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your dog chew on. Guaranteed you will meet a lot ofboaters (or interesting people) and have a good time. So digout and dust off all that old boat stuff, and bring it on down(or you could just keep it until you can’t remember what itwas ever going to be used for). Take the whole family (orleave the kids home to play some more video games) andjoin us.Come out and find a great deal or just look around andhave a good time. For more information, call (941) 792-9100.■ NEWS AND BUSINESS BRIEFSOkeechobee Water Level DownLake Okeechobee is just over 10 feet above sea level.Although the rainy season began, officially, on May 26, rainfallhas been low. Rainfall in West Palm Beach, which greatlyaffects the lake levels, from October through May wasless than a third of normal. On August 12, the height was10.32 feet, slightly higher than July. This makes the navigationaldepth for Route 1, which crosses the lake, 4.26 feet,and the navigational depth for Route 2, which goes aroundthe southern coast of the lake, 2.46 feet. Bridge clearancewas at 52.96 feet with these low levels. It is hoped that withthe rainy season continuing through August and intoSeptember, rains will raise the water level.For those interested in seeing the dailydepth of the lake, go to http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Divisions/ Operations/LakeOWaterways.htm (copy thisaddress exactly as it is here with upper and lower cases).Boat Brokerage Sales Strong inRecent Months and 2011From Soundings Trade Only TodayBrokerage sales for 2011 peaked in June, when 3,446 boatswere sold, but the market showed continued incrementalgrowth in July, compared with the same month last year,with 3,117 boats sold, up 2 percent.The total value of boats sold in July was very strong forthe third consecutive month, according to YachtWorld.com.U.S. member brokerages reporting closing prices in theSoldboats.com database. Total valuation was $338-million,up $60-million, or 21 percent, from the previous July.Because of July’s strength, the year-to-date numbers forthe U.S. market also showed continued improvement. Aftera slow start to the year, the number of boats that havechanged hands after seven months was down only 2 percent,or 321 boats, with 18,495 sold. In the same time period,the total value of boats sold climbed to $2.2-billion, a 15 percentgain from 2010.Although 54 more boats were sold than in July 2010,when compared with the five-year average of 3,209 boats,July sales of 3,117 boats were down slightly. They also weredown slightly from the same month in 2009, when 3,180boats were sold.News & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS September 2011 25