We left our slip at Harborage Yacht Club & Marina at 8:50 am and headed toward the Roosevelt Bridge as the sun shone and a very light breeze blew from the west. The temperature started out at 60°F but was expected to warm to nearly 80°F before the afternoon was over. It was a lovely day for our first trip on the Okeechobee Waterway. After the train passed over the railroad swing bridge which was just before the Roosevelt lift bridge, we received the go ahead to pass both bridges and began to motor the 20 nautical miles west toward Indiantown Marina where Blue Heron was going to spend the next three months in the yard, or “up on the hard” as we sailors like to say.
Our trip included one lock, St Lucie Lock, with a 14 foot lift into fresh water. The transit through the lock was an adventure in itself! This was the first lock we had ever been in where the water was forced in by a slight opening of the gates. The locks we had come through in Canada or on the inland river system were usually filled by allowing the water to fill beneath the boat through large brick tunnels. We had to hold on tight to avoid being tossed around inside the lock and cleared the lock at 11:15 am.
Just before we arrived at Indiantown we had our first alligator sighting of the trip. There he was, sunning himself on a log resting out over the river. Lucy didn’t see him so we don’t know how she will react to the real thing!
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We were assisted into a slip at Indiantown shortly after 1 pm and spent the afternoon on final preparations for the haul out including removing and stowing the sails, covering the windows with aluminum foil, emptying and defrosting the refrigerator, throwing out a few items from the pantry, cleaning the head, emptying and treating the water tanks, checking the engine fluids, doing five loads of laundry and packing a bag to go home to Iowa for a month. By late in the day, we were ready to take a break and relax on the boat as we enjoyed the sunset.
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