Crossing Florida from Stuart to Fort Myers the ICW water way uses the
St Lucie Canal,Lake Okeechobee,and the Caloosahatchee River. The controlling
factor for a sail boats crossing is the water level and the bridge heights.
When the water levels are high, the lowest bridge is a lift railroad bridge
at Port Mayaca that has a vertical clearance of 49 ft. and a horizontial
clearance of 56 ft. All other fixed bridges have a vertical clearance of at
least 55 ft. Silver Lining's overall height is 53 ft. Indiantown Marina at
Indiantown offers a service to help a 53 ft. high sail boat through the 49ft
high bridge. A call to the Lock Keeper at Port Mayaca will give one the
water levels and the current clearance of the railroad bridge.
Click on the small picture to see the larger
The water way is roughly 150 miles long. It has 5 Locks, 11 fixed bridges, 6 Bascule or openning bridges, 2 swing bridges and one lift railroad bridge. The way is very scenic with a number of pleasant and interesting stopping places; Indiantown for local flavor,Clewiston for fishing and eating out, Moore Haven for small town flavor, LaBelle for honey, eating out and Shopping, and Alva for real old Florida. The cannal along the edge of lake Okeechobee is some of the best bird watching and fishing territory in the world. Anckorages were anywhere along the waterway off to the side.
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