With that goal in mind, on Friday, January 11th, we threw off the lines once again and headed south to Stuart, FL and the intersection of the Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) with the Okeechobee Waterway, stopping off for a few days at our sister marina, Loggerhead - Stuart, before heading west up the St. Lucie River toward Lake Okeechobee and then on to Ft. Myers, essentially the same route we had followed in November of 2011, only in reverse.
On the morning of January 15th, with a reservation secured at Indiantown Marina only 24 miles away, we anticipated a very short cruising day. As it turned out, however, it took us over 4.5 hours to complete the trip. First, we were delayed by a railroad bridge (usually open) which closed just as we approached, awaiting a very long freight train which seemed to take forever to arrive and then to pass. Then we cruised on along the St. Lucie River, enjoying the scenery, both man-made and natural.
Next came the St. Lucie Lock which slowly raised us up about 13 or 14 ft. before depositing us into the St. Lucie Canal.
On we went, with our bow cutting smoothly through the water’s glassy surface.
When we approached the entrance to the Indiantown Marina and called them on the VHF radio for docking instructions, we were told that another boat with mechanical problems was currently in the spot reserved for us along the fuel dock, and we would have to wait until it could be towed back to its regular slip. This left us treading water out in the canal for over half an hour before finally receiving the all clear to enter the marina. Since we really didn’t have another option within 35 miles, we just took it in stride, and were quite happy with the pleasant setting once we were secured at the dock.
Our destination the next day was Clewiston on the other side of Lake Okeechobee, with two possible routes to get there. One route hugs the southern shore (the Rim Route), a good choice when the wind is up, and the other more direct route crosses the lake in open water. With hardly a whisper of a breeze, we opted for the shorter Open Water Route, saving ten miles of cruising (and the fuel that consumes).
But first we had to pass under the Port Mayaca Railroad Lift Bridge (with only 7 ft. vertical clearance when closed), which we found open upon approach.
Just a short distance ahead we entered the Port Mayaca Lock, which would lower us just one foot before depositing us in Lake Okeechobee, the second-largest freshwater lake located wholly in the continental United States (after Lake Michigan).
For the next 25 miles we skimmed across the lake’s almost perfectly smooth surface, encountering only one other yacht along the way, before entering the approach channel toward Clewiston, where the Open Water Route and the Rim Route merge.
Just one more lock (almost always open) to pass through before arriving at Rowland Martin’s Marina and Resort, just in time for lunch at their dockside open-air bar and grill. This place is a hub of activity for locals and tourists alike, whether its for fishing on Lake Okeechobee or tour boats combing the nearby swamps in search of alligators.
For us it was a pleasant spot to tie up overnight before continuing west on the Okeechobee Waterway toward Ft. Myers. The only downside of a visit to Clewiston, which bills itself as the “Sweetest Town in America,” is that when they are burning the nearby sugarcane fields, your boat gets covered with black ash (as ours did).
One of our goals on this cruise back across the Okeechobee Waterway to Florida’s west coast was to take our time, stopping along the way at places we had bypassed in the fall of 2011 when we were finishing up our 10.5 month Great Loop Cruise. So far, that was exactly what we were doing, and with those sentiments in mind we left Clewiston the following morning without a fixed idea where our next stop would be, only the determination that it would be someplace we had not visited before.
Cruising along behind a nice Mainship called “Phase II,” which had pulled out of the marina right ahead of us, we spent some time chatting on the VHF radio with fellow cruisers Dave and Laurie who, like us, were not sure how far they would go that day. Even though we hadn’t officially met, it was pleasant to have a buddy boat to travel with (going through locks together, waiting for bridges to open), and someone else to share ideas and information with about our various options.
After six hours and 54 miles of shared cruising experiences, we gave in to an enticing ad in our Waterway Guide for Rialto Harbor Marina located in Alva, while our traveling companions opted to continue on to Ft. Myers, another 15 miles away. What a unique little gem we discovered at Rialto Harbor, hidden in an oxbow off the Caloosahatchee River at Mile 119 on the Okeechobee Waterway.
This family owned and run establishment is nestled in a quiet little harbor with room for only 10-12 boats (2 transient slips), each with its own garden area, on a 12 acre plot of land covered with lush natural vegetation, amid immaculately clean horse stables.
Even the restroom/shower (“VIP Lounge”) was a perfect little gem.
After two very pleasant days at Rialto Harbor, on January 19th we rejoined the Waterway, cleared our last lock, and moved on to the City of Ft. Myers Yacht Basin, conveniently located right in the heart of the newly revitalized waterfront area of the city, where we could easily walk to various restaurants to sample the local cuisine (which was quite good).
We had hoped that on this trip we might meet some 2013 Loopers, and indeed we did when we pulled in to the dock right in front of the “Nanseann.” Rik and Nancy Robinson began their Great Loop Cruise at their home port of Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY, which was our favorite stop along the interior rivers portion of the trip.
Before leaving Ft. Myers we also reconnected with fellow 2011 Loopers, Bob and Lynda Krueger (now living in nearby Cape Coral), who we first met when their trawler “Erika Lin” pulled into West Basin Marina where we were docked at Benton Harbor/ St. Joseph, on Lake Michigan. We had a great time reliving some of the wonderful experiences we had shared along the Loop.
We also enjoyed another blast from the past when we got together with Pat and Charley McMahon, friends we had met back in the 1990’s through our connections with the European League of Middle Level Education, while living and working abroad (we in the Czech Republic and they in England). They now winter in Punta Gorda, not far from Ft. Myers. What a great time we had catching up on old times.
When the sun set in the west that evening, we felt refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to move on to new experiences along Florida’s west coast. So far, we had been retracing (in reverse) a route we had already cruised back in 2011, but the following day we would begin our journey through new waters.
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