WPB to Indian Town Marina, Okeechobee.
Swiftwing
Tue 19 May 2009 22:34
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West Palm Beach to Indian Town Marina,
Okeechobee.
I write this from a run down motel
in Lennox, Georgia, on our way to fly home from Atlanta airport later today. The
past few days have been rather hectic, putting Swiftwing to bed for the
hurricane season. We found a nice boatyard in which to leave Swiftwing
which is sixty miles away from West Palm Beach, along the Intra Coastal
Waterway, the St. Lucia River then up a set of lock gates and into the
Okeechobee Canal. We had a very nice two day journey to the marina though we
touched mud four times, be it very thin mud, and touched our radar responder as
we scraped under the lowest bridge at 55 feet, but again with no damage. The
marina is twenty five miles inland and should be much safer should a hurricane
strike, as being twenty feet up a set of lock gates, it is safe from storm
surge which is what usually causes the damage. Also, it is surrounded by mature
forest, which again should take some of the power out of the wind should we be
unlucky enough to have a hurricane during the season.
Now in Atlanta International Airport
after a 560 mile drive in a hire car which cost £8 for 24 hours with no mileage
charge. It appears that lots of hire cars are taken into Florida but there is a
lack of customers to take them back out, so as hirers for 'out of state', we got
The 'Florida Special'. An economy car would have cost $38 but a luxury car
or SUV was $18. I chose a luxury car but as they couldn't pick us up from the
marina they knocked another $5 off. The cost of the fuel to travel 560 miles;
$40.
 Our first bridge on the Intra Coastal
Waterway at Lake Worth. The depth gauge on the right of the 'bumpers' shows
about 65' air draught, the height of the bridge above the water.
 A tug pushing a huge barge along the
ICW>
 A very bored looking policeman patrols
along the ICW. On a Saturday and Sunday there were two police boats, two
sheriff's boats, two marshal's boats, lagoon patrol boats and numerous
coastguard boats. They must buy them as a job lot as they were all exactly the
same boats with the requisite twin 250 hp engines.
 Overtaking another smaller barge. This
one was heavily laden and travelling at 4 knots.
 The entrance into the canal with luxury
'condos' alongside the waterway.
 The ICW is bordered mile after mile of
these stunning houses.
    Our anchorage on the second night in the
canal. Bev likes these; no waves, no wind and no chance of dragging the
anchor.
 Dawn on the third day. This is the
Okeechobee dam and lock gates.
 Travel on the waterways is free. The ICW
is about 1,200 miles long and has road and rail bridges every few miles
which are manned 7am till 7pm.
 Bev prancing about the deck in her PJ's.
Again at anchor in the canal.
 Looks good enough to swim in but about an
hour later we saw our first Alligator gently sunning itself at the side of
the canal.
 The tugs here look so comical it looks as
if they were designed for a kiddies TV programme.
 Heat was in the 90's and the cows needed
a drink. The canal is very similar to the Caledonia Canal but about four times
wider.
 Lawns manicured to the n'th
degree.
 Swiftwing at the end of this years near
2,000 mile voyage. The building in the background is the 'Clubhouse' for
customers with an air conditioned kitchen and lounge, a TV room screened
with mossie netting, an open air dining and picnic area and a large barbeque
area. The yard supplies the chicken and steaks free of charge and the
customers bring the starters, side salads and desserts. You just don't get
marinas like this in the UK.
 The barbie is a bit bigger than
normal.
 This is the current marina fire
engine....
 and this is the old one just
retired.
 Now this is what I call a
houseboat.
 Swiftwing on her way to her summer
residence with 300 other yachts.
 The water is very muddy but the
freshwater turtles love it. Bev was feeding them Sarah's very sugary, very
brightly coloured and full of E numbers, 'Fruit Loops' which they loved. We also
saw an alligator skulking about the marina. The place is full of wildlife with
half a dozen Squirrels, Bullfrogs, Wild Boar and of course the odd
'Rattler'.
There are Rattle Snakes in the long grass
at the edge of the yard. In one of the marinas, the Alligators bump the pontoons
to knock dogs and cats into the water!
 Our German friends, Yense and Daniella,
drove up from Miami and stayed for the barbie. We've sailed up the West Indies
and saw the New Year together.
 Our friends Jim and Kimberley, Manuel and
Danniella.
 The next vehicle for the Reid Museum of
Transport, a late fifties/early sixties, 'Norton' café racer still in daily
use.
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