We left Roland Martin Marina, at the south end of Lake Okeechobee enroute for Fort Myers, Fl. We were out by 0630, through the lock onto the Waterway headed west. The water on the lake yesterday was excellent - so was the temperature
Coming across the lake, the generator (genset) gave up the ghost, and we spent the rest of yesterday without AC power. That meant the refrigerator, freezers, and cabin heaters weren't working until we arrived at the marina. Warren was troubleshooting the system and found the ground wire was a bit loose. After tightening that down, the genset ran. Simple fix! Voila'
When we left this morning, the gentleman who threw our lines asked which way we were heading. When we told him westbound, he said that was good, as the lake was scheduled to have 3-5 foot waves. Guess we got lucky enough to find the one day to make the crossing!
The water is very smooth, and westbound is the same as the east side of the Okeechobee Waterway, except for the oxbows that lead off to the north and south. This is a meandering route!
The trip has pretty much been uneventful. The ladies are having a great time
Warren is about as happy as he could be!
This afternoon, the temp began to drop into the low 60's with winds building. The autopilot is active only in the upper station. I finally decided to see what it would be like to pilot the boat from the lower station. The autopilot went into standby, and I moved below to get out of the cold and wind. That lasted only about an hour, as I was steering manually. Boy am I glad I went ahead and purchased and installed the autopilot!!
We got into the Fort Myers Yacht Basin just at sunset. We were able to get docked and refueled before the marina closed down. Renne' has an appointment in the morning to talk with the marina store about stocking her books. So we won't get out early tomorrow. May not make Venice as I would like.
In the meantime, come on down to the docks this evening for Sundowners! Look forward to seeing you. We are easy to find! Just watch for the dachshunds on the deck!
J&R
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