Okeechobee

We left Ft. Myers Mar 19 with fair skies and light winds headed east up the Caloosahatchee River.  This is a short cut to the east coast of Florida instead of going around the southern tip and the Keys.  We've been that way a couple of times, but opted for the shorter route this time to have plenty of time on the part of the Loop we have not seen.

Here we are leaving the marina with Angie retrieving our dock lines and fenders.

There are a total of 5 locks to get across the  Okeechobee 3 up and 2 down. Here is Angie at our 3rd lock for the day, which was quite easy as it only rose about 2 ft.  No time for pictures at the others.

 Our first lock was the most dramatic because our thrusters have stopped working. They error-ed out leaving Clearwater and I've not been able to fix. They are really missed when maneuvering in close quarters, like marina slips and locks. At our first lock the we found ourselves side-wise in the lock with our anchor touching one wall and our dingy the other!  Very stressful and not a pretty sight; the admiral was ready to abandon ship.

The route across is fairly benign, with only a few houses and not much to see. However, there are a few wildlife specimens hanging about.

We made it to Clewiston by 5 pm and tied up at Roland and Martin Marina.  Nice evening and good breakfast at their buffet in the morning.  Headed out across the lake about 9 am.

Unfortunately, that is when things took a turn for the worse.  The Captain was watching the many small fishing boats and making sure he was staying in the charted channel.  However, the wind pushed us out of the actual channel and we hit ground, hard!  After the shock and a couple of expletives, we corrected course and continued on.  There did seem to be some new vibration so we kept it slow across the lake.  After further discussion and consideration, we decided to get the boat hauled out and inspected.  We found a well recommended marina, River Forest Yacht Center, and made arrangements with them.  We spent the night tied up to their docks and they pulled Happy Daze out early the next morning.

As could be expected, there was damage to the prop.  Happy Daze does not have a protecting keel, so touching ground means the prop and rudder take the whole impact.

Inspection showed the shaft was still running straight and the rudder only had a ding on the bottom corner that could be ground off.  The repair process would probably take 7-10 days, so we decided to fly home the next day.  We also left instructions to have the thrusters repaired and our teak trim completely restored with 5 coats of varnish and 5 coats of clear coat.

Not sure when we will return and continue our journey; probably late April.  Stay tuned.