TIKA gains altitude for the first time !

After 19 days in Vero Beach, we disconnected our lines from the mooring ball and headed south and west.  This was not a great day for travelling by boat.  Winds were pretty consistently from the east at over 20 mph and it was raining.  Several times we thought we were heading into fog, but turned to be rain storms.  One of the advantages TIKA has is the choice of driving from and enclosed cabin or up on top under a bimini top.  Needless to say, today was a day for being indoors.  From Vero Beach, we passed Ft. Pierce and turned into the St. Lucie River to go 10 miles west into Stuart.  We passed the Marina we stayed at last year, and continued West to a new adventure.  We left the St. Lucie River southwest of Stuart and entered the St. Lucie canal which leads to the east side of Lake Okeechobee.  Our intention is to head across the Lake and out the west side, where we will pick up a river which comes out at Fort Myers near Sanibel Island. This is a two to three day journey dependent on weather.

Our first adventure on the canal was to gain some altitude.  The St. Lucie lock raised TIKA 13 feet.  There are other locks which will eventually get us up to the level of the lake, then we will come back down on the west side.  The canal we are on is a man made Corp of Engineers project to allow boats to cut across Florida..  This was our first time through a lock.  Luckily, the rain let up enough for us to get out and hold lines as TIKA was raised in the lock.  The locks works very simply  You enter, park along the wall, the rear door closes and they, open the front gates about a foot.  Suddenly you see a 13 foot wall of water gush through filling the lock.  I would have liked to include a photo, but we were busy, hanging on for dear life as the lock filled with water.  As the 13 foot wall of water was reduced to the new higher level, fish poured through the gushing water and jumped in the lock.  We were told Manatees and Alligators also use the lock to pass from the lake to the ocean.  We didn't see any, but we will have several more locks before our journey to Fort Myers is complete. 

Just past the lock was a Corp of Engineers campground which includes 8 boat slips with electricity, water and use of the park's restrooms and showers.  We are staying here for two nights so after the rain lets up, we hope to get some pictures.  As I am writing this, we have had 7 inches of rain in 5 hours today.  There are thunderstorm and flood warnings for the county we are in.  Since we are less than a hundred yards from a lock and dam, I don't think we will see much change in water level where we are. 

 Cruising the calm, but rainy waters of the St. Lucie Canal.

A huge home on the St. Lucie Canal.  That is all one house.  There is also a boat house for a yacht just out of the picture on the right.