Crystal River and the Withlacoochee River Videos

Beach House and crew would like to share a couple of short videos taken as we cruised some of the rivers in the Big Bend section of the Florida Gulf coast.This one is from the Gulf of Mexico, up the Crystal River to Kings Bay. The Withlacooche River from the GOM approach Channel to Yankeeto...

Exploring Florida's Gulf Coast

For a couple of days, thunderstorms have rumbled all around us, keeping us from our next destination some 50 miles to the north. This isn't like the protected waterway; this time we need to cross the Gulf of Mexico from Steinhatchee to St. Marks. "How did you get to Steinhatchee,...

The Passing of Claiborne Young

Claiborne during a recent visit to Beach House It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Claiborne Young. Claiborne dies as the result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on Saturday June 14th. The boating community has...

If It's A Boat, It Will Break

If there is one thing that I am certain of after a half century of boating, it's that on a boat, something will break. A pesky oil leak in the front of the engine began as a minor thing and an annoyance. By the time we were halfway across the Okeechobee Waterway, the leak increased...

Franklin Lock And Dam Campground And Marina

We recently visited the St. Lucie Park and had written about what a pleasant and unexpected gem it was. Imagine, then, our surprise at what we found at the WP Franklin Lock and Dam Park. It is the westernmost lock in the Okeechobee Waterway out of the 5 locks in the OWW. Initially...

The Okeechobee Waterway Revisited

It's been three years since our last cruise on the Okeechobee Waterway and this time we planned to do it a little differently. On our last crossing of the Lake, we took the direct route across or what is also known as Route 1. This time we planned to take Route 2, or the rim route...