This morning we pretty much decided to head back to Ft. Myers. Based on the dock master telling us that she had six boats call the yard because they grounded between the Moore Haven Lock and Clewiston and needed prop repair/replacement.  Also, our friends who now live in Cape Coral, emailed us last night to let us know that their friends did this same trip last week in their 48 foot Viking Princess with a four foot draft and grounded leaving the Port Mayaca Lock (the next lock east).They also needed prop repair and said they were fifth in line at River Forest Yachting Center to get the repairs done. Wow, River Forest is doing a bang-up business. We looked at each other this morning and said, “who needs that headache?” Let’s back track and go around the southern end of Florida. That will probably add a week to our trip but we aren’t in any hurry. But then the idea of back tracking just wasn’t very appealing, and we decided to call the lock masters for local knowledge. The lock masters advised us that they were showing the shallowest depth should be 5.6 feet and that’s an area just west of Clewiston. They both said that if we take it slow and easy and “STAY IN THE CHANNEL” we should be fine. They thought that some of the boats were taking the Route 2 option rather than Route 1 which we are planning, and Route 1 shows a depth of just over three feet. They also thought that some of the skippers were not staying inside the channel. Who knows?…..

We decided to go for it! We took the doggies for their last walk on that beautiful green grass at River Forest. They were extremely grateful and chased after each other and after the birds. They had a ball! Once back on the boat, at about 9:30, we crossed our fingers, untied and headed east.

It was a beautiful day without much wind. The view at the beginning was sprinkled with houses but soon turned into just trees and marsh land with high dikes on both sides. We did, however, see lots of wildlife. Mainly, birds and lots and lots of alligators! OMG there were so many alligators I kept thinking I surely wouldn’t want to have to abandon ship in these waters. Luckily, we didn’t have to.

We had two locks coming up. The Moore Haven Lock which we traversed with two other boats. We lifted a whole six inches! Sure seems like a lot of work for such a small lift. The next lock was the Clewiston Lock and we nearly missed it. You had to make a sharp starboard turn and we went right by it but made a U turn. It was open and we cruised right through to our destination at Roland Martin in Clewiston. Roland Martin is a very small marina off the beaten path. Captain Sam was there to greet us and give us the lay of the land. Says they have a Tiki Bar and restaurant and, fortunately for us, we arrived on Thursday because it’s Karaoke Night in the Tiki Bar which is right above our boat. Hmmm…..

We had enough water and made it through this leg. We’re thrilled we made the right decision – at least for this leg. Tomorrow we head for the Port Mayaca Lock and on to Stuart. Will see if there is enough water for the rest of the journey- will keep you posted.