On Tuesday morning November 1 at 7:00 AM, we depart for the 1,430 NM voyage to Sarasota. Assuming cooperative weather (attention sea gods) and no mechanical issues, the plan is to run six and a half days direct to Clewiston Florida with a two hour pit stop in Morehead City. Then take two more days to finish the Okeechobee Waterway and run north from Fort Myers to Sarasota. I'm estimating arrival in Sarasota at 2:00 PM. My ability to make this schedule is pretty good, again assuming no weather issues, as I can increase speed as necessary.
Explanatory Note: When you are running 24 hours a day, a 1 knot increase is speed adds 24 nautical miles or a time reduction of three hours each day. Two days of running knocks off 6 hours. Of course there is a corresponding fuel penalty. The 63 will burn an an additional 5 gallons per hour to run at 1600 RPMs. That translates into 120 gallons per day. Since we carry 1,300 gallons and will have full tanks leaving Morehead City the extra fuel consumption is not a problem.
Essentially, I hope to replicate what we did last November, when we knocked off an entire day's travel by getting to Clewiston, which is located on the southwest end of Lake Okeechobee, on the seventh day. While optimistic, this plan is doable. The key is getting past the Mayaka Lock before 5:00 PM, when the lock closes. You will notice in the detailed plan below that I'm estimating arrival at the Mayaka Lock at 15:26 (3:26 PM). Again this is based on last year's run. Once on Lake Okeechobee we have clear sailing to Clewiston. The only "problem" is that the sun sets at 17:36 (5:36 PM). This will necessitate running the last 90 minutes in the dark. Considering that the final stretch (see photos below) is well marked, along with our night vision and the fact that I have a programmed route, that I've run twice before, the problem is surmountable.
Besides the sunset, it turns out that there are two more "wrinkles." First, Lake Okeechobee" water levels are high at 15.7 feet. Second, the Ortona Lock is under construction which necessitates limited openings.
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| Southwest segment of Okeechobee Route 1 |
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| The final stretch is a narrow but well marked channel |
Now to the Ortona Lock, The Okeechobee Waterway website shows a Notice to Mariners indicating that the lock is under construction until October 14. I called to the lockmaster today and learned that the construction will last until November 18. Planned closures are between 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. As indicated by the proposed plan below, we should arrive at the lock at 12:09 PM. Back to the Clewiston Lock. Fortunately it opens at 5:30 AM. Allowing for locking time we should be clear of the lock and on our way by 6:00 AM. However, we are looking at a crack-of-dawn departure from Roland Martins Marina which is located inside the Clewiston Lock.
This year's crew consists of myself, Guy Aries and Morgan Watt. Guy has experience with this trip having accompanied me last year with Skip Roper. Guy is an experienced boater with a captains license. Morgan Watt, who is flying in from Sarasota, is also highly experienced. He too has a captains license along with years of experience as a commercial pilot. This is my most experienced crew to date.
Now to the weather. As of today (Tuesday) we have limited information as NOAA marine forecasts only go out six days. That said, at Day 6, Sunday, NOAA is showing high pressure dominating the east coast with the isobars (pressure gradient) far apart. This makes for light winds. Our Tuesday departure will depend on how fast that high moves off the coast and what fills in behind it. The other critical factor is tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes. At the moment there is no tropical activity in the Atlantic. Obviously this can change but as a general rule, the hurricane season is over by November 30 and storms are rare in November. Our insurance company requires us to stay north of Cape Hatteras until November 15. However, we have "special dispensation" to cross the boundary a few days early. However, that comes with a $200,000 wind deductible.
Finally, we have food. The captain and the crew must be fed. This year, Chef Bernard Kinsella at Good life Kitchen is providing our evening meals. I met Chef Bernard last summer when he had a shop in Hingham. His take out meals were excellent. This year, the chef prepared two of each menu item for me to sample. I've had a ball tasting his fare. I've included the menu. You will find it below the Proposed November 2016 Cruising Plan.
Written by Les.
Proposed November 2016 Cruising Plan
Explanatory Note: The calculation of days miles divided by speed. The ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is based on log entries from last years run.
| FROM | TO | MILES | CUM | TIME | CUM | RPM | KNOTS | DAYS | ETA |
| Depart Hingham | 7:00 | ||||||||
| Hingham Mass | Morehead City | 641.5 | 641.5 | 76.4 | 76.4 | 1400 | 8.4 | 3.18 | 12:30 |
| Fuel Stop | 0.0 | 641.5 | 2.0 | 78.4 | 0.08 | 14:30 | |||
| Morehead City | Fort Pierce Inlet | 574.7 | 1216.2 | 68.4 | 146.8 | 1400 | 8.4 | 2.85 | 7:20 |
| Fort Pierce Inlet | Okeechobee R240 | 23.7 | 1239.9 | 2.8 | 149.6 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.12 | 10:10 |
| Okeechobee R240 | Roosevelt Bridge | 6.5 | 1246.4 | 0.8 | 150.4 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.03 | 11:02 |
| Roosevelt Bridge | St Lucie Lock | 8.4 | 1254.8 | 1.0 | 151.4 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.04 | 12:00 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1254.8 | 0.7 | 152.1 | 0.03 | 12:42 | |||
| St Lucie Lock | Port Myaka Lock | 15.0 | 1269.8 | 1.8 | 153.9 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.07 | 15:26 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1269.8 | 0.7 | 154.6 | 0.03 | 16:06 | |||
| Port Myaka Lock | Clewiston | 23.0 | 1292.8 | 2.7 | 157.3 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.11 | 18:56 |
| 6.55 | |||||||||
| Depart Clewiston | 6:00 | ||||||||
| Clewiston | Moore Haven Lock | 11.0 | 1303.8 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.05 | 7:24 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1303.8 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 0.03 | 8:06 | |||
| Moore Haven Lock | Ortona Lock | 14.0 | 1317.8 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.07 | 9:27 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1317.8 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 0.03 | 10:09 | |||
| Ortona Lock | Franklin Lock | 25.0 | 1342.8 | 3.0 | 7.4 | 1100 | 8.4 | 0.12 | 12:09 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1342.8 | 0.7 | 8.1 | 0.03 | 12:51 | |||
| Franklin Lock | Captiva | 33.4 | 1376.2 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.17 | 16:51 |
| Locking | 1376.2 | 0.7 | 12.7 | 0.03 | 17:39 | ||||
| 0.53 | |||||||||
| Depart Captive | 8:00 | ||||||||
| Captiva | Sarasota | 53.5 | 1429.7 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.27 | 14:00 |
| 0.27 | |||||||||
| Optimum Number of Days | 9.00 | ||||||||
Menu Le Bateaux Guided Discovery
Breakfast:
- Bagel Deluxe. Everything bagel with smoked salmon and fixings of your choice (cream cheese, capers, tomatoes, and onion)
- Cascadian Farms Fruit and Nut Granola served with fresh blueberries, raisins, walnuts, and banana
- Oatmeal Supreme. Steel cut oatmeal infused with banana, blueberries and raisins topped with raisins, bananas, blueberries, walnuts and milk
- Joe Dillon’s Protein Shake. 16 oz non-fat milk, 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder, ground seeds (flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin) and one frozen banana
- Assorted dry cereals and yogurts
- Choice of ham, roast beef and mesquite turkey
- Choice of cheese (provolone, Swiss, cheddar)
- Condiments (mustard, mayonnaise, pickles)
- Hummus
- Assorted cheeses (Blue, St Angel, Brie, etc.)
- Back to Nature Multi-grain Flax and assorted crackers
Salads:
- Avocado Salad: Herb greens with avocado, plum tomatoes, onion, walnuts, pine nuts and raisins with Newman’s Own balsamic vinaigrette (or light raspberry with walnuts)
- Caprice Salad: Tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese over baby arugula greens with Diamond balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Entrees: By Good Life Kitchen
·
Chicken
Parmesan with Bow-tie Pasta and tomato sauce
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Salmon
with potato and vegetable
·
Lasagna
with Turkey Bolognese
·
Alfredo
Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli
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Eggplant
Parmesan
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Lobster
Raviolis with Tomato Cream Sauce and Mixed Vegetables
Desserts:
- Ice Cream
- Medjool Dates
- Brownies
- Diet Coke
- Classic Coke
- Ginger Ale
- Kendall Jackson 2014 Chardonnay
- Trefethen 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
- Sam Adams
- Cigar City Jai Alai IPA
- Polar Seltzer (Bubbly Water)
- Bottled Water
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