Air Boat Ride

Day 131, December 10th, 2009.

Before we started this trip, I told John that one of the things I dearly would love to do is take an air boat ride through the swamps and look for alligators! Just as we were sipping on our margaritas the previous evening, we saw an air boat that did just that. So, first thing after breakfast I went up to the desk and was introduced to the air boat guy who'd just walked in behind me. He said we could go as soon as the fog cleared!

It was just after 9:00 when he brought the air boat to the dock and we climbed aboard. Since it was just John and I, he said we could take turns riding up on the high seat beside him. I was thrilled! We had to wear ear muffs for protection and off we went. It was so much fun. It was a little windy and as we headed off down the waterway - he was looking for alligators but couldn't see one. Apparently they don't like the wind in their faces, it interferes with their hearing. So off we went into the wetlands. Lake Okeechobee is the 2nd largest inland lake in the US and is extremely shallow - 20ft at its deepest, mostly around 7 - 12ft. The shores are grassy wetlands. Its quite beautiful and just alive with birds, fish and alligators!! We did manage to find a couple in a quiet pool, one swimming and one sitting on a rock. Apparently they are not known to cause problems. They just mind their own business! Our captain told us the local children swim in the waters around there and don't think anything of it! I asked him what the pink bird would have been that we had seen the day before - it wasn't a flamingo, a bit smaller than an egret but its beak was the shape of a wooden spoon. "That would have been a Roseate Spoon Bill." What a lovely name! The air boat was fascinating - it seems the antithesis of a sail boat. With a sail boat you are constantly thinking of depth! At first it seemed quite scary to go in amongst the grass, but then you realise that this is what its all about! No worries it just flies over the top!! I was so enjoying my ride when the captain stopped the boat and told me it was my turn to drive! Wow! With my right foot on the gas peddle, he showed me how if I pushed the lever forward, we would go right, and if I pulled the lever back, we would go left! Easy!! Oh, it felt so good up there just whizzing over the grassland, with sudden flurries of birds as the approaching noise scares them into flight. I could have flown around there all day. He directed me to take us out to the lake proper where we stopped and he explained how in 1928 there was a terrible hurricane that caused such flooding that over 2,000 people died. Herbert Hoover was then president and he decided that something had to be done about Lake Okeechobee. So they dug a ditch, the canal, with locks all around the lake to control the water level. The canal took 11 years to build and was called - The Herbert Hoover Ditch. It was then my turn to sit down below and John's turn to go up top. I think he was a little disappointed that he didn't get a turn to drive!!! Our trip took about an hour - it was as much fun as I thought it would be. "She's gonna want an airboat now!" our Captain said to John!

As soon as we got back to Periwinkle, we got her ready to leave and we were off again. It was scorching hot and with the wind behind us, it looked to be a great time to cross the lake. We'd been told that the water can really kick up with high winds as its so shallow, but we were lucky, the wind was light and the water was flat. About half way across the wind died altogether and our little thermometer read 31 degrees Centigrade!!

As we were crossing, another sailboat passed going the other way. They called us on the radio and said "Periwinkle - we think we met you in the Bahamas a few years ago?!" It turned out to be a Canadian couple from Nepean Boat Club in Ottawa. They used to own a boat called Pendragon but have now moved up to a Beneteau 32 called Celtic Cross. We remembered them well. We promised to watch out for each other in the Bahamas in the New Year!

Watching the channel markers carefully, we crossed the Lake without incident. The lock was open the other side and then there were two bridges. The first was 55ft high, no problem. The second was meant to be 49ft high. We were wondering if our radio antennae might scrape a bit since we'd been told the water level was up. We were ready with the water jugs to hang them from the end of the boom and tip the boat over. However, after approaching at a snail's pace we figured we were going to be okay and passed by without a problem.

We spent the night at the marina in Indiantown. What a nice place! We had heard so much about it. Several friends have kept their boats there on the hard out of season - we somehow had the impression it was a basic kind of place. However, it was really lovely, with attractive patios, a screened room, good facilities and attractive landscaping. They made room for us on the gas dock and we spent a very pleasant evening.