Into the Okeechobee Waterway

Only a few miles from our anchorage in Stuart, the St. Lucie Canal begins.  It is the eastern side of the complete Okeechobee Waterway connecting the coasts of Florida.  In the middle is the huge Lake Okeechobee, the second largest body of fresh water located entirely in the U.S.  Some of the Great Lakes are larger but they are partially located in Canada.    On the western side is the Caloosahatchee River and canal, ending in Fort Meyers. There is your geography lesson for the day!  For us returning from the Bahamas, this route is a short cut for us of about 500 miles.  There are two concerns for us, the bridge at Port Mayaca is only 49 feet if the lake is full.  This means we will need to lean the boat with the heeling bag but not a show stopper.  If however, the lake isn't full we can get under the bridge but there may not be enough depth to keep us floating.  This trip, the second was our concern.  There has been precious little rain so the lake is down almost 4 feet and receding daily.  We have closely watched the water level posted each day by the Corp of Engineers and read whatever reports we could find from boaters recently passing through the lake.  Our friends Ralph and Marsha are part of the Great Loop forum and gave us good intel as well.  With all our bits of information gleaned from a variety of sources we decided to risk it.  The entire waterway is so interesting.  It is unlike any other place in Florida that we have ever been. It is the only place where we've encountered the lock system and that is an experience all it's own!

Rowing is a popular sport in the quiet waters of the canals and slow
moving rivers on the east coast of Florida.

The approach to the St. Lucie Canal

Every lock has a sign like this.  They want you to go no farther until you
are given a green light to enter the lock. This allows the oncoming boats
to clear the lock or for the doors to fully open

The St. Lucie Lock letting water out.

Each lock has a dam that stretches across the canal.

The lock seems so big until you try and maneuver in it.

In the first set of locks, we're moving up to the lake level so we
will rise about 8 feet.  There are lines hanging on the wall sides that
you grab bow and stern then hold the boat against the wall while
the water level changes.

The gates close you in.

The force of the incoming water is a sight to see.

Pumps to bring in water.