As many of you know, Jessica and I have a home in Cape Coral, Fla., which we routinely visit. Cape Coral is located just north of Fort Meyers, was founded in 1957, and is now home to over 200,000 residents. The city is perfect for boaters, boasting more than 400 miles of navigable canals that provide access to the Caloosahatchee River and the Gulf of Mexico. Indeed, there are over 1 million boats registered in Lee County, where Cape Coral is located.

A couple of weeks ago, we took delivery of our new boat, replacing our faithful Yamaha 242 with a Beneteau Gran Turismo. The Beneteau, named Adagio (for my wife who is a former ballet dancer), is quite a bit longer and wider than the Yamaha. And, it has an electric grill, which is perfect for cooking steaks. The extra length and beam of the boat is great for relaxing on the Gulf, but creates an epic challenge when attempting to navigate through Cape Coral’s narrow Chaquita Lock.

The Chaquita Lock was originally built in the 1970s, and was designed to control the outflow of water from a portion of Cape Coral’s canal system into the Caloosahatchee River. The lock is exactly 20 feet wide, and 60 feet long. Prior to Hurricane Ian, which made landfall — over our house — on Sept. 28, 2022, the lock would operate by opening a gate on the western (canal) side of the Lock which would allow boats to enter. Once boats entered the lock, the western gate would then close, and the eastern gate would then open, which would allow the boats to exit to the Caloosahatchee River. The procedure would simply reverse for boats wanting to enter the canal system from the eastern side.

Hurricane Ian packed a big punch, and basically destroyed the Chaquita Lock. Now, non-operational, both Chaquita Lock gates remain open 24 hours a day, allowing water to flow freely between the canal system and the Caloosahatchee River. While some might view this development as convenient, allowing the free-flow of boat traffic through the lock, my ego and our boat strongly disagree.

As the tide changes in the Gulf of Mexico, the water can rise and fall more than a foot in Cape Coral on any given day. As a result, when the tide runs, the Chaquita Lock acts like a dam, trapping a large volume of water behind it. With the resulting elevation change between the trapped water on the western side of the lock, and the lower tide water on the eastern side of the lock, the water fighting to exit the lock adopts the characteristics of whitewater rapids.

I never liked rapids, and neither does our boat. Now, while driving “upstream” through the lock, the water is often moving so fast that the boat needs to be just about “on plane” to make it through. Imagine a large boat running at full power, with its bow high in the air, and fighting the churning rapids at a measly 3 to 4 miles per hour. It sucks. Especially considering there is only a few feet of clearance between Adagio’s hull and the walls of the lock.

So, our new boat now has a nice gouge in the hull, along with a few long scratches. Jessica says it gives her character. From my perspective, it just gives me a headache. So, when we go back to visit Adagio over Thanksgiving, rather than duking it out again with the lock (with the risk of losing), we might just decide to keep her safely tied to the pier, and instead fire up a few steaks on the electric grill.

We both agree that sticking to steak (which I have mastered) will likely go a long way in saving both my shattered ego, and our new boat.

I bruised my ego ... and our boat

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