Beachcomber

Saturday morning on May 22nd, John, Mary Kay, Alan, Susan and Gene began an adventure of a lifetime, crossing the State of Florida on a boat. We used Gene’s boat as its gas capacity was enough to cross without refueling and it also had a built-in potty.
The adventure started long before we got into the boat. When Alan and Susan arrived at Gene’s home, early in the morning, their car keys got locked inside after unloading the trip supplies. However, we decided to deal with that problem later.
When we got to the boat ramp at the Franklin Lock, we found the ramp to be very steep. It was so steep that when we were backing towards it, it could not be seen until the boat was perhaps 10 feet down it. With Alan’s guidance, Gene was able to get the boat into the water.
We had previously been instructed to file a Float Plan prior to departing. Because the Park Rangers were off for the week, Mary Kay and Susan drove and walked all over the beautiful park grounds searching for someone to file the Float Plan with, so we could get underway. Eventually it was left with a lady in charge of the camping area. Now we are ready to start our adventure. Everyone got on board and we were off at a blazing speed of 3 mph as we had to now enter the lock from the east side.
G Lock oing through a lock is not something that makes your heart pound rapidly with excitement, but it is unusual. It takes about 15 minutes to go through a lock. Once allowed inside the lock, we hung onto ropes along the walls to keep the boat from floating all over the place, as thousands of gallons of water either entered or departed the lock at the opposite end through a 2 foot wide gap created by the gates being slightly opened after we grabbed the ropes. The boat rises or falls with the water at a fairly fast pace. Once the water level in the lock equals the water level in the direction we were headed, the gates were then fully opened and we were on our way once again.. Or, at least we thought so.
As Leaving Lock we pulled out of the lock, Mary Kay realized that she had left their food and medical supplies in the car. So we pulled over to a dock about 100 feet from where we started so someone could dash over and get everything that was forgotten. Once again we are ready for our adventure.
We finally departed the Franklin Locks near Alva, FL at 8:35 AM into a 15 mph wind with 650 pounds of gas, two large coolers filled to the top, sport bags with everything anyone might need, lots of drinks, and water, basically we were ready for anything. We had so much weight that everyone had to move to the front of the boat to get it up on plane. That continued until we had used about 300 pounds of gas, then nobody had to move to the front anymore.
The scenery was outstanding, and to make the trip even better, the waterway was like glass. Between the Franklin Lock and the Moore Haven Lock, there are some very big beautiful homes. It looked like every home owner had a 2.5 to 5-acre spread, and kept the lawns in perfect condition. The wooded areas were pristine looking, basically old Florida. Another boat was to join us at the Ortona Lock, but they were not there, so we continued onward about 10:35 AM. By the time we went through the Moore Haven lock at 11:30 AM, we had been elevated about 15 feet. It had been smooth sailing all the way. A couple more miles later, we reached the decision point of crossing Lake Okeechobee or taking the southern rim channel around the lake. John and Alan wanted to cross the lake as the waters looked real calm, and there was a cool breeze blowing off it. We turned and headed towards the second largest fresh water lake in America. Our adventure continued.
At first, the waves were mild enough for us to cruise along about 25 mph, but by the time we were 7 or 8 miles into crossing, the boat was banging hard into every wave and they were coming straight at us. John called for a stop and we considered our options of continuing the next 21 miles at 8 mph, or turn 90 degrees towards Pahokee about 8 miles away and increase our speed. We turned towards Pahokee. At Pahokee we got into the rim channel and reached Port Mayaca at 1:50 PM. The lock at Port Mayaca exchanges 1.3 million gallons of water every time it opens, and we dropped 10 feet down to enter the last leg of our trip to Stuart.
We entered the St. Lucie lock at 3:25 PM and 50 minutes later we were at the Monterey Inn where we would spend the night. Our trip time was 7 hours, 45 minutes and we had averaged 14 mph. It didn’t take us long to eat and fall asleep, although everyone said they could still feel the rocking of the boat in their heads. Half of our adventure was over.
At 8 AM, we departed the Monterey Inn and Marina for home with the wind at our backs. We were accompanied by a 65 ft. long aluminum research boat with a very friendly captain and crew. We cruised along at 30 mph with him. Our marine radio would not transmit but would receive, so he called the locks for us. We could hear our instructions over the radio and followed them. We parted company with the big boat when he went across Lake Okeechobee and we turned south towards the rim channel. It was a real pleasure traveling in the rim channel. The water was like glass, there were lots of birds, and the spoil islands had wild Royal Palms and Papayas growing on them. Having tried the open lake and using the rim channel, we recommend any boat shorter than 26 or 28 ft. to take the rim channel.
After going through several locks without any delays and having the wind at our backs were were making really good time. We stopped a couple of miles short of the Franklin Lock for a swim at a beautiful location and jumped into the water to cool off and get some of the sweat off us. Boy, was that refreshing! All of us were naked in the water when the cops drove by. They just waved and kept going. During the whole trip we only saw one alligator, 4 turtles and two manatees, although we saw lots of bald eagles. Our adventure ended at 3:30 PM when we arrived back at the Franklin Lock. Our return trip total time was 7 hours and 30 minutes which included the 45-minute swim and our average speed was 15 mph.
It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that we will always remember.