Crossing Florida by boat - day 2

We enjoyed generally mild weather in the first part of the day before it became a bit sultry as the afternoon wore on. The weekend into Monday coming up may not be so cheery weatherwise.


A couple of idiots in 30-plus foot boats with two and three outboards on the back badly waked us in the narrow channel before we got to the Port Mayaka Lock on the lake. Luckily for us, they got held up at the normally open lock because lake levels were up enough to require that condition. That meant we caught up with them and locked through with them, making them look like the dolts they were. As I stood on our bow towering over the stern of one, the driver would not look at me.

Wind blew briskly from the south as we crossed Lake Okeechobee giving us a herky-jerky ride.

We “spoke” the Morning Star in mid lake as well as another stranger boat named Why Knot which I tried to recruit into the Trawlers and Trawlering list.

Then it was a dozen or so miles along the rim route until we turned into the Moore Haven Lock. A half mile or so farther downstream from the lock is the city dock of Moore Haven. It is cheap, neat, clean, and offers power and water. Hard to beat.

Mary and Jackie went for a walk into town where they discovered an antique store where Mary bought a book, Jackie got some cash from an ATM, and they visited the Dollar General store. The only eateries they could discover were a Mexican joint and a pizzeria – we are eating hamburgers cooked aboard for dinner.

We are within a day of Fort Myers and within a LOOONG day of Ballard Oil in Fort Walton Beach. Right now, I am uncertain where we will head to tomorrow. I await the input of the "steering" committee.