time it worked.  Shut down the engine and set up our new camp chairs on the fly bridge to enjoy the view. It was a beauty.