Ft. Myers and Okeechobee Waterway
Ambler Isle
V and S
Thu 11 Nov 2010 17:50
|
26 31 918N
082 00 651W
11/10/10
After licking our wounds from the horrific crossing, we
headed SE along the Florida west coast to Sarasota. The entryway to the
anchorage was very shallow, but once inside we found plenty of water.
Plenty by Florida standards, anyway. The water is pretty shallow around
most of Florida, and following the buoyed channel is a must. New mooring
balls dotted the old anchorage, another anchorage turning to moorings. I
guess the boaters deserve it, though. Our first boat trips to Florida in
2000 revealed a huge problem with derelict boat often abandoned. The towns
began setting up mooring fields, charging a small fee, and requiring
pumpouts. This eliminated much of the problem.
We anchored nearby. We watched many boats exit the Sarasota Pass,
deemed unusable by the guide books. Maybe it takes local knowledge, but
must be better than the shallow and tricky New Pass. Continuing the
next day up the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) we saw more dolphins and even
manatee. After another overnight at Pine Island, we entered the mooring
field at Ft. Myers and tied to a ball. The mooring attendant asked us to
move to a different ball, nearby, but we were too tired to comply. We
agreed to move when the wind calmed. The last day, Larry and Ulla met us
and we started across the Calusahatchee River to the Okeechobee
Waterway. This Waterway takes us diagonally across the state of Florida
from Ft. Myers to Pt. St. Lucie. It is 175 miles across. A very
protected waterway, it goes through the heartland of Florida, passing ranches,
farms, and groves. We took 3 days to cross. We anchored in Lake
Okeechobee the last night. Very beautiful setting.
|