Ship’s Log: Days 71-75
November 19 - 23, 1999
Friday, Nov. 19
We had breakfast at the marina restaurant, then topped of the water tank and pumped out the head holding tank. We had cleared the Clewiston Lock by 9:00 A.M. and turned south to continue around the rim route on the edge of Lake Okeechobee. We followed the rim route to Pahokee, FL. As we motored and motor sailed, we saw more alligators, lots of birds and even a mature Bald Eagle. The one lane swing bridge at Torry Island, State Route 717 was manually opened by a man walking around the turret base with a long metal lever used to crank the big open.
At Pahokee we turned out into Lake Okeechobee and set sail for Port Mayaca. We sailed along on a course of five degrees on the easterly winds making around seven knots and covered the distance very quickly. Bill had now sailed in open water. We dropped our sails and entered the lock at Port Mayaca being dropped about four feet. We continued east on the canal and anchored on the canal at mile mark 27 just east Indian Town, FL around 5:00 P.M. Our position was N27 01.2` W80 26.5`, having traveled 41.0 nm. Citrus groves and the vegetation line the canal on the east side of the state and animals are much more abundant.
We grilled pork chops and fixed baked potatoes for supper and turned in early, as usual.
Nancy and Bill hold Telesis off the lock wall.
Saturday, Nov. 20
We were underway early with Bill taking the first turn at the helm. We passed through the last lock of the canal and the last lock of my trip, St. Lucie Lock. From there it was a short distance to the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, then the St. Lucie River and at 12:30 P.M. we sighted the Atlantic Ocean out of St. Lucie Inlet as we turned north onto the Indian River at Intracoastal mile mark 987.5.
We contacted the Indian River Plantation Resort Marina, a Marriott property, and arranged for a slip for two nights. We were into a slip by 1:30P.M. Bill was able to pick up a rental car and left shortly to see a friend in the area from his working days at DOW Chemical, then off to Miami to catch his flight back to Tucson, AZ. Nancy and I watched some of the Florida vs. Florida State game on TV at the hotel pool bar, then returned to Telesis for dinner and the rest of the game on TV as we could hook into cable at the dock. It began to rain in the evening and rained on and off the rest of the night.
Telesis is now on the Atlantic Ocean and started on the final leg up the East Coast of Florida.
Sunday, Nov. 21
Having cut across the Okeechobee Waterway, I’ve gone from way behind my schedule to well ahead of schedule. Therefore, there is no rush to move north so Nancy and I spent the morning doing laundry and cleaning Telesis. I also completed my ship’s log for the previous week and forwarded it via e-mail. We visited a few folks along the docks and were invited aboard a 50-foot trawler for a tour. Indian River Plantation Resort is a high dollar place and most of the boats docked here are expensive powerboats. There are very few sailboats.
During the evening, we had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel and returned to Telesis for the night.
Monday, Nov. 22
We were leisurely about departing Indian River Plantation Resort and got underway about 11:30 A.M. It was mostly cloudy, a bit cool, with a stiff northeast breeze kicking up a chop on the water. Our goal was to make the municipal marina at Ft. Pierce, a trip of only about 15 nm. We proceeded north on the Intracoastal Waterway. We soon felt like we were headed the wrong way on a one way highway. Most boats are headed south this time of year, with plans to winter in the keys or the islands.
At 12:30 P.M. having traveled 3 nm, we approached the Jensen Beach Bridge, only to learn that they had just experienced electrical problems and could not open. A repair crew was in route, but they could not give us an estimate of when they would be operational. We anchored just off the channel and waited…and waited…and waited. We could see the repair crew rewiring a large electrical box at the base of the bridge, so we knew it would take some time. We were the only boat anchored on the south side headed north. At 4:00 P.M. we counted 11 boats anchored on the north side headed south and there were probably farther north that stopped when they learned over the radios the bridge was not operating.
The bridge finally was operating at 5:30 P.M., but that was too late for us to make Ft. Pierce before dark, so Nancy and I decided to stay anchored at Jensen Beach for the night and go to Ft. Pierce on Tuesday. We moved Telesis farther off the channel and re-anchored with adequate rode. I put the outboard motor on Teletubbie and we went ashore. There were a number of boats in the anchorage; most of them appeared to be live aboards. I spoke briefly with a couple of the fellows at the park where we landed. Hurricane Eileen had done great damage in this area only a few weeks before and one of the fellows pointed out the nearby wreckage of his live aboard trimaran that he had lost to the storm. It was so peaceful and pretty now, but just a short time earlier it had been brutal here.
We walked to nearby Conchy Joe’s Seafood Restaurant for dinner. After eating we returned to Telesis via Teletubbie in the dark. We found the anchorage somewhat crowded as most of the boats that spent the day anchored on the north side waiting for the bridge to open had crossed over and anchored on the south side which was more protected. During the night it rained, at times very hard. The wind shifted several times and was gusty, so I checked the anchor often, but all was well.
Tuesday, Nov. 23
We were up early. The rain had ceased, but it was cool with a low cloud cover and moderate northeast breeze. The heavy rains had filled Teletubbie with several inches of water, so I bailed her and took the outboard motor off. We were underway by 7:00 A.M. We traveled north 13.4 nm and arrived at Ft. Pierce Municipal Marina at 10:30 A.M. We fueled up taking a little over 10 gallons of gasoline and had the head holding tank pumped out, then moved into a slip. The sun had burnt through the clouds and the breeze was very light, so it was warm and nice. New got settled and secured Telesis in her slip.
The marina is quite nice with restaurants and tiki bars right on the property and many more within easy walking distance. Once settled, we went into town and looked about. Ft. Pierce is in the heart of the Indian River citrus groves and has a long history as an agricultural center. A number of fruit packing houses and juice processors operate in Ft. Pierce. It is currently undergoing restoration of its downtown area and becoming a popular retirement area.
We ended up in an English pub, the Pig and Whistle. The proprietor, Martin, is a retired English Merchant Marine and came to Ft. Pierce to get away from that bloody English weather. This is the watering hole for the local Brits, Scots and Irish as well as other locals. I also met a local Rotarian and was invited to attend his meeting the next morning for breakfast. We had a great evening talking with the folks at “the Pig” and sampled the English pub food, which was quite good. The Double Diamond ale was plenty stout as well.
