Saratoga Rowing Association Blog

Day #6 W. P. Franklin Lock to Hotel Beach

We left before sunrise this morning (Monday) for the final leg of our trip, a short 12-mile row from the W.P. Franklin Lock to the beach in front of our hotel.  Once more the prediction was for brisk winds from the NNW (again, a headwind!) so we figured an early start and finish would give us the best chance to avoid the stronger breezes.  We arrived at the W.P. Franklin Lock Recreational Area just before the sun peaked over the eastern horizon, unloaded, rigged, and pushed off at 7:55 AM. 
 

  Again, we rowed under crystal clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and, for a bit, calm waters.  Temperatures were again in the low 70’s.  
 

As we approached the City of Fort Myers the river widened considerably and we stayed in the marked navigation channel.  The homes along the route were spectacular as were the private motor yachts and sailboats.   One lonely manatee was our only significant wildlife sighting although gliding pelicans accompanied us along our route throughout the morning.
 
 

As we approached our destination the breeze freshened a bit and we had a “fun” ride during the last half-mile – a few wet coxswains and a little chop over the gunwales!!
 

Nevertheless, we arrived unscathed at the beach, and popped the celebratory champagne to mark the conclusion of our trek – 87 miles in total.  Spirits were high and many congratulatory high fives were exchanged among the crews. Our Port-A-Bote, christened the S.S. Origami, functioned beautifully throughout our tour across Florida – a perfect launch for the trip!

We loaded up the trailer and headed to the pool for some lunch and R & R.

  

Day #5 La Belle to W.P. Franklin Lock

Today’s route (Sunday) was marginally shortened due to predicted strong head winds.  We backtracked east to the City of LaBelle putting in at the local public boat ramp – very nice, excellent area to launch, and a bit protected.  Today’s route is a 19-mile row (originally we had planned to put in at Ortona Lock which would’ve added another 8 miles to today’s row) ending at the W.P. Franklin Lock Recreational Area.  
 

Again, we rowed under a cloudless blue sky and comfortable temperatures in the 70’s.  We started out with light winds off our bows that built over time.  The homes, large private yachts, and wildlife along the route were spectacular.  Although we saw no alligators or manatees today we did see a camel!  
 

Chrissy selected today’s line-ups – the “Anneliese” was rowed by Chrissy, Christy, Laurie, Tim, and Ageo while the “Arnold” was rowed by Nate, Carol, Marla, Jen, and Ned.  Bean jumped in #3 seat of the Anneliese for the last hour - a nice change from manning the launch. 

  

We started our row at 10 AM finishing up around 2 PM after locking through the W.P. Franklin Lock.  There is a nice park and beach where we took out, de-rigged, and loaded the trailer.  
 

We returned to our hotel for some pool time and to catch up on the blog.  We are eating at “Rumrunners” tonight – a beautiful restaurant adjacent to the Cape Coral Rowing Club, about 10 miles west of our hotel.  Su Sweeney one of Cape Coral RC’s members is joining us.  
 

As an aside, our hotel has been solidly booked for days as the Red Sox play their spring training games just over the bridge – Cat and Matt, eat your heart out!

Day #4 Moore Haven to Ortona Lock

We revamped our rowing route for the remainder of the trip to account for our unplanned washout yesterday.  Today, Saturday, we are rowing from the Moore Haven Recreational Area to the Ortona Lock Recreational Area, a distance of 16.5 miles.  We awoke to clear blue Florida skies and early morning temperatures in the 60’s.  We had our final breakfast at Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina, checked out of our condos (really nice this year), and hit the road, transporting the shells to Moore Haven.  After unloading, rigging, and spotting the return vehicles, we took our first strokes at 9:45 AM – not bad considering the logistics.  We took the short row to Moore Haven lock, passing through quickly with little delay.  



    

After exiting the lock we began to encounter a building west wind (a head wind) that kept the temperatures in the comfortable 70’s but kept our frenetic pace of Thursday a bit more subdued. As long as we stayed close to shore we avoided the heavy chop - the coxswains did a superb job keeping the shells on course.

The crews rowed beautifully as we spent about 3-1/2 hours on the water reaching the Ortona Lock take-out just after 1 PM.   

Our pace was remarkably strong considering the headwinds were gusting in excess of 30 mph at times.  The touring quads rowed majestically through the chop and we arrived at our destination with plenty of time to load up and head to our “West Coast” hotel, the Best Western Waterfront in North Fort Myers.
 

We had a bit of “pool time” at the hotel prior to dinner - a nice change.  The sheltered pool area gave us plenty of warm Florida sunshine while keeping the wind at bay.

We dined at Pincher’s Restaurant in the hotel – fine local fare with great views and ambiance.

Day #3 - WASHOUT!!

Our scheduled third day, Friday, proved to be a “washout” as Mother Nature reared her ugly head and we canceled our planned row due to high winds, thunder and lightning storms, and heavy rain.  The Clewiston area received over 8” of rain (that’s a lot!!) and the winds were sustained at 30 mph, gusting over 50 mph.  Our decision to lay low today proved wiser by the minute.  

To pass the day we hit the local Wal-Mart for supplies, watched some movies and took numerous siestas (Note the view of the storms from our "siesta position" above)!  Ned was the adventurous member of the group as he headed up the street to the local pool hall, Brenda’s, to mingle with the locals and take their money playing pool.  Fair warning – Ned is a quiet assassin on the pool table!  All in all a restful albeit disappointing day for our planned rowing.  


   

The highlight of the day was our annual trip to the historic Clewiston Inn for their famous southern style barbeque buffet.  Wow!  The meal was incredible and we all left with full stomachs and a desire to return next year.  

  

As the weather prediction for tomorrow is far more favorable we are anxiously awaiting our return to the water and some warm Florida sunshine!  We miss all our buddies at SRA – wish you were here!

While we are all watching the masters progress... Don't forget to buy your silent Auction tickets for Thursday. There are a lot of great items... just don't bid against me and you are encouraged to come (Just kidding)
Cat

DAY #2: Clewiston to Moore Haven, FL

After a delicious breakfast at Roland and Mary Ann Martin's Marina we headed just a few blocks down the road to launch for our second leg - Clewiston to Moore Haven - a distance of 15 miles.  Today's shorter route was a welcome relief after a long first day.  While the temperatures are still hovering around 80 the skies today are a bit cloudy and the wind is brisk from the southeast (luckily a tailwind). 

  

Launching the shells proved to be challenging due to the windy conditions but we did so unscathed.  We had a nice send off from a few of the inquisitive locals at the launch site - including the Clewiston Chief of Police - all great folks!  Today's route was on the "Rim Canal" along the southwestern perimeter of Lake Okeechobee.  We anticipated great sights of wildlife and hopefully, alligators.  Alas, the wildlife was plentiful but the "gators" scarce  We surmised that the gators were there but less visible on shore due to the high water conditions this spring - the locals tended to back up our conclusion.

  

We rowed with mixed crews today - Laurie, Tim, Carol, Jen, and Ned rowed the Annaliese while Ageo Chrissy, Christy, Marla, and Nate rowed the Arnold.  We finished today's route in record time - 2 hours exactly - as our headway was greatly improved with the high winds at our stern.  We passed a number of exquisite motor yachts and sailboats today - spectacular!

  

We loaded up the trailer and headed back to Clewiston, stopping for provisions and lunch along the way. We kept an eye on the Weather Channel as tomorrow's forecast looks ominous - strong winds, storms, and over 4" of rain predicted.  Everyone took a little R & R time this afternoon in reparation for Karaoke Night at the Tiki Bar!!
 

Well.........Karaoke Night did not disappoint as a plethora of SRA talent was on display.  Who will ever  forget Little Ricky, Tall Guy, Marla and Bean's duet, the local blind guy singing "Can't You See", and Tim's rousing rendition of "Celebrate", that had the packed house on their feet!  The place was hoppin'!!  






       

We are meeting for breakfast @ 7 AM  Friday to discuss the weather and the game plan for the day - stay tuned!!     

  

Day #1 Port St. Lucie Lock to Port Mayaca

We launched this morning at the St. Lucie Lock Recreational Center under clear blue skies and warm Florida temperatures - low 80's!!  After positioning our chase and pick-up vehicles, rigging the quads, assembling the ever popular Porta-Bote, and launching, we took our first strokes at 9:45 AM. 
 

Our first day's row was 24 miles through the St Lucie Canal, the eastern sector of the Okeechobee Waterway - a picturesque, extremely well maintained and sheltered waterway operated under the auspicies of the US Army Corps of Engineers - ideal for rowing.  We rowed with a slight tail wind that aided our progress and kept us cool as the Florida sun rose higher in the sky.


   

The ladies decided to row an "all-female" quad today sharing seats and coxing duties along the way.  Members of the crew were Laurie, Christy, Jen, Marla, and Carol.  Unfortunately for the ladies, their decision to row with an "all ladies" crew meant that the other crew was all men.  Well.......let's be nice by saying that the men STOMPED THEM in speed - rowing with power, style, and textbook technique. It's doubtful the ladies will make that foolish error again!  The men's quad consisted of Nate, Tim, Ageo, Bob, and "Iron Man" Ned, who rowed the entire leg without a break.

  

We were well hydrated this year and made great time, arriving in Port Mayaca at 3:05 PM - well before the local "gators" come out looking for dinner.  Everyone rowed beautifully on Day 1 - a few blisters and sore butts yet, all in all, none the worse for wear!  We loaded up the truck, trailer, and van and headed to Clewsiston.  
 

We arrived at Roland and Mary Ann Martin's Marina in the early evening and checked into our condos - Much nicer and more spacious than 2009.  After settling in we took the obligatory walk across the parking lot to the "Tiki Bar".  After a delicious meal Bob and Bean headed to the West Palm Beach airport to pickup Chrissy while the rest of the gang stayed at the Tiki Bar - reports were they were generally well behaved although it was clearly evident that the locals knew, almost immediately, we were from "New York" (they do move a bit slower down here!!).
 So, it is off to bed to prepare for Leg #2 - Clewiston to Moore Haven. 

The Blog is active again.
Best of luck to the Masters on the second annual Cross Florida trip!

DAY #6: North Fort Myers, FL to Cape Coral Rowing Club

Our last day on the water - what a week!  We pushed off from the beach at our hotel at 8:05 AM heading west to the Cape Coral Rowing Club.  Both crews were donned in their St. Patrick's Day finest - green shirts and shorts and a leprechaun hat for our coxswains.  Quite a sight!!

Our perfect weather continues to hold as the skies were blue, the sun shone brightly and the temperatures hovered in the 80's.  We had a following breeze which made our headway even more efficient.  Today's row as approximately 12.5 miles as we headed to Cape Coral, on the edge of the Gulf Inter coastal Waterway.  Chrissy and Wendy rowed the double while Tim, Laurie, Michele, Christy, and Joan rowed the quad. 

As we approached our destination we passed through a city owned lock, the first rowing shells ever to do so, just east of the Cape Coral Rowing Club.  Alis took many pictures as both shells and the launch passed through the lock and progressed the short distance to the rowing club.  Again, another luxury as we actually took out at a rowing dock rather than a beach  After washing the shells, launch, and oars, packing our accessories,and loading the van, we popped the champagne to celebrate our fantastic week - what fun!! We covered over 80 miles on our east to west trek (that's 130,000 meters for you ergers back home!)

We ate lunch at "The Joint" next to the Cape Coral Rowing Club and then headed back to the hotel for a little R & R, packing and socializing.

Tomorrow we head north with great memories and anticipating a return visit! See you all soon at SRA!     

DAY #5: W. P. Franklin Lock to North Fort Myers, FL

Today we docked out from the W. P. Franklin Lock Recreation area, just on the western side of the lock.  This park like setting was idyllic -perfect for launching - great spot!  We pushed off about 8:30 AM and headed west, again under sunny blue skies, flat water, and temperatures in the 80's. 

Today was an interesting row as the river was fairly narrow at the start, lined with opulent homes and spectacular yachts. As we progressed, the river became wider and we needed to pay a bit more attention to the channel markers.  About 2/3 of the way through our row we stopped on the south side of the river at the home of Alis Jordan, a superb oarswoman from the Cape Coral Rowing Club, who participated in the 3-day Masters Rowing Camp attended by Wendy, Christy, and Joan in January.  Alis could not have been more friendly and accommodating, inviting us not only to dinner but also suggesting we take-out at her rowing club tomorrow, at the culmination of our tour - needless to say we wholeheartedly accepted.  

We arrived at today's stopping spot - our hotel - after about a 13 mile row. We encountered minimal chop and all finished in good spirits. Today's crews were quad: Wendy, Michele, Joan, Christy, and Chrissy - double - Tim and Laurie.  Bean and Bob manned the launch. What a relief not having to de-rig and load as we were able to store the shells and launch on the grounds of the hotel.

The rowers spent the afternoon poolside while Bob and Bean headed south to Naples to visit Bob's aunt.

Our dinner at "Rumrunners" adjacent to the Cape Coral Rowing Club, was spectacular.  Our hosts, Alis and and her husband John were the best - a great evening enjoyed by all.  Su Sweeney, another attendee of January's Master Camp, also joined us for dinner.

Tomorrow we wrap up our tour, traveling from the beach in front of our hotel to the Cape Coral Rowing Club.