Browsing: Lake Okeechobee

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Florida’s Growing Toxic Algae Bloom: The New Normal?

The toxic algae bloom grew larger in Lake Okeechobee over the weekend, according to the Palm Beach Post. The paper says that scientists had feared this would happen. New satellite images show that over the weekend the algae bloom grew to cover 40 percent of the lake (220 square miles) after falling to a 30 percent level earlier in July. A NOAA oceanographer says the increase could be because calm winds helped the algae collect nearer the surface, where it’s easier for the satellite cameras to detect it. Still, Sachi Mishra, the oceanographer, says the bloom in general is receding, since…

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Historic Bloom of Toxic Algae Scum Spreads Over Florida’s Lake Okeechobee

A toxic green algae scum of historic proportions is spreading across Florida’s Lake Okeechobee and other waterways, invading marinas and consuming oxygen in the water. The algae, which smells like moldy bread, can be toxic of consumed by humans. It can irritate human skin, so officials say you should wash it off it you come into contact with it. The algae also can be fatal for dogs that swim in it or drink it. People in the area reported seeing dead fish, birds, even manatees as a result of the algae spread. An unusually large algae bloom has filled the…

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Report from Lake Okeechobee: “Ugly, Dark Brown” Water and an Unhappy Lockmaster

For all you snow birds who are heading south and perhaps thinking about crossing Lake Okeechobee to get to the west coast of Florida, take a look at this report from Peg and Jim Healy, very experienced cruisers on their Monk 36 Sanctuary. They crossed from east to west last week and wrote the following for Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net: “The condition of the water is deplorable. In the anchorage at Stuart, the water is ‘Lake O chocolate milk.’ The water throughout the system is an ugly, dark brown. Water levels are high, and there are no water level issues…

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Real Life on the Great Loop: Four Days Across Lake Okeechobee

Journalist Jamie Lauren Keiles spent four days on the Great Loop with Tim and Karen Bartel on their Bluewater 52, Let It Ride, for a story in The New York Times Magazine. The Bartels left home in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, last Sept. 2. Keiles caught up with them in Fort Myers, Florida, as they prepared to cross the Okeechobee. She ends up with a fun story about real life on the Loop, including an emergency trip to the dentist and an extra day tied up in a marina waiting for a missing part. Her story is a cinema verité snapshot of…