S/V 'Faith'

[Frank]

Craig..just confirmed depths @ Okeechobee.The lake itself is around 10ft but chennels in/out are 4ft to 4ft2in. at the lowest points. You will make it  ;)

[CapnK]

Nothin' like a lil adventure! :D

And besides that, Capt Craig ain't scared to touch dirt with his boat! ;D

[Lynx]

I hope Pete makes it OK to Bimini, 80 nm is a long trip for a dog. It took me 16 hrs at 6 knots.

[s/v Faith]

Still in Nassau waiting for wx.  I am trying to get caught up on what I have missed here... you guys have been busy!   :D

Nothin' like a lil adventure! :D

And besides that, Capt Craig ain't scared to touch dirt with his boat! ;D

  Keeps the bottom clean..  ;D


Frank,

  Once again thanks for the encouragement.  I will let you know how it goes.  As for the next trip.... having to pass through the Exumas so fast was tough, but it has only fixed our resolve to be back ASAP.....

  Rose and I have great conversations about our future plans here. 

As for Peter and the passages.  He is very near to figuring out how to use the head... if only for the 'thumbs' issue I am sure he would have it already.

[s/v Faith]

Ahoy from Lake Worth, Florida                        31 January, 2008

  The last couple of days have been something of a blur of passages.  We dropped the hook here behind Peanut island in Lake Worth this morning after our second day of all night passages.... Neither Rose nor I were entirely ready to be back.

First, here are some pictures I had taken earlier;

Here are Connie and I surfing SailFar;


This was Thomas Cay, near where we met up with Connie;







Peter was as sad to leave as we were;



While we were in Nassau, we watched a race of the Bahamian boats like the one Connie had crewed on.


We also watched a Haitian sloop sail in.  They had no motor, and had to short tack their way up through the crowded harbor.  They seemed to have some cargo on deck;



They did not stay long.  They were escorted by a police boat back up the harbor, but their head sail had a huge hole in it as they sailed past.  I did not know if there was an accident, or if it was an attempt by their crew to get some time ashore. 

  We left Nassau harbor on Tuesday morning as the sun was coming up.  We had watched a small boat sail into the harbor the night before and although it was a ways away we thought it looked like an Alberg design.  We decided to sail over to it before we left.  As we came near we saw that it was a pretty Pearson Commander, the sister to the Ariel with a smaller cabin and longer cockpit.



We hailed 'Ahoy Commander' a head popped up.  Before Faith's stern came into his view he asked if we were aboard Faith.  Astonished, I said yes and we learned that the mans name was Barry and he had read about our trip on the PearsonAriel.org owners site and SailFar!  He told us that our trip had been an encouragement to him as he bought 'Winky' and that he had hoped to run into us in the Bahamas to let us know!  Had we not had a long passage to make and an indefinite weather window I would really have liked to stay and talked longer with him.  As we sailed away we both were very affected to have run into someone to say something as wonderful to us and we talked about all the people who had encouraged our journey.  What a great farewell gift as we sailed away.  Barry, fairwinds to you.  We look forward to reading all about your trip.


  We had planned an ambitious passage schedule but ended up pushing it farther then we had intended.  Chris Parker (4045mhz USB, 0630 every day but Sunday) had given us hope for a day of the trades between cold fronts.  We sailed the first leg to Chub Cay in the Barry islands (~ 35nm) with perfect winds of ~ 15k from the SE.  The wind was holding so we took Peter ashore and were back underway 10 minutes later.  We passed from the 'tongue of the Ocean' to the Bahamas Banks in the night and the ocean swells were replaced by short chop.  We must have passed 40 boats in the night, a few fishing boats but mostly cruisers headed south.  We watched the sun come up as we rounded the north end of Bimini and came up into the Harbor which was ~ 90 nm from where we started when we watched the sun come up the day before. 



  I went ashore intending to clear out with customs.  As I walked down to the office I first learned that there was a long line of people waiting to clear in, and then learned that the forms we received when we cleared in could be mailed back after departure.  I was able to confirm this with a few people and decided to just head back. We napped for about 2 hours and just before leaving we met a couple on another boat.  We gave them our Batelco 'sim card' and they bought our remaining air time exchanged our Bahamian money for US.   As Carol and Tom sat in our cockpit and chatted the last couple of minutes before we left I thought how appropriate it was that we should meet some new friends in our last minutes in the Bahamas.  Rose and I agree that while the waters and islands are great, the friendship and helpfulness of the Bahamians and other cruisers were the best past of the Bahamas.  We did not strike the Bahamian courtesy flag when we left, preferring to fly it until we were back inside US waters.

  The sun rose shortly before we reached the inlet at Lake Worth, and dropped anchor in the crowded harbor after another night and another 80nm.  We had traveled the last 170 miles in just over 2 days.  Peter handled it very well.  He seems to know when we are making passages and does not eat or drink as much.  We get him to eat with special treats shortly before we get him ashore and get him to hydrate by adding water to his food and even giving him soup once we reach shore.  He mostly sleeps below or on the cockpit sole and seems not to mind the passages much at all.  Our concerns about bringing him with us were unfounded and the trip was much more fun with him along.  He turned 7 on the trip but spending nearly every day running on the beaches seems to have brought out his inner puppy again.

[rant]

The instructions for clearing back into the US say that you must call the 1-800-432-1216 'within 15 minutes of arrival' so after a quick trip ashore we fired up our cell phone and called customs.  During that call, and the process that followed I get the distinct impression that no one had ever done this before.  It was a long and frustrating phone call as I recited all my and my wife's personal information to the agent.  At the end he said we had to report in person to the closest office within 24 hours.  When we went through the questions about declarations we figured out Peter was the only 'thing' to declare. 

"Is the dog onboard the ship with you now?"

'Yes' I answer.

"Is in in a suitable container?" he asks (I could not make this stuff up).

'What?'

"Is he in a suitable container? You have to present him to the customs officer when you check in."

'ok' (?) !

The cell phone call was dropped several times over the conversation and at least 3 times as I tried to copy the long entry number I would need when I checked in.  I called at 0809, and it was after 9 when I finished.  I was exhausted and wanted to sleep but decided that I should get the check in completed first.  After taking Peter ashore on Peanut Island I began my quest.  I had learned that there was a boarder control office in the Ports authority building so I dingied the mile or so over there.  I was surprised to learn that there was no dock anywhere near the building in spite of it's prime location in on the water.  The dock next door had official looking boats there, and signs warning that it was not for public use.  Every island in the Bahamas we visited has an official public dock in front of the customs office.  Apparently not so in the US.

  I searched until I found the municipal marina dingy dock.  I tied up there and went to the office to speak to the dockmaster.  I asked if I could leave my dingy while I cleared in with customs.  I was told that there was a $10 charge to use the dingy dock.  I asked if there were another dock I could use nearby as I only needed to check in with customs.  The man replied that I already owed the $10 since I had tied up there while I asked the question. 

  The mind is a funny thing.  They say that one of the most effective methods of torture is sleep deprivation.  I fear that defense would have been lost on the courts had I allowed the response that was welling up so I just offered up a $10 bill and bit my tongue.  The man said it was $10.64.... the municipal marina was charging me sales tax on the $10 I owed for tying up my dingy to clear in with US customs......  There was no sticker or anything to say I had paid.

  Apparently the section of town the marina and ports authority office are in was a pretty bad part of town.  Either that or there was some kind of experiment going on (not the first time that thought crossed my mind) because the series of locked gates and alleys that separated me from the Ports Authority office made the walk well over a mile even though it was next door... I am not exaggerating.

  I entered the 5 story building which is all mirrored glass and chrome.  The smiling TSA agent required me to empty my pockets, take off my sandals and pass through a metal detector before telling me to go to the second floor.  Before I could leave I had to remove my hat so she could see that there was nothing underneath..... a fact I thought I had already established by calling to clear in the first place.....

  The small entry to the office had an unmanned desk behind bullet proof glass on the left, and a large pane of mirrored glass on the right.  If you looked closely you could see shadows of human forms looming through the one way glass on the other side.  The reception office was (by design or flaw I could not know) an interrogation  room.  There was a young couple sitting in the chairs when I came in.  An armed agent came through the locked door to talk to them as I was entering.  He asked me 'what I needed'.  I told him I was not sure if I was in the right place and that I needed to check in.  He told me to ring the small dinner bell in the slot under the bullet proof glass.  I reached through and rung it while he talked to the couple.  They spoke for a few minutes and the agent took out his keys and unlocked the door to return to the office.  He appeared not to notice that no one had appeared to answer the bell.

  I would say that it was about ten minutes later when he returned and spoke with the couple some more.  When he finished he turned to me and asked me what I was here for..... I handed him my and my wifes  passport and said I had called the 1-800 number and was told I had to check in.  He held the two passports in his hand and asked me if there were any crew on the boat.  'Just my wife and I' I answered.  He asked if she was here.  I suppressed the urge to look around the small room and replied that no, she was on the boat.  He asked why she was not with me, and I said that in the Bahamas no member of the crew was allowed ashore until the Captain had cleared in... that I assumed it was the same here.  He took the passports and again passed through the locked door.  I should probably mention that each time he took out a large key ring and  searched through a couple keys before finding the right one.  He came back out (holding the door with his foot this time) and asked me if I had been given a number when I called.  I said yes and gave it to him.  The couple and I waited for about 20 minutes and then he came back out.  He talked to them again and they left.  He unlocked the door and was in the back for another 20 minutes.  When he came back with the passports he asked if I had a dog with me.  Again suppressing the urge to look around the office I said that he was on the boat.  I had decided not to bring him, having no 'suitable container'.  I did bring the USDA health certificate and all his vet records going back to when he was a puppy. He just nodded, and handed me my passports back.  He said he had taken care of everything and that I could go. I looked at the passports on the elevator and noticed that they had not been stamped.  I briefly considered going back up the interrogation room to ask about this, but decided against it.  The passing doubt that has crossed my mind about this since has, for me,  brought new meaning to theat old song that pines "no, no, no, 'It's no fun being an illegal alien...."  I do wonder what indignities the TSA screener might have subjected Peter to had I shown up carrying my 75# lab in a cardboard box.  Probably best not to have found out.

  I walked back to the marina, dinged out to the boat.  It was almost 1pm.

[/rant]

Now, I am better.

  I took a nap for a couple of hours.  That, and typing this up, has helped.  I have been surprised and pleased to hear some nice things about the posts we have made.  I hope I have not posted too much, (especially this one).  It has been fun to share some of this trip, and I appreciate the opportunity to sit and reflect on things.  Thanks to everyone, all the help and encouragement and especially to Kurt for keeping this place going.  I have to go now, I think I hear a boat.... Might be boarder patrol....

;D
 


 

[AdriftAtSea]

Thanks for the update... :)

[Captain Smollett]

Before I could leave I had to remove my hat so she could see that there was nothing underneath..... a fact I thought I had already established by calling to clear in the first place.....

I think I'm reading that correctly...   ;D ;D ;D

Welcome back, and thank-you for sharing your adventure with us.

[Auspicious]

I used the local customs number when I came into Norfolk. They were very fast and professional. Since we had a non-US national aboard they wanted to see everyone, but they sent an officer to meet us at the boat.

You'd think with all the recreational traffic in and out of Florida they would be even more polished down there.

[Lynx]

Welcome back, must fell like home. Pasport control does not stamp your passposrt unless you ask inorder to save space so I have been told.

I wonder if you and your crew would have showed up and had not taken a shower for 2 or 3 days if it would have been faster?

I am glad that you and your crew made it safely. Good luck on your projects and hope to see you again on the seas.

[s/v Faith]

Ahoy from Moor Haven                        5 February, 2008

  We made it across the Okeechobee today.  It was not a very fun sail, not because of the sea state but for the fact that we spent over half of the trip with less then a foot of water under the keel.

  First, let me back up to our last post.  We spent the night at anchor at Lake Worth, and the next morning we decided to pay a short visit to Peanut Island.  They have a courtesy dock you can tie up to during daylight hours to visit the park. 



  It was a nice break, we walked around the island and straightened up the boat a bit before we got underway.



  We sailed most of the way up the ICW to Manatee Pocket, although the wind lightened up in the afternoon so we dropped the main and motor sailed.  Manatee Pocket is a favored anchorage because it is large and well protected.  Rose and I had not found any place to get Peter ashore the last time we stopped here so we decided to anchor off of the park and Boat ramp.



  I took a 'stroll' up the road, and after walking a mile or so west I figured out there were no stores near by.  I decided to walk up the road a bit to the north, and ended up going over 5 miles!  I did some shopping after I called a cab to make sure I would have a ride back.  The dingy was so packed with stuff it looked like we were heading back to the Bahamas!  We checked our email, and found out Frank was heading down.  We decided to wait for him and spend the next day doing pretty much nothing.

  Frank showed up in the new 'Jubilee' the next afternoon.  It was really great to meet him in person.  See Frank's pictures and comments here.

  We learned that Frank had visited Sign Beach at Allens-Pensacola Cay and had added his signature to Faith's sign;



;D ;D ;D

  The next day we fueled up shortly after sunrise;



  The guy at the fuel dock was friendly, but not too encouraging when asked about the Okeechobee.  He asked what we drew and when I told him he just shook his head....

  There was not much traffic on the waterway, something about some football game... we had a nice trip up the river to the first lock.  The St Lucie lock is on a restricted opening schedule due to the record low water.  We just missed the 1000 opening so we had to hang out till 1500 to get through. 



The lock operator was nice, and I am sure he was trying to be helpful when he warned of very large alagators up river.  He claimed they were over 15' long and capable of jumping right out of the water to snatch unsuspecting dogs (or people) right off of the deck of a small boat like ours.....

We were still a lock away from the lake, but seeing the effects of the low water already;



  We motored a few more miles and found a nice spot to anchor off of a park at Indian Town.  There was a boat ramp to land Peter ashore and it was a great little spot to stop. 



Peter thought so too;



A good tip for 'SailFar' sized boats it to look for boat ramps.  We can often find enough water nearby to drop the hook and the ramps usually have small docks just right to land a dingy (sometimes even the mothership, if you are only stopping for a minute or so).



  The next morning we went as far as the Mayaca lock and tied up to the dolphin there.  Walking around the lock we saw that the pond below the lock was filled with gators.  They were as big as the lock tender had said but I spent too many years in the swamps in Louisiana to believe they were going to leap from the water and snatch anyone so we slept well. 

  Hard to get a good picture of the gators, here is one you have to kinda use your imagination for;



  We motored out the lock at Mayaca just after sunrise this morning.  The water levels are so low there was no need to lock through, the tender just opened the gate and let us out onto the lake.  He cautioned us to favor the green side.

  We held our breath as we spent the better part of the next hour with the keel inches from the bottom.  The wind was light so we motorsailed across.  The water in the third of the lake was 5 - 10' then we came to the series of marks they call the 'zig zag' and spent the rest of the trip almost touching the bottom.  We might have made it across without touching but a Sea Ray named 'Pipe Dream' came by our starboard side 50' away on plane.  The wake lifted us a foot or so and dropped us hard on the bottom.  It sounded more like concrete then sand and mud we had grown so used to on the New River.  We kept hitting bottom 3 more times or so as the wake passed us.  I was very thankful to have a lot of heavy glass under us, but admit to checking the bilge shortly after.

  We stopped at another boat ramp near the Clewiston lock, and walked around some more.  (Excuse the misfurled jib, it was a long day);



  We are now tied up to the dolphins just beyond the Moor Haven lock.  It is a peaceful night and Rose is cooking spaghetti as I type this so I will go now.  Will post more as we get farther.

[CapnK]

Sooo... what yer saying is that you had yer fill of shallow water sailing, eh? ;D

[s/v Faith]

Yea, I guess so.  I was surprised today to find the water between the Moor Haven lock and the Ortona lock was a minimum of 12' and mostly 22' deep. Seems strange that they would cut so deep there, especially when most of the channel was cut into rock.

  Ahoy from Labelle Fl

  We are 'med moored' at the Labelle town dock.  The city of Labelle is quite kind to transient boaters, with a 3 day maximum stay with free power and water hook ups for 8 med moored boats.  We walked a couple of blocks from the dock and found a cafe, grocery store and a laundrymat.  We are thinking of spending the day here tomorrow and doing some laundry.

  THis is a nice area, there was a large basin that we passed just before we got to the dock that would make a great place to anchor.  The town has a nice waterfront park and a boat ramp near by.  This wouldmight be a good trailer-Sailor destination or jumping off point to explore the lake and waterway from.

On edit....

  Wow!  Talk about good timing!  Clayborns 'Southeast Salty Cruisers net' just reported;

Lake Okeechobee (probably Port Mayaca) Lock "Closed Indefinitely"
Published: February 4, 2008

  Sounds like we made it through just in time!  (we passed the Port Mayaca lock yesterday morning).


OBTW, thanks for showing us this link Day (Psyche).  It has been very helpful. 

[CapnK]

Wow! Looks like Faith has racked up some impressive karma!!! lol  ;D

Maybe it's so deep in that spot because it *is* rock - being rock, there'd be little or no silting in...?

[Lynx]

I enjoyed LaBelle. I stayed on the wall at the hotel across from the city dock. $ 10 per night for my 25 footer, free eldectric for a 15 amp service as well as water. Can get a little rough during the day. To bad on the lock closing. It did make a nice loop. I hope that it opens up before I do it again.

The marina just east of the bridge is very popular to store boats. I have known several who have.

[s/v Faith]

We got a call last night from Roses brother, unfortunately Roses mom passed away.

  We are heading to Ft. Myers in the am, where we plan to rent a car, drive ~ 600 miles to drop Peter off with mom and then drive back to Ft. Myers and get on a plane to Marquette Mi.

  I read in the skipper bob's guide that the city has a mooring field were you can leave a sailboat (no powerboats, how cool is that?).

  Anyone know anything about it?  It is secure?  Does anyone know anyone nearby that I could find out from?>

Thanks,

[Captain Smollett]

Sorry to hear that, Craig.  We will keep you, Rose and her Mom and all her family in our prayers.

Also sorry I have no advice to give on the mooring... 

[psyche]

Craig and Rose, sorry to hear about Rose's mom. I think La Belle is where I med moored and walked up just past the library on the left was a honey shop run by a family that processed local honeys. Seagrape was my favorite of the ones I purchased. The local Exchange club was having a pancake breakfast and invited me to participate. The cross Florida canal was the highlight of my trip from Biloxi to my home in Georgia. The trip through the canal was like a step back in time. Dan

[Lynx]

Thre is two different ones, the main one is across from the Ft Myers Yacht club. Although protected from winds you will have bow wave traffic. Lot's of boats there. There is an active SSCA. I have heard that it is a good place.

Your in the USA now, lock everything and don't leave anothing outside.

Free WiFi in the Ft Myers Airport.

I hope that all of you handle this well.

[s/v Faith]

Thank you everyone.

  We are on a mooring here at the Ft. Myers city marina's mooring field.  The folks here are so nice, and said they will keep an eye on the boat for us while we are gone.

[Lynx]

It is also a short taxie ride to the airport and marine stores, supplies, etc.....