Heading For Home

We have been ambling northward on the east coast.

We started in Stuart, a town we would happily return to explore. Sunset Bay Marina provide a slip close to shore to minimize the distance for the dogs. Maggie’s heart condition is catching up with her and she sometimes can not make it all the way without collapsing. We were at a side tie about 100 feet from shore.

Once settled in we followed the boardwalk along the shore for several miles from Sunset Bay Marina to the downtown area. We passed a half dozen restaurants all of which hosted live musicians playing quietly enough to complement the dining experience. We had ice cream appetizers while we window shopped the eclectic collection of small stores and restaurants. Then back to the boat for steak and a Caesar salad.

The breeze was pushing us onto the dock in the morning so we prepared to leave the dock using a bow line and ball fender to spring the stern out. This proved to be unnecessary as the tide had turned and the current was flowing up river, pushing us off the dock. We were a little early for the nine o’clock lift at the causeway bridge just below the marina but we easily held station as the tidal current and wind nicely balanced each other.

Once through the bridge we followed the St Lucie River to a junction with the intracoastal called the cross roads. This is a challenging inlet known to shoal. It can also be very busy with boats going north and south, plus east and west as they enter or leave the ocean. Luckily it wasn’t busy. The worst we saw was two large yachts approaching us; at the same time we had a sport fisher and two centre consoles overtaking.

We made it to the AICW, turned to port and headed north.