Tuesday, March 7th at 8:30am we moved Red Pearl to the fuel dock at Sunset Bay marina so that we could pump out the holding tank and buy some ice for the cooler. We departed the dock at 0905 and cruised 32.8 miles west on the Okeechobee Water Way. Our first ever "lock" was the St. Lucie Lock where we were raised 13 feet because Lake Okeechobee is at a higher elevation than the Atlantic ocean. We pulled into the lock and the lockmaster tossed down long lines for us to hold onto bow and stern while the lock doors closed and the water filled the lock. Then the west doors opened and we continued on the Okeechobee Water Way. We knew we couldn't cross the lake the same day so we planned to spend the night right before the lock that opens onto the lake at Port St Lucie. At first we tried to anchor in a designated spot but couldn't get the anchor to hold in the mud, so we tied up to "dolphins" (wood pilings) that are provided at all the locks for boats waiting to transit the locks.
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| Rairoad "lift" bridge on Okeechobee Waterway |
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| Tying up to "dolphins" for the night. |
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| Our surroundings for the night at Port Myaca, FL Lock. |
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