There are 2 ways to get from the west to the east coast of Florida by water. Either going outside and around the southern tip of Florida or across the peninsula via the Okeechobee Waterway. We chose the later of the two which meant we got to experience the 5 locks. The last lock we had to go through was St. Lucie. Ropes hanging down from the walls are used to keep the boat snug against it. You want to keep a tight grip so the rope doesn't get ripped out of your hands and you find your boat doing a 360 in the middle of the lock. One word for that would be - embarrassing!
The St. Lucie lock dropped us 13 feet to make us level with the waterway we were entering. I couldn't quite capture the water height difference in this short clip but it gives you an idea of what it's like being inside a lock. Side note - we kidded Toney and Liz the owners of "Two Turtles" that they needed to change their boat's name to "Two Hares" because we would head out an hour or more before them and they would always pass us along the way!
Perfect weather allowed us to take "Route 1" across Lake Okeechobee en route to Stuart.
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