Stars, Sails - the Parallax View

A family of astronomers at sea... coming soon to a galaxy near you...

28 May 2020 | Fort Myers, FL
13 February 2019 | SW Florida
25 May 2018 | Fort Myers, SW FL
02 September 2016 | Fort Myers, FL
11 July 2014 | Fort Myers, FL
04 July 2014 | Fort Myers, FL
01 July 2014 | South Jersey Shore
23 April 2014
11 November 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
05 July 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 March 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
11 March 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 February 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
24 January 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 December 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
15 December 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
28 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
25 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
07 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL

Clewiston to Fort Myers, FL

31 July 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
Heather / mostly sunny 94 F / NW 5-10
Pulled out of Clewiston, heading for Moore Haven in a dredged canal that extends westbound from Clewiston to the Caloosahatchee River.
dredged canal from Clewiston westbound

There was one narrow spot, probably about 19' wide -- the deal is, you stay as close as possible to the metal wall here, because the channel shallows up dramatically to the east of the red marker buoys:
narrow!

It had a very "you're in the Glades now!" look to it whenever there were trees instead of grasses:
swampy trees

Transited the Moore Haven lock (a drop of only about 3')
Moore Haven

Along with thick mats of floating weed:
weed mats

Chugged west along the Caloosahatchee River past still more attractive houses:
nice house upper Caloosahatchee

And past several places that only store boats on the hard for hurricane season:
Glades Boat Storage

masts avast!

Pulled into Rialto Harbor Marina late afternoon. The proprietor, Bus Hamilton, helped us on the dock, signed us in, and gave us a tour of the place. It's lovely, with a pool and a guest cottage and each dock is separate and private, with rocking chairs and a grill.
Rialto Harbor private docks
One of the Rialto Harbor Marina's private docks with rocking chairs

It's very quiet water, on an oxbow of the Caloosahatchee river, so no current to speak of:
quiet water

And your dock has its own little entrance to the grounds:
entrance from the dock to the grounds

We could not do the place justice, as we were tired and just wanted to rest and move on the next morning; they brought us flowers for the table, even. The Hamiltons are competitive horse-and-carriage racers, with international standing as such.

In the morning, we moved along down the Caloosahatchee:
downriver from Alva

We passed through the Franklin lock (which only opens on the odd hour) after a short wait:
Franklin lock from eastern side

The Franklin lock-keeper was very friendly and nice and had a little golf-cart-like vehicle to help him get from one end to the other quickly:
Franklin lock keeper

Also, the Franklin lock has shaded viewing stands so that local families can watch boats locking through with their kids.
Franklin lock

Both reviewing stands had families in them when we went through, and we told them where the boat had been recently and about the lock on the other side that went up 12 feet!
families watching lock operations

The next lock from there into Okeechobee was kept open, so that whole eastern end of the St Lucie canal is at lake level. Franklin lock at the moment only goes down one foot, and Moore Haven went down about three. This seems like it violates conservation of energy, but there is a longer distance of river on the western side, so the land can drop slowly, allowing the river to flow without locks or rapids and make up for the "missing" eight feet!

We passed through the bridges and passed downtown Fort Myers, and farther along we reached Gulf Harbour Marina, a bit west of downtown and in the midst of a gated community, but with very competitive monthly rates and good features.

And that's where we are now. Today, Derek picked up a rental car and took us around the campus of FGCU, where he will be working. We take the cat to the vet's to get her blood checked tomorrow morning and set up boarding, then we shop for Grant's summer camp necessaries, provisions, and do laundry. Derek has a project he needs to do aboard also.
Comments
Vessel Name: Parallax
Vessel Make/Model: 37' Prout Snowgoose (1982)
Hailing Port: Pensacola
Crew: Derek, Heather and Grant
About:
Two astronomers, looking for variable stars and adventure. After cruising the Caribbean aboard S/V Paradox for 18 months in the early 90s, the crew swallowed the anchor and had a child, always planning their next Great Adventure: cruising under sail with Grant, showing him the world. [...]
Extra:
We knew that if we ever got a catamaran, we'd want a name to celebrate her twin-hulledness. Parallax is seeing the same thing from two slightly different points of view, which with our two eyes is what gives humans our depth perception. It's also a good metaphor for one of the benefits of marriage. [...]

S/V Parallax

Who: Derek, Heather and Grant
Port: Pensacola