Grady White Boat Club, Across The Florida Locks: Day 2.
Day 2 – Sunday, May 3, 2009
"Lyonhearted" in Florida Locks
0700 – Cannons Marina Grady White Club: All the lines are loose and Pharmasea, Lyonhearted, Grady Lady and Recess head east on the Calloosahatchee River.
We’d heard that the locks were on a different schedule, opening on the odd hour rather than on demand.
We made the first lock at Ortona shortly before its scheduled opening at 9. Quite an experience locking through, but we all made it with a minimum of fuss.
The next lock was near Labelle, and we caught this one just as it prepared to open. Timing is everything. We locked through and then continued east toward the Moore Haven lock, hoping to time it’s opening. As it happened, the lock is permanently open, at least for the short term future, so we simply idled through.
The next hurdle was Lake Okeechobee. With Al Neuman aboard Grady Lady in the lead, the crossing was without problem except for Capt. Griffin’s insistence that we were going the wrong way.
After a short stop in mid-lake the issue was cleard up when somebody pointed out that Captain T. Griffin had his chart UPSIDE DOWN!
The Myakka lock on the east side of the lake was open with boats motoring though at idle speed. Our final hurdle was the St. Lucie Lock which was to open at 3:00 p.m and not again until 7:00. We pushed on and arrived at the lock with time to spare.
Suncoast Grady White Club in Florida Locks
This is the largest lock in terms of the lift and we were actually let down a little over nine feet. From there we went on to Pirate’s Cove Marina for a little fun time of docking stern-to with a heavy wind and current working at cross purposes.
With luck we all were moored without banging into other boats, but it was a close thing.
The tired mariners had dinner in the hotel restaurant overlooking the Manatee Pocket. Al and Cathy Neuman son, Scott joined us here for our trip tomorrow to the Bahama Islands!
by Florida Author, Terry Griffin and Photos by Mike Seery
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i am also grady owner bimini 306, and planning a trip across from boca grande area to east coast, how long did it take for you coast to coast? Any tips you can offer would be geat.
thanks
The best tips that we can offer you is to check the lock schedules and time your arrival a few minutes early to secure your position in the lock. We also suggest that you start your passage early morning. Crossing Lake Okeechobee is fairly easy with a GPS, just stick to the route and you should be fine.
We wish you the best and great fun. Keep in-touch!
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