We anchored in the SE corner of this area because the highly regarded area in between the two free docks was occupied by the West Palm Beach International boat show dockage.
The tidal currents were strong, and 2-3 sailboats broke loose and hit the bridge to the south of us. One dismasted.
8 years ago today:
Maine Boatbuilders Show, Portland Maine 2015
We love Indian food. The quest for trade directly with India, for spices and other goods, inspired Christopher Columbus and other quests for a direct shipping channel between western Europe and India in the 1400’s. In 2023, We love Indian spices aboard Shellerina.
Tonight, Shelly created a dish, Chicken Tikka Masala, that we both love. But instead of rice, she used fettuccini. My goodness! It was good!
We were aiming for the highly acclaimed anchorage in between the two free city docks.
However, when we got here around 4:00 (long slow day through no wake zones) there was no anchorage to be found?! This area was all filled in with docks & boats. Plus there were a dozen or two large power boats at idle (not anchored) in the vicinity. Very odd!
We zigged and zagged around all the big boats that were idling all over the place. Then found a good spot on the other side of the harbor to drop the anchor and think a bit to figure out what is going on, and what we will do.
After a while at anchor I called the local TowBoatUS. He explained that the anchorage is closed for a big international boat show next week. The big boats doing their pirouettes in the vicinity were all boat show exhibits waiting their turn to go into their show slips!
Then we set the VHF radio to scan all channels to determine which channel(s) the boat show staff was using to coordinate the “loading up” of boat show slips.
We passed ICW mm 1000 today and dropped the hook where several other boats were anchoring.
This day was an easy 20 statute miles from Stuart and including a fuel stop, it was about 3 hours on a Friday afternoon after I had gotten all my work done for the week.
The ICW or “American Intracoastal Waterway” starts in Norfolk VA (mile zero). Then goes all the way to Brownsville TX on a mostly inland series of man-made canals and natural waterways. It is safer and easier than “going outside” for most powerboats under 40 or 50 feet… and many sailboats too. North of Norfolk, there are some “waterways” but not as much of an intrastate organized system as the ICW.
We stayed at the free dock at city hall in bustling down town Stuart. There is a 4-hour limit posted on signs, and no overnighters.
We arrived at 3:15pm and the Plan A was to simply anchor off the dock a few 100 feet between the dock and the St Lucy ICW. There were two sailboats and one trawler anchoring off on the Thursday night that we were in town.
When we got back four hours later at sunset, several locals suggested we just stay on the dock. “This county is pretty chill.” i.e. not hot tempered. Having a little rebel blood in our veins: That Plan B actually worked for us.
PROs: Several restaurants all walking distance. Floating cement docks in “good” condition. (Zero evidence of hurricane damage.) We called Parks & Rec at city hall to verify the dock was in good shape and available for transients to go ashore for a few hours. They welcomed us and our Plan A was “No problem at all! That what it is there for.”
Plan B didn’t exist yet. LOL. There are municipal restrooms and showers open to the public during daytime in the city hall building. They have 316 Stainless Steel ‘prison’ heads but things were acceptably cleaned and attended to.
CONs: it is not very protected from wakes and weather. This dock is part of a city Boardwalk. So, there is a lot of foot traffic and joggers. So groups of young people are louder than others, and there is one commercial Tiki Party boat that drops off and picks up there.
The dock is long, so the din from the bars/restaurants , and sidewalk musicians won’t bother most cruisers. But it’ll be too noisy for some others.
The “slips” to the right of the cement floating dock offered some protection from the wind and wakes. Our 39 x 14.5 ft trawler fit. Be ready to use fender boards and fenders and an extra spring line. Avoid spending long ours on the open face front docks, but technically we aren’t allowed to spend long hours there.
Funny story: before pushing off this a.m. Shelly and I both decided to use the city hall’s public restrooms and bring our trash in.
As we were slowly walking back to our boat to start the engine and push off, two police officers passed us (walking with purpose) on the long dock walkway. We are slow compared to anyone on foot.
We both thought, “We’re Busted” for staying overnight! Our Hearts beating harder than normal as we watched as the the two peace officers walked up then right by Shellerina and continued to simply inspect everything else going on on the city’s docks! Lucked out!
There are no signs of staff, dock hands, or rules enforcement. So, make your own decisions. My Bottom line: I think I recommend this place on a day with NON-stormy weather, and a Plan A approach to visit a welcoming town. For lunch, dinner, or whatever YOU dare! <wink>
The pic crosshairs above show where the free dock is in relationship to other famous marinas in this town. We stayed at Sunset Bay https://shellerina.com/2021/12/03/sunset-bay-marina-anchorage-stuart-fl/ on our Loop Dec 2021.
That place is on the “wrong” side of the railroad bridge that will be closed for a few months soon. So look up that detail. This free dock is on the east “right” side and will not be impacted by the St Lucie waterway shutdown due to maintenance on that well used RR bridge.
We tied up at the [free] city dock in downtown Stuart, then Gary came over to pick us up to feed us free tacos at their home!
Debbie and Tim Gibbs of Table Six crossed their wake this week, so Shelly & I, and Al & Arleen Mauger of Arion, and Judi & Jerry McNeely of Imagine had to help them celebrate!
Ft Pierce FL. ICW mm 966
The 10-12 mph breeze is keeping us cool. We have decided to head south as the forecasts tell us that the very warm February will be followed by a cooler March.
Bimini is about 45 nm from Miami. We’ll likely cross from Ft Lauderdale.
We are very excited today to hear from Tim Gibbs and his Admiral Debbie. They are just 47 miles south of us in Ft Pierce. So we’ll get to celebrate their Wake Crossing in a couple days. They are AGLCA Harbor Hosts from Cleveland OH, where we met them in July of 2021 when we were passing through that port. Tim was very helpful. Their boat, Table Six, is the same Mainship 390 that our boat is.
Addendum
Providence – meaning “God provides”
We just pushed off from a week and a day at Cocoa Village Marina FL. It was an enchanting week with great people surrounding us each day.
Lyle and Chris had come through for us a couple days ago with much needed assistance on the solar project.
Lyle’s father needed to get from their boat to the marina parking lot and then to the hospital. A wheelchair was needed for the task, as his dad was incapacitated.
Ken and Lyle walked over to the nearby dentist office to see if, by chance, they had a wheelchair. Sitting there in the waiting room was Shelly, who was standing vigil while I was getting my dental work done.
Shelly said, “I have a wheelchair, right on our boat!” One slip away from Lyle’s boat was her wheelchair which they then used to get Lyle’s dad to the hospital where he has been admitted. Our prayers are with him as he is reportedly having a tough time.
The abnormal heat in Southeastern US that characterized the month of February and the first week of March has made us decide to reconsider our south bound trek.
“Let’s turn North!” When at anchor, we have had to start the generator to get A/C to cool the boat down before going to bed. OR we pay to stay in a marina with shore power so we get A/C that way.
But check out this data:
As found on this link:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/06/weather/cold-snap-march-wxn/index.html
So, maybe we’ll continue South!
Cocoa Village FL is famous for it’s outstanding hardware store, walking distance from the docks.
Yes. They have rope!
The aft array of two 200 watt (each) solar panels was getting shaded by the radar too often. So, today I installed a third. The AWG 10 wire was enough to accommodate the extra flow and the Solar Controller (150 volts in / 35 Amps out) could easily handle it (new config: 3x 19 vdc = 57 vdc / 13 A).
I rented an SUV to drive to Ft Lauderdale FL to pick up a fourth 200w PV solar panel.
The drive to Ft Lauderdale: 3 hour drive each way with stops. I am not used to driving long distances any more. Brutal.
Dr. Lunstrum came highly recommended by “Ken” the GM and dock master here at Cocoa Village Marina (FL) ICW mm 897.3
I cracked my #3 (first molar upper right) on Friday night, so that meant that our 1 night stay would extend to Monday at least. This dental practice is 50 feet from this marina! I learned that they are not “in network” for my dental insurance. But the reputation and close proximity is key when cruising. It’s like he is practicing dentistry right on my dock!
They have the CAD/CAM technology on-prem to make their own crowns. https://cocoavillagedentistry.com/cosmetic-dentistry/cerec/
So, we are staying here a full week to have my crown done on Thursday. Gotta stay flexible if cruising.
ADDENDUM: At the dentist office to make the crown. Thursday March 9, 2023.
They will be relieving the ISS crew that has been up there since October 2022.
I believe the bright star showing up in the center of this view is Bootes.
FMI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boötes
We left Cooks Creek today and anchored in Titusville. It was a great passage!
Four more astronauts are heading up to the International Space Station to relieve the crew that has been there since October.
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