Oct. 14 – Moore Haven, FL

Moore Haven City Dock

"The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage." —Carrie Jones

Today we headed across the state of Florida on the Okeechobee Waterway. We’ve done a lot of locks, but I was a little nervous when we entered our first lock today on Texas Pearl. I worried for nothing because we did just fine on all three locks…just like old pros. We crossed Lake Okeechobee with a little wind, but our ride was still comfortable and it was an uneventful day. We even got docked, lines tied and electric connected, before the rains started. The Moore Haven City Dock is nice with picnic tables and grills with the city hall and library right across the street, but it didn’t look like there was anything else around. So we had a peaceful evening on the boat.

History lesson for the day: Lake Okeechobee is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the United States and the second largest freshwater lake contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states. The lake connects Florida's two coasts via the manmade Okeechobee Waterway.

The Okeechobee Waterway was built in 1937 after two floods caused by hurricanes destroyed the areas surrounding the lake. A series of 5 locks helps boats through the 152-mile long waterway that extends from the Atlantic Ocean at Stuart, to the Gulf of Mexico at Ft. Meyers. This route shortens the trip to the west coast of Florida and bypasses the Florida Keys.

The eastern portion of the Okeechobee Waterway

The St. Lucie Lock

We had a 15' lift on this lock

Exiting the St. Lucie Lock

Long stretches of nothing

Sugar cane field

Coming out of the Port Mayaca Lock into Lake Okeechobee   

Keep it between the buoys...What? Glad we didn't see any traffic.

Docked in Moore Haven