From Acorn To Arabella.
Join us (and a tree full of pelicans) as we begin cruising east to west on the Okeechobee Waterway. Not many sailboats our size have the ability to cruise the Okeechobee Waterway. Because we are gaff-rigged, our masts are shorter, giving us the clearance we need to pass under the many bridges and power lines along the route.
Before we jump into the St. Lucie River from Fort Pierce, Robin tries her hand at dropping the anchor using our windlass. I explain some of the factors I consider when choosing where to drop the anchor, especially in the ICW where sand bars can take you by surprise (as we learned up by Daytona).
We do some provisioning in Stuart before jumping aboard and heading into our first of five locks on the Okeechobee. The St. Lucie South Campground, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, is just past the first lock, and they have a few slips available for cruisers on the Okeechobee. We booked two nights, but Arabella was too big for the slip, so we ended up anchoring with the alligators across the way. The campground showers made paying for a slip worth every penny.
Bug-o-clock hits hard in Florida—it’s like something out of a horror movie. We quickly get the bug screens into our portholes to save ourselves (and our skin).
After a rainy day, we’re excited to explore the St. Lucie Nature Trails before getting underway again. We make our way to the Port Mayaca lock and into Lake Okeechobee. I finally got to raise the sails and turn off the motor for a while. Lake Okeechobee is filled with beautiful birds, ‘gators, and incredible flora—from Cyprus trees to mangroves.
Through the Moore Haven lock (where we leave our mark), we’re officially west of Lake Okeechobee in the Caloosahatchee River. We head to an anchorage called “Lollipop” near the Ortona Lock, taking Victoria through a network of wild canals to the dock at the Ortona Tavern for a bite to eat…and an ice cream sundae.
Cruising the Okeechobee Waterway by sailboat is an experience we never expected to have, but are so glad we did. Join us next week, as we explore some of the keys of Southwest Florida.
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00:00 Intro
01:30 Robin Learns the Windlass
06:18 Re-checking the Charts
10:35 St. Lucie Lock
12:19 Gotta Stop Sometimes
14:38 Arabella’s First Gator
16:20 Down the St. Lucie Canal
18:13 Into the Lake
20:51 Moore Haven Lock
21:45 Anchoring in Ortona
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Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38′ wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin’s Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel’s gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they’ve built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
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