Monday, November 19

Crossing our wake & completing the Great Loop

Familiar cruising ground - Stuart, FL.

Caloosahatchee Canal

The Okeechobee Waterway is considered by many to be the dividing line between Central Florida and South Florida.  This is where you start to see greater changes in the climate and vegetation.  Opened in 1937, the Waterway offers a chance to see rural Florida.  The shores are dotted with sleepy
towns, ranches, marinas and homesites interspersed with moss-hung wilderness.  For the boater, the Okeechobee Waterway and Lake Okeechobee provide quite a contrast from the busy coastal passages.
Besides the tranquility of Florida's hearthand, it is also a tremendously efficient route from the west to east coast of Florida, the only alternative being the long trek down and around the Keys.  The Okeechobee Waterway is 154 statute miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.
It can be divided into three distinct sections:  1) Down the Caloosahatchee River and through the Caloosahatchee Canal to Clewiston  2) Lake Okeechobee 3) St. Lucie Canal to the South Fork of the St. Lucie River
The most direct route across Lake Okeechobee is an open-water 39 statute mile crossing, in 8 1/2 ft.
controlling depths.  The water level in Lake Okeechobee is higher than anywhere on the Gulf ICW or Atlantic Ocean.  Whether you are headed west or east, you ascend through the locks to Lake Okeechobee, then descend after you leave.  It is the second-largest freshwater lake located wholly in the United States (after Lake Michigan).  The Waterway has five locks and more than 20 bridges, ranging from electric-controlled to hand-operated.  We have made this crossing several times and this one was a "no-brainer".
It seems ironic that we would be spending our final day of The Great Loop on this particular

Sunrise - Caloosahatchee River

Waterway.  Although it is pleasant enough, it just doesn't compare to the many other amazing places and scenery that we have encountered along the way.  On the other hand, maybe it is an appropriate transition to the reality "that all good things must come to an end".
After eight hours we entered the Four Corners where the ICW intersects the St. Lucie River in Stuart, FL.  We were back in familiar territory.  Turning north onto the ICW we had about ten miles to reach the Nettles Island Marina - home port to the White Label.  At 3:20 pm we crossed our wake and had officially completed The Great Loop.