Trouble!

Left River Forest Yacht Center at 7:30 a.m. early enough to make it to Stuart, Florida before dark.  During this portion of the trip we would cross Lake Okeechobee.  The entrance channel across the lake starts at Clewiston, FL so a decision had to be made to either cross the lake with 18-20 Mph winds and a 4 foot chop for 25 miles or take the rim route which is 10 miles farther.  We opted for the more comfortable ride using the rim route. Ken and Candy chose the same route and passed us as they cruised faster than 9 mph. The rim route was well marked and the lake level was high enough that we had 6 to 10' of water all day. Near mile marker 40 only a mile from the lake exit we encountered very shallow water. Randy manuvered left and right across the channel looking for deeper water. We draw nearly 4 feet and were in 2 feet of water. We found 3 feet of water on the left edge of the channel, however, that's when we heard a terrible loud sound and severe rocking of the boat. We had struck an underwater object and it sounded as if we had ripped open the entire bottom of the boat. Pat took the helm and Randy quickly went below to check for leaks and thankfully didn't find any water!  The throttle was operating normally so we continued on to our destination of River Forest Yacht Center in Stuart, FL.  With hearts pounding we cruised for about an hour and Pat spent the time alligator hunting and saw a number of them along the shore.  We were pleased to find out that RFYC is a first class boat yard who was well equipped to haul Loon out of the water, assess the damage and make repairs.