St. Lucie Shoaling - Click for Chartview

This shoaling is in a section known as Hell Gate just west of Sewall Point at the mouth of the St. Lucie River and near the easternmost section of the Okeechobee Waterway. The coordinates given in the Notice put the temporary buoy 17A in the middle of Sewall Point, but we have to assume it is near the charted green marker #17. Since the shoaling (charted) is encroaching from the west, favoring the green side of the channel is your best bet.

FLORIDA-INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY-ST. LUCIE INLET TO FT. MYERS AND LAKE OKEECHOBEE: Shoaling.
The Coast Guard has established St Lucie River Temp Buoy 17A in position 27-11-02.516N/080-11 49.228W. The Buoy marks a shoal that is encroaching the St Lucie River from the west. Mariners are urged to use caution while transiting the area.
Chart 11428

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To A “Navigation Alert” Position in St. Lucie River

Seminole Gulf Railway - Click for Chartview

The Seminole Gulf Railway (old SCL) crosses the Okeechobee Waterway at statute mile 130 in North Fort Myers.

FLORIDA-OKEECHOBEE WATERWAY ST LUCIE INLET TO FORT MYERS– CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER–OLD CSX RAILROAD SUBSTRUCTURE: Hazard to Navigation.
The substructure of an old Railroad line next to the existing Seminole Gulf Railroad line across the Caloosahatchee River is deteriorating and parts have been reported floating in the waterway causing a potential hazard to navigation. Mariners are advised to use extreme caution while transiting the area. Chart 11428

Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Seminole Gulf Railway Bridge (SCL)

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To A “Navigation Alert” Position at Seminole Gulf Railway Bridge

Herbert Hoover Dike - Click for Chartview

We have plotted the Lat/Lon position given in the message below, cherry picked from the latest Local Notice to Mariners, and it appears that the described construction is taking place on the canal-like portion of the Okeechobee Waterway between Clewiston and Moore Haven, probably near charted “Liberty Point.” And, notice that this construction is ongoing until Spring of 2015.
All mariners navigating the OKWW between Clewiston and Moore Haven should be on the lookout for the below described construction vessels, and pass this equipment with minimum wake.
The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net is declaring a Navigational Alert for these waters.

FLORIDA-OKEECHOBEE WATERWAY: Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Project (Update September 28, 2012).
Odebrecht Construction, Inc. will be replacing two culverts along the Okeechobee Waterway near Moore Haven (Culverts 1 and 1A) as part of the overall Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Project sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Construction consists of the steel and earthen cofferdams on both the lakeside and landside of the dike to create a self contained work area. The waterway will be restricted and may be intermittently obstructed during the installation and removal of the cofferdams and during the process of replacing the culverts. Recreational and
commercial boaters are asked to use caution and be prepared to stop when navigating through this section of the waterway between the Alvin L Ward park boat ramps and Uncle Joe’s Fish Camp boat ramps. Flagmen will be present as needed to signal vessels to stop or to proceed with caution. The controlling width through Culvert 1A project area is 20ft minimum, limited by a controlling depth of 6ft when the lake is at elevation +11.0ft Mean Sea Level. Once the culvert replacements are complete, the cofferdams will be removed and waterway restored. Construction will occur 5 to 6 days a week, with the possibility of night time work. The project is anticipated to be completed in spring of 2015. The Project point of contact is Elizabeth Lamborghini at 305-704-5848. Chart 11428
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To A “Navigation Alert” Position on the Okeechobee Waterway Between Clewiston and Moore Haven

As if the Okeechobee Waterway didn’t already have more than its share of problems with low water levels on Lake Okeechobee. Now, in the extract below from the Local Notice to Mariners, we hear about shoaling and “narrowing” of the channel, east of this Waterway’s easternmost lock. In other words, this reported shoaling is NOT the result of low water levels on Lake Okeechobee, but apparently the product of good, old fashioned silting.
We have studied chart 11428, and discovered that the channel shoaling reported below, lies some 1.4 nautical miles south of Stuart’s Sunset Bay Marina, well north of the St. Lucie Canal, which leads to the Okeechobee’s easternmost St. Lucie Lock.
Note the notice’s advice to favor the “green” (eastern) side of the channel when passing between markers #29 and #30.
We are declaring a “Navigational Alert” for these waters

LOCAL NOTICE TO MARINERS: Week 25/11
All mariners are advised to use extreme caution when transiting in the vicinity of St. Lucie River (South Fork) area between St. Lucie River South Fork Daybeacon 29 (LLNR 51085) and St. Lucie River South Fork Buoy 30 (LLNR 51090). Due to Shoaling the channel has been narrowed by approximately 30 yards. Best water is near the green side of the channel. Chart 11428

That shoal has been there for years, it extends into the western side of the channel just north of the Palm City bridge. It’s the only place I’ve ever run aground in a channel and I draft less than 2 feet in my powerboat.
Skipper Jeff Dafoe

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To A “Navigation Alert” Position on the South Fork St. Lucie River Portion of the Okeechobee Waterway, For the Waters Described Above