- 47 miles
- 6 hours 9 minutes
- 7.6 mph average speed
- 1-4 mph winds
We are now beginning our journey across the Okeechobee Waterway which will take us to the east coast of Florida without having to go down to and around the Keys. The Okeechobee Waterway is 154 miles long from the Gulf of Mexico at Fort Myers to the Atlantic Ocean at Stuart. The waterway was built in 1937 and there are 5 locks, three on the west side of Lake Okeechobee and two on the east side of the lake. Lake Okeechobee, which means “big water” in the Seminole Indian language, is the second-largest natural freshwater lake contained entirely within contiguous US with Lake Michigan being the largest.
As we passed by Fort Myers we could see what was left of the marinas which were so devastated by Hurricane Ian. Most of the boats that were destroyed have been removed but some still remain either half sunken in the water or on land where they were deposited by the surge. Most of the docks are gone.
We passed a fellow Looper who sent us a photo of Perfect Match:
The Port Labelle Marina is such a beautiful and peaceful setting with extremely friendly staff. We enjoyed the serenity by reading as we waited for our laundry to be done and later took a taxi to the LaBelle Brewing Company for a delicious dinner.
