Alan Clendinen
Member II
Hello list,
After several months spent searching for a bigger sailboat to accommodate our family of five, we finally found what we were looking for. Morning Star is a 1987 Ericson 35 MK III, and was located in Punta Gorda, Florida, on the southwest coast.
We just finished a 262 nautical mile voyage, taking nine days to bring her to her new home on the east coast of Central Florida. We took the Lake Okachobee route, which greatly shortened the trip. As some of you may know, any sailboat with a bridge clearance greater than 48.5 feet must do the "Okachobee limbo," to get under a railroad bridge located just west of Indiantown, and Morning Star has about 51 feet when you include the antenna and other gear on the masthead.
Once we reached the railroad bridge in question, we contacted Billy Owens, who provides the service for getting underneath it. The "Okachobee limbo" involved placing five 55-gallon plastic drums along the starboard side, and pumping them full of water. The boat heeled 15 degrees, and then we motored through while Billy and his assistant hiked out from the starboard ggunnels.
We had to motor across Lake Okachobee, since the 15 knot winds were directly on our bow, and with the water level currently being low, we couldn't stray from the channel to tack. Nevertheless, crossing the second largest freshwater lake in the USA was a neat experience, especially after we got out of sight of land. Man, the southwest rim of this lake is chock-full of gators! We were spotting them every 100 feet or so, all the way from Moorhaven lock to Clewiston, and I'm sure there were many more that ducked underwater as we approached. If your boat sinks in that area, you better swim to the closest cypress tree and climb it fast!
Due to southeasterly winds of 15 to 20 knots, most of this voyage had to be done with the Diesel engine, but once we reached the ICW on Florida's east coast, those southeasterly winds gave us some great sailing as we headed north. We were regularly reaching speeds of 7.5 knots. Man, it doesn't get much better than this!
Alan
After several months spent searching for a bigger sailboat to accommodate our family of five, we finally found what we were looking for. Morning Star is a 1987 Ericson 35 MK III, and was located in Punta Gorda, Florida, on the southwest coast.
We just finished a 262 nautical mile voyage, taking nine days to bring her to her new home on the east coast of Central Florida. We took the Lake Okachobee route, which greatly shortened the trip. As some of you may know, any sailboat with a bridge clearance greater than 48.5 feet must do the "Okachobee limbo," to get under a railroad bridge located just west of Indiantown, and Morning Star has about 51 feet when you include the antenna and other gear on the masthead.
Once we reached the railroad bridge in question, we contacted Billy Owens, who provides the service for getting underneath it. The "Okachobee limbo" involved placing five 55-gallon plastic drums along the starboard side, and pumping them full of water. The boat heeled 15 degrees, and then we motored through while Billy and his assistant hiked out from the starboard ggunnels.
We had to motor across Lake Okachobee, since the 15 knot winds were directly on our bow, and with the water level currently being low, we couldn't stray from the channel to tack. Nevertheless, crossing the second largest freshwater lake in the USA was a neat experience, especially after we got out of sight of land. Man, the southwest rim of this lake is chock-full of gators! We were spotting them every 100 feet or so, all the way from Moorhaven lock to Clewiston, and I'm sure there were many more that ducked underwater as we approached. If your boat sinks in that area, you better swim to the closest cypress tree and climb it fast!
Due to southeasterly winds of 15 to 20 knots, most of this voyage had to be done with the Diesel engine, but once we reached the ICW on Florida's east coast, those southeasterly winds gave us some great sailing as we headed north. We were regularly reaching speeds of 7.5 knots. Man, it doesn't get much better than this!
Alan
