Crossing the Okeechobee with the wind on the bow

   We awoke at first light with Lake Okeechobee waiting for us in the early morning gloom.  I left it up to Miss Patty: do we take route #2, the longer route that skirts the edge of the 26 mile diameter lake; or do we take route #1, the shorter route that takes us straight across the lake and out of the sight of land?

   Patty awoke full of confidence, after listening to the official marine weather broadcast (which promised winds on Lake Okeechobee 10-15 knots from the North with light chop) she gave the thumbs up for the direct route, straight across the Lake.  She didn't think that losing sight of land was a problem.........but what exactly did "light chop" really mean.  Soon we found out.

First, we had to work our way through a few canals just rocking with BASS BOATS.  The local town, Clewiston FL, was sponsoring a huge largemouth bass fishing tournament and there were scores of high-powered bass boats screaming down the channel before sunup.  These were the bass boats of bass boats, lots of power, and big.  They roared off into the dawn with lots of noise and WAKES, but they hugged the weedy shoreline, looking for the lunkers.  We were the lone boat headed out into the main body of the lake. We soon left them behind

The day went well but the wind built to 15 knots,as predicted, the waves went from calm to light chop, right on through to moderate chop within an hour and stayed there for the remainder of the trip.   I had plenty of time to play with the radar, the chart plotter (this was the first time we were actually required to plot a course and maintain a heading without several channel markers within easy sight) and the auto-pilot. Patty broke out our auto-inflating PFD's (life jackets) for the first time since we bought them, and we actually wore them.  Water was breaking over the bow and running down the side decks in dirty little creeks of water ,but the boat was taking it all in stride, the engine purred along just like it always does. 

After 4 hours plus we arrived at the other side of the lake, gratefully listening to the lockmaster tell us he was going to open the lock chamber  doors for us, so we could exit the choppy lake and re-enter the canal, where the water would be calmer and the wind softened by the trees along the canal.The lock only dropped us one pitiful foot (Patty wondered- one foot? Why even bother?) but it put us back into a boating world we were more accustomed.

For the first time in ten days, we docked at a marina, instead of anchoring out, so we could take a long bike ride and enjoy some solid ground for a while.

Tomorrow we plan to sleep later, relax at the dock for a bit, get out water tanks filled, our holding tank drained and then push on the remaining 29 miles to the Atlantic Ocean.