Beautidul Beach Days

Before we tell you about 3 beautiful days in Vero Beach we like you to know that Kermit (our dinghy) got his picture posted in the ship's store in Stuart. Seems the photographer thought that he won “dinghy of the day” for being the most unusual at the dinghy dock.

Kermit, Phil and Vi

The wind finally calmed down enough for us to leave Stuart on Friday morning. We had perfect sailing weather almost all the way to Vero Beach. Phil thoroughly enjoyed being on the water again after 6 days on a mooring ball.

We had heard a lot about Vero Beach...like how it's jokingly called “Velcro Beach” because lots of folks go there for a few days and stay forever. After spending just 4 days there, we understand why. The city marina is in a quiet area surrounded by massive old trees full of songbirds and all sorts of fauna.

Free bus service takes you anywhere you need to go in the city...if you've got time to ride it. Of course, when you're cruising, time is all you have. And the bus stops directly in front of the captain's lounge at the marina.

Saturday was a busy, enjoyable day. We rode our bikes to the beach which is only 10 minutes from the marina. The sun was hot but the cool ocean breeze made it perfect beach weather. Just before lunch we noticed a group of young college kids on the broadwalk. They appeared to be practicing for something so we walked over to check it out. Imagine our surprise when we realized that they were a Christian a cappella group, Something Borrowed Something Blue, from Duke University. They were on spring break doing volunteer work and entertaining with their music on the beach. Delightful young people and very talented.

When it got to hot to stay on the beach we rode over to a hugh park where they were having an art festival. Didn't stay there long because it was too hot and crowded. When we got back to the marina we went into the captain's lounge and watch the semi-finals of the ACC tournament.

Sunday was a down day because it rained all morning and was threatening all afternoon. So we spent a quiet day reading and working on the computer. On Monday the sun was out again so we knew it was another good beach day but Phil had to bail all the rain water out of Kermit before we could go ashore. And yes, that's a mullet that was swimming around in the bottom. Apparently, it had jumped in the boat during the night but couldn't jump back out.

The only fish Phil's caught since we left home.

Tuesday was our last day so off to the beach we went. We couldn't stay all day because we had to get ready to leave early Wednesday morning. Yes, it truly is “Velcro Beach” at least during the winter and spring. Not sure we'd like it in hot, humid summer.

It was spring break so there was plenty of "eye candy" for Phil.

And maybe a little for me too!

Off to our next adventure.

Stuart

Did you know that are towns named Stuart in Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Virginia? We certainly didn't until we got to Stuart, Fl. Our plans were to stay a couple of days but Mother Nature decided that we needed to stay longer. The wind has blown strong and steadily since we pulled in on Saturday afternoon.

Stuart is located on the picturesque St. Lucie River that empties into Lake Okeechobee which is the passage to the Gulf Coast. The countryside surrounding it has a little bit of everything for which Florida is noted: citrus, winter vegetables, flowers and cattle. As the county seat, it has most of the facilities found in an urban area, including Martin Memorial Hospital, which accepts emergency patients at its own dock. Drive-thru medical care...well almost. It's claim to being the “Sailfish Capital of the World” is sometimes disputed by other Florida cities but no one denies that both it's inside and outside waters has outstanding fishing.

Historic Stuart was originally settled in 1880 and named Potsdam. Local residents didn't like the name because they said the railroad people called it Dam Pots. So in 1896 it was renamed Stuart. In recent years the downtown area underwent a facelift and today is a charmingly preserved town where people actually walk around at night. Lots of gift shops, art galleries, and trendy restaurants. And yes, pricey by small town standards. We wandered into an ice cream shop and ordered to 2 single dip cones. It taste like regular ice cream but it must have been some special because it costs us almost $10.

There are 10 marinas in the area with amenities ranging from boatyards offering just dockage to upscale facilities with their own restaurant. We chose Sunset Bay Marina because it's the only one that has a mooring field. It's a very nice place with clean, well-kept showers, large laundry area and a captain's lounge with tv and book-swapping. These pictures were taken from the balcony outside the captain's lounge.

This is me blocking the sign showing you where we were.

There is a broadwalk that runs from the marina under the railroad and highrise bridge into downtown Stuart. Here are pictures of the bridge and the train that comes through several times a day requiring boat traffic to stop until it's gone.

Since we had to stay here longer than expected we needed something to do. On Monday we did laundry, on Tueday we went groccery shopping and Wednesday we had to invent something. One of the ladies at the visitor's center suggested that we might want to take the bike path out to the Savannas Preserve State Park. What she failed to tell us is that there is very little to see without leaving the bike trail. We rode for about 8 miles (one way) without seeing anyone except other bikers and a few hikers. And there was no place to get water or go to the comfort station. We did manage to catch this one interesting picture.

You may say that we're gluttons for punishment because today we took the bikes out again for another marathon ride...but with better results. What we went for was a dud but we found 3 thrift stores and a great hamburger at a restaurant owned by former Miami Dolphin linebacker Bob Brudzinski.

Tomorrow we hope the weather allows us to move a little further north.

Stranded on Our Own Little Island...the Seahawk

That weather front that raced it's way across the country arrived in Central Florida about 3:30 am. And it arrived with a vengeance. Strong winds began slamming the dinghy into the side of the boat and continue throughout the day. Heavy dark clouds surrounded the area.

Here's what it looked up as soon as it got light enough to see.

Phil lengthened the painter (line) on the dinghy so it would have room to bounce around without banging up against the boat. The wind blew hard, gusts up to 35 mph, and it rained a little. About 3 pm it cleared up and we were able to get off the boat. We went into the marina complex, took a shower and then to the captain's lounge to watch a little of the NACAR race. About 5 (happy hour) 3 couples came in, drinking and talking, so we gave up on the race and came back the boat.

Here's what things looked like at day's end...quite different than the morning view.

A boater returning to his boat in the mooring field.

Calm waters and a beautiful sunset.

A late afternoon sail.

Just another beautiful day in paradise.

Another Saturday on the Water

Friday night the winds were strong causing the anchor to really dig in. Hoisting it Saturday morning was a bit of a challenge, even with the windlass. But we got it in and left Lake Worth anchorage in time to catch Parker Bridge at 6:45 am. Even though we had 6 more bridges we only had to wait for one...missed it by 5 minutes so that means a 25-30 minute wait.

Florida has a hugh osprey population. They must need help with nesting because you see man-made nesting platforms everywhere.

Here's one we spotted.

Maybe this one lives on the nesting platform; it was perched nearby. As we were waiting for the bridge to open it put on a show. It dived into the water, came back out next to our boat and did that stop in mid-air that they do. Then it did a little shimmy dance and flew back to it's perch. No, I didn't catch any of that on camera...happened way to fast.

Nature does still provide good nesting spots for the osprey. Here's one on a “natural” nest.

If I posted a picture of this on the way down, forgive me. But it's so pretty I'm doing it again. It's in Jupiter, FL on the Loxahatchee River.

The Loxahatchee River is Florida's only designated wild and scenic river and is very shallow on the banks. Here are a few pictures.

Saturday morning with mom.

Now I know I dropped it somewhere in this area.

Cooling off!

The next body of water we entered on the ICW is the Hobe Sound. The Jove Indians, whose name the Spanish pronounced “Ho-bay,” is where Hobe Sound got it's name. A highly exclusive area, sometimes compared to Palm Beach, Hobe Sound shows off many grand mansions along the eastern shore. A National Wildlife Refuge on the western shore contrasts strikingly with the sculptured lawns across the channel. We were coming through in the morning so pictures on the east were too bright and there wasn't a lot to shot on the west bank.

Leaving Hobe Sound we entered the St. Lucie River. We made a hard starboard turn at Manatee Pocket heading west to Stuart, FL. Thought we were going to have to turn around and go back because here's what was sitting off our port side as we made the turn.

Phil's favorite place...a hot dog stand.

On westward to Stuart and tomorrow's story.

Hurry Up and Wait

We left the nice little anchorage about 6 am because we knew this was "bridge day" Thirteen bridges that had to open for us and they open on their schedule, not ours.

We made the first one right on time but we had to wait on most to if the others. Some we missed by 2 minutes...if you're not very near the fender system when the bridge opens most of the time you're not going to make it. Guess the bridge tenders have strict rules about opening early, late or holding. Most of them follow the rules but some will give you a little slack. The only time they're required to deviate from the schedule is for commercial traffic or an emergency. I'll spare you a blow by blow description but it took us 10 hours to travel 40 miles.

We anchored in Lake Worth along with 17 other boats. Had a brisk wind and a moderate chop but Phil again did a good job of setting the anchor.

Here's a few pictures in the anchorage.

Sun setting over Lake Worth.

This is a moon shot. Had to get a good one.

Skyline to the west.

That's all folks. Upload is taking too long.

Good as New

The hotel has a continental breakfast for it's guests so the gal who signed us in for the marina told us we were included. Not the best we've ever had but the price was right.

True to their word, West Marine had our part by 10:30 am. We rode our bikes to pick it up. Not a bad ride but we had to cross a bridge over the ICW. It's better for old folks like us to push the bike up the steep side and ride it down the other.

After lunch when we got back to the boat it didn't take 5 minutes to put the lever on and we were ready to ride. The trick was how to get the boat out of the slip with a very strong current and wind blowing us sideways. A couple of the guys working there used our lines to get us out without hitting any of those million dollar yachts.

Since it was already 2 pm we backtracked a couple of miles to an anchorage. We needed the practice anyway using the new anchor and windlass that we've added since we left home. Phil did a great job getting it set on the first try. The boat ran as good as new when we made this short run. Tomorrow will be the real test.

We're in a small lake right off the ICW and here's a picture of one of the houses. Eleven thousand square feet with a price tag of 2.7 mil. Maybe in our next life.

The chef tells me that dinner is ready...tuna salad, sliced tomatoes and crackers.

Battle with a Plastic Bag

Wednesday morning we took our time leaving Ft. Lauderdale because we were planning to go only 17 miles to Boca Raton. But the best laid plans... Within 2 miles we hit something in the middle of the channel and it caused a serious vibration. We limped into Sands Harbor Marina to check it out. As soon as we stopped the boat a plastic bag floated up behind us. Just to be on the safe side, we had a diver go down and check the prop and shaft. Once again, God was looking after us because there was no damage to either.

We did discover that the forward/reverse shifter on the steering column had cracked. Seahawk is an old gal so getting parts for her can be a challenge. The local West Marine didn't have the lever in stock but assured us they could get it in by noon on Thursday. Once more we found ourselves in the best place to be in a bad situation. Since we had a broken shifter we decided we'd better stay put for the night.

Sands Harbor is a resort hotel and marina. We signed in at the marina office to spend the night. They gave us a “happy bag” full of lots of useless stuff but it did have one complementary meal at their restaurant. We used it for a late lunch/early dinner then called it a day.

Since the weather was quite pleasant we sat outside until well after dark. Caught a shot of the Goodyear blimp.

Here's s shot of the hotel with a few boats in the foreground.

And here's one of a neighboring boat. By the way, out boat was the smallest in the marina.