The Okeechobee Waterway is a 154  statue mile passage from the   Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.  To  actually cross Lake Okeechobee  there are 2 choices either the open water crossing   (39 statute miles)or the rim route (50 statute miles), which skirts around the shore line, the route you take depends on the lake depth and your boat’s draft.

We left CapeCoral at 10:20 and made out way down the Caloosahatchee River, passing the city of Fort Myers.

We continued on and passed through the  Franklin Lock at  mile  121.4 at  1:30.    In this lock we only went  up 2.5 feet; nothing compared to the locks we had encountered on the   river system earlier in the trip.

Near the lock there were some wooden structures- which are referred to as Dolphins, which you can tie up to.

We passed through several bridges, one of which was a swing bridge.

We arrived at the free city dock at LaBelle at 3:40, where there were 5 boats tied up.

We went for a walk and found a Dollar General and bought a few provisions.  In the morning we went to McDonalds for breakfast and to check our emails.

We left at 9:05 and passed through the Ortona  (rise of 8 feet), and Moore Haven locks, most of the trip today was  through a channel with farmland on one side, and tall grasses/swamp on the other.

Near this second lock I saw this sign, which I had to include—we have seen so many boaters since we arrived in Florida, but rarely have I seen anyone wearing a lifejacket.

We arrived at Clewiston at 2:15.  We ended up rafting with a boat called I Love Lucy on park dock, which we had met in LaBelle and had followed for most of the day.

Tomorrow we plan to cross the Lake.