Okeechobee Waterway

We're planning a trip next month from Jupiter, Florida to Sanibel Island, Fl via the Okeechobee waterway. I was wondering if any of you fellow trawlers have any suggestions. Good marinas along the way and information on controlling depths etc.

Thanks,
Capt Mike

drmnj said:

We're planning a trip next month from Jupiter, Florida to Sanibel Island, Fl via the Okeechobee waterway. I was wondering if any of you fellow trawlers have any suggestions. Good marinas along the way and information on controlling depths etc.

Thanks,
Capt Mike

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R

Rialto Harbor at Alva is one of our favorites. Not much near there, but very relaxing. There was a good pizza place in an old gas station up on the highway.

Rialto Harbor Marina in Alva, Florida, United States

Moonstruck said:

R

Rialto Harbor at Alva is one of our favorites. Not much near there, but very relaxing. There was a good pizza place in an old gas station up on the highway.

Rialto Harbor Marina in Alva, Florida, United States

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That sounds good. Do you have the coordinates?
Thanks

Moonstruck said:

R

Rialto Harbor at Alva is one of our favorites. Not much near there, but very relaxing. There was a good pizza place in an old gas station up on the highway.

Rialto Harbor Marina in Alva, Florida, United States

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I just found it and it looks like a nice spot. Thanks

Capt. Mike: Looks as if I'll probably be doing the same trip around the same time. I'm camped out right on the Waterway in Stuart, so all I have to do is take my first left. Be aware that when I left my boat last week, the tides were running about a foot higher than usual at the marina, and not really going down too much. The Army Corps. had the gates open at the lake, and the St. Lucie river was moving at 3-4 knots. A broker was trying to get into the marina with an Independence Cherubini trawler and had to charge full speed toward the sea wall just to get a bow line to me. There's a lot of rain going on still, and my guess is that the flood gates will stay open for a while. That means you're going to be going uphill till you get to the Lake. I'll be taking my Manatee up to our Longboat Key residence.

Moonstruck said:

R

Rialto Harbor at Alva is one of our favorites. Not much near there, but very relaxing. There was a good pizza place in an old gas station up on the highway.

Rialto Harbor Marina in Alva, Florida, United States

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Listen to the Moonman! He knows all the good eats on the east coast. You have an amazing memory for restaurants, Don!! One more thing I love about you!

FlyWright said:

Listen to the Moonman! He knows all the good eats on the east coast. You have an amazing memory for restaurants, Don!! One more thing I love about you!

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Awe shucks, it's nothing, but thanks.

The couple travelling with us had lived in Naples Italy for three years. They said it was the best pizza since leaving there. Go figure. A converted gas station on a highway in the middle of nowhere had the best pizza! That's what I like about travelling.

Rialto marina?

I thought I had heard the Realto marina had closed. The owner was going cruising. Can anyone verify this?

glennwhiskey said:

I thought I had heard the Realto marina had closed. The owner was going cruising. Can anyone verify this?

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Below is from Active Captain...pretty handy and quick reference...can't guarantee it's accuracy...but it's always been "right on" for me.

"Marina
Additional info: The owners of Rialto Harbor Docks have decided to retire and will be closing the marina the end of April 2013. We wish them many happy and healthy years of retirement."

We made the trip in 2010 if you check the blog below 2010, March 25- 28 you can see the details of our trip.
We also did it in 2009 before my Bloggin' days I'll see if I can find the info and post it tonight I do recall we had a nice overnight at FF's dock,thanks!

I'll be heading through with my crew the week of 9/23. More of a delivery trip though so I am going to shoot through as fast as I can. In the past I have stayed at Roland Martin's in Clewiston, it is OK, but a little pricey for what they offer. I've also stayed at the Moore Haven City dock, nice dock and cheap, but not a lot there. More of a place to lay your head than anything else.

The Fort Myers yacht Basin is also a nice stop. Lots to do via foot in FM.

Indiantown Marina is really nice, but likely not far enough along to stop at for you.

Water levels are super high right now, you should have at least 9' all the way through.

psneeld said:

Below is from Active Captain...pretty handy and quick reference...can't guarantee it's accuracy...but it's always been "right on" for me.

"Marina
Additional info: The owners of Rialto Harbor Docks have decided to retire and will be closing the marina the end of April 2013. We wish them many happy and healthy years of retirement."

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Too bad for the cruisers. The place was unique. Each dock was a private "T" dock with comfortable chairs under the shade. If you wanted to grill they would start a real oak fire to get coals ready. They brought a newpaper and vase of fresh flowers in the mornings. The grounds were beautiful with palms and live oaks. The pool is nestled in a private corner of the property. Most of their clients were repeats or permanent. They kept a record of your stays.

The owner, Bus, had bought a farm in the Tennessee Mountains that he was preparing for retirement. They also owned a large steel explorer type sail boat for extended voyages.

healhustler said:

Capt. Mike: Looks as if I'll probably be doing the same trip around the same time. I'm camped out right on the Waterway in Stuart, so all I have to do is take my first left. Be aware that when I left my boat last week, the tides were running about a foot higher than usual at the marina, and not really going down too much. The Army Corps. had the gates open at the lake, and the St. Lucie river was moving at 3-4 knots. A broker was trying to get into the marina with an Independence Cherubini trawler and had to charge full speed toward the sea wall just to get a bow line to me. There's a lot of rain going on still, and my guess is that the flood gates will stay open for a while. That means you're going to be going uphill till you get to the Lake. I'll be taking my Manatee up to our Longboat Key residence.

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Thanks for the info. Hopefully The Army Corps. gets wise and stops flooding the estuaries with fresh water. They have already caused enough damage. We'll probably be departing September 9th or 10th. Keep in touch. Our vessel is The Path.

Steve said:

We made the trip in 2010 if you check the blog below 2010, March 25- 28 you can see the details of our trip.
We also did it in 2009 before my Bloggin' days I'll see if I can find the info and post it tonight I do recall we had a nice overnight at FF's dock,thanks!

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Thanks, I appreciate that.

Dougcole said:

I'll be heading through with my crew the week of 9/23. More of a delivery trip though so I am going to shoot through as fast as I can. In the past I have stayed at Roland Martin's in Clewiston, it is OK, but a little pricey for what they offer. I've also stayed at the Moore Haven City dock, nice dock and cheap, but not a lot there. More of a place to lay your head than anything else.

The Fort Myers yacht Basin is also a nice stop. Lots to do via foot in FM.

Indiantown Marina is really nice, but likely not far enough along to stop at for you.

Water levels are super high right now, you should have at least 9' all the way through.

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Thanks. We should be departing September 9th or 10th.

Here is why I will miss Rialto Harbor. This was shot from the boat docked there. A nice place to hang out for a couple of days.



Morning at Rialto Harbor. Moonstruck preparing to pull out heading East.Bus' sail boat is driectly behind, but you can't tell much about it.

Moonstruck said:

Here is why I will miss Rialto Harbor. This was shot from the boat docked there. A nice place to hang out for a couple of days.

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Dang. That sure looks like a great place to stop. I guess I'll miss it.

Army Corps announced today that they will begin to squeeze off the lake flow a bit, saying that the Lake levels are coming down now. Of course, in Florida, that could all change next week.

I located my 2009 crossing notes
Jan 12 dept Vero Beach Muni. Marina 8:30 Am
to Stuart Spent night at a dock in the St Lucie COE Park arrived 4 Pm. just West of the St Lucie Lock $24.oo per night
Jan 13 Dept 8 AM, 11 am at Mayaca lock into lake, 2 PM arr Roland Martin's Marina no problems crossing lake, choppy windy. Marina charged $72.00
Jan 14 Dept Roland Martin's 10:20 AM Passed Moore Haven lock, arrived FF dock on Turkey Creek 2:30 PM.
Jan 15 Dept FF's 8am. exited Franklin lock 12:30 Pm. Arr Ft Myers Muni Marina at 2:30 PM
Ft Myers is a very nice place for a stay walk to Edison, Ford houses/museum, Publix and lots of good restaurants.
The City Marina and Legendary Marina are both good but we have a slight prefference for legendary.

City marina has great fuel price, last fill up.

It looks like we'll be crossing lake Okeechobee towards the middle or end if September. We're heading to the Everglades to do some fishing them we'll probably run back thru the Keys.
Tailwinds,
Capt Mike

Dougcole said:

I'll be heading through with my crew the week of 9/23. More of a delivery trip though so I am going to shoot through as fast as I can. In the past I have stayed at Roland Martin's in Clewiston, it is OK, but a little pricey for what they offer. I've also stayed at the Moore Haven City dock, nice dock and cheap, but not a lot there. More of a place to lay your head than anything else.

The Fort Myers yacht Basin is also a nice stop. Lots to do via foot in FM.

Indiantown Marina is really nice, but likely not far enough along to stop at for you.

Water levels are super high right now, you should have at least 9' all the way through.

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It looks like we'll be crossing lake Okeechobee towards the middle or end if September also. We're heading to the Everglades to do some fishing then we'll probably run back thru the Keys.
Tailwinds,
Capt Mike

We did the trip both ways back in June on our way to the Abacos aboard a friend's 52' Ocean Yacht. As it can move a little faster than a trawler , we made it in one day coming back. We did stay at the Moore Haven City docks going over. It was ridiculously cheap,$1.00 a foot with water and 50 amp power. The lake will probably still be plenty high when you cross but be careful as you near the Moore Haven Locks, there is construction in the rim canal and you must hug the metal coffer dam there to avoid the rocks on the north edge.
And we stayed at Rialto Harbor several times in our small trawler over the years. It was truly a neat place. And the big expedition boat there was actually built by the owner. We got a tour of it before it was finished and its really somthing!

Crossing the Lake

Just finished a crossing of Lake Okeechobee 9/20/13. Lake was up so no problems with depth. Stayed at Legacy Harbour Marina in Ft Myers. Great marina with lots to do downtown. Publix just a short walk away for provisions. Breakfast and donut place just across the street for breakfast.
Stayed at Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston, not top knotch but a good place to get out of the wind. Plan on a taxi if you need anything.
Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage in Stuart is great also. Downtown just across the street is full of restaurants and shops to spend time at. Weekends are even better.

Capt Page
"Miss Hanna"

Thanks, we just left the Everglades after crossing over Okeechobee waterway. We're staying at Hawks Cay Marina in Marathon Key now. Sent from my iPhone On Sep 23, 2013, at 4:45 PM, "Trawler Forum" <support@trawlerforum.com> wrote: Dear drmnj, Madeirabch has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled - Okeechobee Waterway - in the Cruising and Events - East Coast forum of Trawler Forum. This thread is located at: http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s27/okeechobee-waterway-11340-new-post.html Here is the message that has just been posted: *************** Just finished a crossing of Lake Okeechobee 9/20/13. Lake was up so no problems with depth. Stayed at Legacy Harbour Marina in Ft Myers. Great marina with lots to do downtown. Publix just a short walk away for provisions. Breakfast and donut place just across the street for breakfast. Stayed at Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston, not top knotch but a good place to get out of the wind. Plan on a taxi if you need anything. Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage in Stuart is great also. Downtown just across the street is full of restaurants and shops to spend time at. Weekends are even better. Capt Page "Miss Hanna" *************** There may also be other replies, but you will not receive any more notifications until you visit the forum again. All the best, Trawler Forum ~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks, we just left the Everglades after crossing over Okeechobee waterway. We're staying at Hawks Cay Marina in Marathon Key now.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 23, 2013, at 4:45 PM, "Trawler Forum" <support@trawlerforum.com> wrote:

Dear drmnj,

Madeirabch has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled - Okeechobee Waterway - in the Cruising and Events - East Coast forum of Trawler Forum.

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Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
Just finished a crossing of Lake Okeechobee 9/20/13. Lake was up so no problems with depth. Stayed at Legacy Harbour Marina in Ft Myers. Great marina with lots to do downtown. Publix just a short walk away for provisions. Breakfast and donut place just across the street for breakfast.
Stayed at Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston, not top knotch but a good place to get out of the wind. Plan on a taxi if you need anything.
Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage in Stuart is great also. Downtown just across the street is full of restaurants and shops to spend time at. Weekends are even better.

Capt Page
"Miss Hanna"
***************


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Thanks for the info. We crossed over on Sept 15th and fished the 10,000 Islands the last few days. We're now at Hawks Cay Marina in Marathon and heading back north on Thurs or Fri. We caught some keeper Snook, Trout, Redfish and Triple-tail. Hopefully we'll get a good window of weather to head back home.
Tailwinds,
Capt Mike
Twailwinds Capt Mike

Thanks for that timely report, Capt. Page. I'm parked over at Stuart now, and plan to do the trip over here to the Gulf side in a couple of weeks. Was there any concern with the additional current from the Army Corps. water releases from the Lake? I just got a report that in my Marina located on the St. Lucie, the water levels have been pretty high, so...

healhustler said:

Thanks for that timely report, Capt. Page. I'm parked over at Stuart now, and plan to do the trip over here to the Gulf side in a couple of weeks. Was there any concern with the additional current from the Army Corps. water releases from the Lake? I just got a report that in my Marina located on the St. Lucie, the water levels have been pretty high, so...

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We had no problems with any current and we were towing an 18' Flats boat. We crossed on Sept 15 &16th. We did get some torrential rains but no problems at the locks. or currents. I hope you have a better weather window than we did. Have fun.
Capt Mike