March 12, 2020 – Around the Great Loop on the Answer

We left LaBelle early Thursday morning since we had to go through a number of locks and wanted to get to Clewiston. The locks on the Okeechobee were not as high as we have done before so did not anticipate any problems…..we were wrong. The lock at Ortona was only an 8′ lift so we figured, short, simple, etc. This was not the case. The locks on the Okeechobee appear to leave the doors partially open and that causes turbulence inside the lock making it difficult to hold onto the lines especially when it is windy. Fortunately, we were the only boat in the lock since not only could we not hold on towards the end but it spun the boat around. This was also not a very wide lock making it difficult to turn the boat so we exited the lock in reverse. Fortunately the boat waiting to enter the lock waited for us to exit and turn around. The lock at Moore Haven is a 1.5′ lift; no problems at all. The last lock of the day before arriving at Roland Martin Marina was the Clewiston lock that is normally open at all times. The charts indicate that depending on the level of the lake, the lock may be open but we were advised by the marina that the lock is always open and the lock leads directly off the lake to two marinas.

Roland Martin is right off the lake and was one of the recommended stops. We met a few other loopers who were planning to stay two nights – we booked for two originally but were flexible about leaving the next morning depending on the weather conditions on the lake. Staying for the second night would mean that we would have others to travel with so we decided to stay and the next morning took the courtesy car to pick up a portable Thermacell bug zapper and made a stop at the local library. When we returned to the marina, we were only gone an hour, the other boats changed their minds and were gone even though the wind was worse than what was predicted for the next day. Since we had a longer day to Stuart, plus two locks, we stayed the second night since we would have had a late start after we got back.

We left early on Saturday morning to cross the lake and travel to Stuart to RiverWatch Marina since we were unable to get a slip at Indian Town. The weather seemed OK with predictions for a light chop on the lake. We went back through the Clewiston lock into the lake and started our day’s journey. The first hour was good but in the second hour the wind and waves increased, more than any of the weather apps predicted, so it was not pleasant. It did get better for a bit of time but then the wind picked up again. We arrived at the Port Mayaca lock at the other end of the lake and were advised that the lock was open (we had heard that this was a possibility because of the level of the lake) and received permission to come through. According to the information we received at Looper Palooza, the lock is normally a drop of 1′. We traveled along the St Lucie Canal and arrived at the St Lucie Lock, a 14.5′ drop. We waited about 20 minutes for the lock to be ready and all went fine. After the experience at Ortona, I was concerned about the locks since we have never experienced locks with the doors partially open. We arrived at RiverWatch (construction underway so limited services) before heading to Fort Pierce, one of the recommended stops along the east coast.

Reservations were made for 3 nights in Fort Pierce based on comments from Done Diggin. They had enjoyed the town and advised there were a number of things to do within walking distance and we also planned so visit with some of Peter’s high school friends. As it turned out, we needed to expand our stay another day to meet up with them. We were sure we would find other things to do.

It was great seeing Vinnie and Mike again. We met at Cobb’s Landing for dinner and talked for hours. Port St Lucie is now their permanent home after being snowbirds for a number of years. Before they moved, we were only about 10 miles away in New York but rarely saw them. Peter would see them every few years at their neighborhood reunions but I stopped going to these a number of years ago.

The public library was right on the other side of the park and Peter found a few new books. We visited the Manatee Observation Center but even though we went a few times, never saw a manatee. We strolled through the mid-week Farmers Market but heard that the one on the weekend is much better. We planned to be gone by then. As usual, we walked to a local grocery store to replenish a few things.

Next stop is Melbourne Harbor since it is midway to Titusville and friends from the yacht club are staying there for a few weeks.