Are folks still using the lake Okeechobee cut-through to get across Florida or are they going around the end (the Keys)? With the alge
problems, I was just wondering.
I normally cross from Stuart to Fort Myers in 2 or max 3 days. Will be crossing in November as my perception is that it's not a significant factor for cruising. If I was going to spend a week or more sightseeing and crossing, I might postpone.
It would be a cruise for us. I am at Fort Pierce City Marina and we have several boats that have come up from Stuart to get out of the alge. Had a guy here I talked to last year when this same thing was happening, he talked of burning lungs and other symptoms while comming across the lake itself. I also wondered about the stuff in the heat exchanger.
We crossed from Stuart to Ft Myers about 2 weeks ago. The algae is really a non-issue. We saw a bit just before the Mayaca lock on the St. Lucie canal and nothing on the lake or Caloosahatchee river/canal. Never had any issues with smells.
Not sure how far you plan on going past Ft Myers but the red tide is the issue in the gulf. Right now it has cleared up a bunch but the experts aren't sure what effect Michael had on the blooms.
Thanks Spike. Good to hear from someone that has recently done it. In the planning stages of trip to Texas. On Texas coast, we had some red ride somewhere yearly