Jensen Beach SM 982 to Port Mayaca FL

We are now in the Okeechobee water way. After a few miles in the ICW we turned off at the St. Lucie River and reset the mileage at zero for this new waterway, with Port Mayaca at mile SM 39. There were a couple of delays on the route today. The Roosevelt Bridge showed opening on the hour and half hour so we timed our arrival accordingly only to find out it now opens on request. The current was very strongly carrying us into the bridge which was not quick enough in opening and we got sideways in the railroad bridge immediately prior to it, narrowly avoiding a good scraping.
When we got to the St. Lucie lock, we had to wait for eastbound traffic to be let down in the lock for a half an hour. The lock lifts you up 14 feet and does not have valves to let the water in or out, rather it cracks open the gate. The current was quite strong requiring some deft line handling to keep the boat in line and off the walls of the lock.
The St. Lucie river and the first few miles of the waterway were dotted with spectacular homes, some of the nicest yet. We ended the day just before the Port Mayaca Lock which lets you out into Lake Okeechobee. We anchored bow and stern in the narrow canal in a wide spot just after the notorious railroad bridge which is only 48 foot clearance for masts, while in the up position. This prevents many boats from being to use this waterway. Some clever guy will put 55 gal plastic drums aboard on one side and pump them full of water to heel the boat enough to allow boats with up to 53 foot masts to squeak thru. As we only need 41 feet it was not a problem, but still looked very close as we slowly passed under.