Conquering Lake O…
Off to conquer Lake O today….. Left Roland Martin Marina at 8:15 and cruised right through the open Clewiston Lock heading east. It was a pretty day with sunshine, blue skies, light breezes and calm seas. The first hour or so we saw depths of mostly 6-7 feet where our charts were showing them to be 11-12 feet, but we didn’t have any problems. After about an hour and a half most of the depth sounder readings were between 9 and 10 feet so we felt quite comfortable. We reached the Port Mayaca Lock and experienced shallow waters again, back down to 6-7 feet. The lock gates were open, and we were told to cruise on through. We took it slow and easy though because our route plan took us to the starboard side of the lock. We did hear someone on the VHF call in to say they had grounded coming out of the lock. We didn’t see anything unusual on either side of Port Mayaca Lock but we weren’t sure if that was the lock they were referring to. All in all, it was a beautiful crossing. We conquered Lake O without any bumps or bruises and all of our bottom paint and running gear in tact. I didn’t take many photos because there wasn’t much to see and, frankly, I had my eyes glued to the depth sounder pretty much the whole time!
So, for those coming behind us we will give you the same advice we received STAY IN THE CHANNEL, pay attention, take it slow and easy and watch your depth sounder and you should be fine.
We decided to stop at Indiantown Marina in Indiantown, Florida. It’s a very small laid-back marina off the beaten path. It doesn’t have any facilities other than pretty tired restrooms (one each) and showers (one each) but it is very quiet – no Karaoke here. It is extremely relaxing. We decided to stop here because friends had stayed here on their way through and told us there was a little town we could walk to about a mile away. Michael hurt his foot getting into the engine room several days ago and it was bothering him so we didn’t make it into town. We opted to order lunch and have it delivered. It was nice to be able to hang out on the boat and just relax.
Tomorrow we plan to continue on to Stuart Florida. Will keep you posted.
6 thoughts on “Conquering Lake O…”
I felt your concern and concentration!
Good going.
Thank you. As you know Michael is very conscious and knowledgeable. I trust his judgement and we hoped we made the right decision. Looks like we did. Not an issue at all…..
It is gray and rainy in Seattle today. We will set a record for days in a row with rain, if it continues through Monday. At this moment Indiantown Marina looks like a lovely place to relax!
OMG, how sad to have such sucky weather. Indiantown was lovely and Sunset Bay Marina on a mooring ball is even better. Life is good here in Florida. Pythons, Alligators and ALL.
Looks like a blast! When will you be in Beaufort?
Hey Bruce. We are having a blast and it’s great to hear from you! I’m not sure when we will get to Beaufort. As you can see we move pretty slowly but are very excited to see you and get together. Will keep you posted as we move along. Looking forward to seeing you soon!