Heading to Stuart & Del Ray

2/17/22

Another early start and 70 mile run, this time on a sunny Saturday, which stared out in a flat calm and gave Kathy time to practice some photo artistry…

Our next stop was Stuart and we chose to spend 2 nights there, because we have heard good things about the area and were looking forward to a land based day. There are plenty of Marinas in Stuart, but many were full, so we worked down the list and arranged to stay at Sailfish Marina in the Manatee Pocket area. This business caters more to off shore sport fishing boats than transients and its located a bit far away from the downtown area. Next time through, we would book further in advance and pick a place closer to the action (such as it is).

We took the opportunity to do heavy laundry (our onboard machine is ok for small loads but too small for sheets & towels). We refueled, pumped out and filled the water tank, which was particularly important after we learned that we were completely empty, even though our water gauge was reading 1/4 full (really hoping that we don’t have this issue with the fuel gauges)

An Uber ride with a chatty local gave us an overview of Stuart and we learned that this town has recently been ”discovered” by Northerners and the new Florida real estate treasures are now in Vero Beach. We enjoyed an excellent brunch at Maria’s, walked on the Riverwalk, checked out town sponsored oyster farming, a funky museum and headed over to the annual Arts Festival…only to discover that the fair ground had been evacuated because of a gas leak. Back to main street for ice cream then to the boat to watch the Super Bowl.

Entering the Palm Beach area, on a sunny Saturday, changes everything on the Florida ICW. Slow moving pontoon boats and fast moving runabouts are as thick as lobster pots in Maine. Courteous communications whilst passing is only honored by the trawler and sailboat through-traffic. Jet ski jockeys and fast cigarette boats weaving around everyone. A lot like driving I-95 near Miami, except without lines on the road.

We were just lucky that none of the Palm Beach super yachts decided to join the circus

Super yachts, super yachts…

This stretch on of ICW is criss crossed with lots of bridges. 16 to be exact, ranging in air draft clearance from 12 to 69 feet. We need 15 feet and only had to radio for 2 openings. However, 7 bridges had openings in the 20 foot range, which congested their approach area with sailboats and large power boats. While inconvenient, this was better than the 2 railroad bridges that we encountered on the way to Stuart. These bridges are normally left open and there is no bridge tender looking out for boats. They close to a mere 7 foot clearance, by some mysterious automation, when a train is about to pass over them. The Waterway Guide instructions, advise heading for the open bridge and turn around if you hear a train whistle, or the bridge could close on top of you as you are passing under them. We did as instructed and made it through with wide eyes and elevated blood pressure.

We planned on spending 3 nights in Del Ray and catching up with Kathy’s sister Ruthie and her husband Janek. Like Stuart, there were several Marinas but getting a hold of them proved challenging and getting a confirmation call back was frustrating. (Not much participation down here with Dockwa or Snag-a-Slip). We finally got a slip at a marina in a gated community for $175/night – ouch! Then a call back from Del Ray City Marina who had a slip for $64/night…Big Score!

More on Del Ray in the next post…