Boating weather report for the day: bays mild to moderate chop – gulf 1-3 foot
waves with winds gust up to 20mph. No
problem, just head up the Caloosahatchee River through the Franklin Locks and I
can almost guarantee you smooth waters are ahead. In fact once you pass the power plant before
you even get close to the Franklin Locks you can pretty much plan, your cruise
will be smooth. Chances are you may not
see dolphins, although a manatee sighting is very possible. You will find a very quiet peaceful setting of
farms and upscale river houses.
Another
plus is the water depths range 22-30 foot deep and there is no speed limit once
you get past the power plant for the most part.
Feeling that need for speed now is the time to push that throttle all
the way down and see what she’s got!
Plenty of open uncrowded waterway so feel free to do a few donuts
because unless some huge cabin cruiser comes through… that is about as wavy as
it gets. In fact; if you’re a skier now is
the time to break out that ski for miles of untainted waters.
I wish I could say I have been skiing on the
Caloosa but my hubby thinks I will become gator bait (truth be told, I have
seen people skiing and tubing up river).
From Fort Myers Yacht Basin it is about a 30” ride (during manatee
season add 15-20”) to the Franklin Locks.
Navigating the Franklin Locks is easy even for “rookies”
like us (to the SW Florida waterways).
When approaching the locks things to prepare for before you call them on
channel 13:
- Hang your buoys out on whatever side you want grab the ropes on (normally they do not care).
- We like the port side because the driver is out of the way (on our boat the steering wheel is on the right).
- Learning curve…put out 4 buoys. The first time we went through the locks we used 2 buoys. There is a current inside of the locks and our boat swung over at an angle that the back buoy hit the wall and it threw the buoy on the back swim deck. If Dan had not caught the boat we would have encountered some real nasty scratches on a brand new Splendor! I am so glad he was paying attention. The walls of the locks are solid cement.
- Now that you have secured the buoys call the Franklin Locks and ask permission to enter. When the light turns green enter no wake speed. Carefully make your way to whatever side you hung the buoys, slow is the key. Go fast enough to have some control due to the current but slow enough that you do not smash your boat into the wall while you attempt to grab the ropes. If it is just Dan and I in the boat; I drive and Dan catches a rope to secure our boat along the wall.
- Typically it takes us about 15” to get through the locks.
- Now that your boat is secure take some pictures and chit chat about the beautiful sunny weather.
- Warning, be sure you are back to the locks by 4:15pm or you will be stuck on the other side calling a friend to pick you up.
U TURNS:
U TURNS
ARE LEGAL IN Florida unless it is posted…at stoplights of busy intersections
they are legal unless posted otherwise!!
DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU WANT TO HEAD TO TODAY? HOW ABOUT:
I absolutely love cruising our river! There is so much undiscovered adventure out
there. However as much as I love the
Caloosa, there is another river that truly holds my heart captive. Imagine this:
Ezekiel
47New International Version (NIV)
The River
From the Temple
47 The man
brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out
from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced
east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south
of the altar. 2 He then
brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the
outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.
3 As the
man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a
thousand cubits[a] and
then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another
thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off
another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another
thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water
had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me, “Son of man,
do you see this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw
a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water
flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah,[b] where
it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there
becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of
living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large
numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh;
so where the river flows everything will live.10 Fishermen will stand
along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for
spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the
Mediterranean Sea.11 But the
swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds
will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor
will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water
from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and
their leaves for healing.”
