There are five locks to transit when taking the Okeechobee waterway across Florida. The first and last locks schedule their openings based on Lake Okeechobee's water level; the lower the level, the fewer the openings. Today they're allowing boats through every odd hour between 0700 and 1900. Arrive at the lock, at say 0705, and you get to cool your heels for two hours. Imagine our surprise then, when with no fore planning whatsoever, we arrive 10 minutes before the scheduled opening. We're not proud of our lack of planning but we do recognize when luck falls squarely on our side.
Today's picture shows the dolphins on the east side of the Port Mayaca Lock. We'd never tied Nellie between two dolphins before, it was pretty obvious too based on our uninspired attempts to do so. Getting a bow line attached is no big deal. The stern line however is another matter. Especially when it's pouring cats and dogs and the winds are blowing. Nellie acted like an unruly pet on a leash. In the end though our patience was rewarded and our skill set increased by a notch. 27nm today and 825nm down. DBH
