Weather forecast for April 25, 2019:
Fort Pierce, Florida
Low 72 high 83
East winds, 10 to 12 kts
Captain’s Log: April 15, 2019 thru April 24, 2019
We departed the Delray Beach Municipal Marina at 9:30am on Monday, April 15th. Our destination for the day was an anchorage in Hobe Sound near channel marker red 40, about 40 miles up the ICW. We had 16 draw bridges standing between us and our stopping point.
Passing Boynton Beach we entered Lake Worth, heading towards West Palm Beach. We cruised past President Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club on Palm Beach Island but we couldn't see much from the water. We did see plenty of mega-yachts along the West Palm waterfront. We continued past the Port of Palm Beach, Peanut Island, Singer Island and Riviera Beach.
The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse greeted us as we began the big 'S' turn on the ICW at Jupiter. Passing the Jupiter Inlet on our starboard side, we continued north on what is the beginning of the Indian River. Soon the Indian River widens to become Hobe Sound with the Jonathan Dickson State Park and Highway A1A to the west and Jupiter Island with its multi-million-dollar homes to the east.
We dropped our anchor on the west side of the channel, in 7 feet of water, just south of where the Sound begins to narrow and becomes the Indian River again. We were in a beautiful spot and, for a while, we were alone. We were enjoying our SAD on the quarter deck couch when, just before sunset, a schooner of about 40ft anchored to the north of us and, a bit later, a small sloop dropped its hook just to the south of us.
A beautiful sunset yielded to a crystal clear night that was embellished by a 10-day-old waxing gibbous moon. I trained my binoculars on Luna and was able to distinguish the rims of craters along the terminator. We slept well.
The next morning we were underway before 9:00am. Ten miles and one drawbridge later we pulled into Sailfish Marina in Manatee Pocket, just outside of Stuart. John, the dock master, was standing at the end of the dock pointing to our slip. With his help we tied up without incident and, after exchanging pleasantries, I asked John if he was familiar with the local sail loft Mack Sails.
I had arranged for Mack Sails to repair our mainsail, which had torn during our return from The Dry Tortugas several weeks earlier. John did some quick research and then told us that Mack was less than 3 miles from Sailfish. He then offered the use of his car to us, which was extremely nice of him. We took him up on his offer.
I removed the mainsail from our roller-furling boom while Shirley was wrapping up a conference call. By 1:00pm we had the sail folded, tied, bagged and loaded into the trunk of John's car. We were back at the marina by 2:00pm, after reviewing the damage with Travis from Mack Sails. Mack would deliver the repaired sail to us in Fort Pierce, our next destination, in 6 days.
After dinner and a nice long walk through the beautiful park adjacent to the marina, we retired for the evening and slept very well.
Fort Pierce, 20 miles away, was our next destination. We left Sailfish Marina at 9:00am and by 12:15pm we were making the turn off of the ICW and into the Fort Pierce Municipal Marina channel. The marina channel entrance is less than 300 feet south of the Fort Pierce Bridge. Tied to the south side of the Bridge, which is fixed and stands at 65ft, was a large construction barge with a crane on it and several tenders tied to it. There was some kind of bridge maintenance in progress; the area was congested with activity and watercraft.
The approach was shallow and the channel was not marked particularly well. I slowed the boat down to 1.5 knots as I made the turn; my attention jumping from channel marker to barge to bridge to moving tender and then back to channel marker. Two minutes later the keel slid up onto a sandbar and our forward motion stopped; we were dead in the water; I had somehow strayed from the channel and ran my big girl aground. After many futile attempts to extricate ourselves from this predicament it was time for TowBoatUS.
We have been here before; we know this routine all too well; the panic, embarrassment and frustration of a grounding has long ago abandoned us. I made the call, provided our location and a description of our boat, and thanked the Lord that we were current with our BoatUS membership. We calmly sat down, relaxed and waited for the familiar red and white 18 to 20-foot center console to appear in the distance. We were off of the sandbar and securely tied to a really nice, concrete, floating dock at Fort Pierce Municipal Marina 60 minutes later.
After our traditional SAD, we familiarized ourselves with the immediate surroundings. There was a 42ft Canadian-flagged sloop directly in front of us, a 40ft Manta catamaran directly across the dock from us and a 45ft CSY sloop hailing from Alaska sitting in front of the Manta. None of our new neighbors were to be found at the moment so we headed into downtown Fort Pierce to do some initial exploring and to find something to eat. We found Lorenzo’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria; we stuffed ourselves.
On Thursday morning, April 18th, we took a 4-mile round trip hike to West Marine and then, as if that were not enough walking, we trekked all through the downtown area of Fort Pierce. The eight square blocks that define the downtown area are actually quite nice, boasting a really nice park and many interesting eateries and drinking establishments.
Heavy weather visited us the next day. A moody morning sky grew darker and darker as the day progressed. An ugly black squall line blew through from the west around 3:30pm packing +35mph winds, gusting to 45mph, and heavy, heavy rain.
I was in the process of adjusting our dock lines when the squall hit. We were safely secured but, with the wind pushing the boat away from the dock, the gap between the boat and the dock quickly grew too large for me to cross; I was trapped on the dock as the heavens opened up. The Manta catamaran, on the other side of the dock, was being pushed against the dock. To escape the wind and driving rain I sought shelter up against the Manta's hull, but that didn't work. In desperation I climbed into the Manta's covered cockpit and waited the storm out. A second less intense, but still very strong, squall line followed the first about one hour later. By 6:00pm the storms had spent themselves, leaving behind a light and sporadic drizzle.
At 7:00pm Shirley and I braved the slick-like-cellophane streets and sidewalks of downtown Fort Pierce, heading for the 2nd Street Bistro, where we met our friends Mary and Larry for dinner. Mary and Larry, from m/v Miss Mary, are fellow official members of the Skipjack Happy Hour Team. They had left the Skipjack Marina in Marathon several weeks after our departure and were passing through Fort Pierce, on their way up to their home in South Carolina. Back at Skipjack Mary had given to us the collapsible bikes that I had recently rebuilt. Mary and Larry introduced us to their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, who were traveling with them. The seven of us had a wonderful meal together before calling it a day.
The next day we decided that a road trip was in order so we caught an Uber to Jetty Park on the Fort Pierce Inlet. The beach was nothing to write home about but the jetty itself was interesting in that there were perhaps a dozen or more memorial plaques, much like grave stones, mounted on the breakwater stones. We assumed that the ashes of the deceased were offered to the Atlantic at or near each marker. With a morbid curiosity we read most of the plaques, thought a bit about the individual so honored, and then strolled through the park before grabbing a late lunch at The Hurricane.
Upon our return to the marina we met Laura and Kim, the owners of the Manta catamaran tied up across the dock from us.
After introductions a short but pleasant conversation followed; we learned that Laura and Kim are a couple, they have been together for 10 years, they absolutely loved our boat, they very recently purchased the Manta, which they had not sailed yet, and they were anxious for any tips and/or advice that we could share with them. Shirley immediately recommended 'Sailing for Dummies'. We all laughed and then decided that we should try to spend some quality time together before one of us departed. We subsequently made arrangements for cocktails on Monday evening on our boat.
On Easter Sunday we attended 10:00 Mass at Notre Dame Catholic Church. It was a Creole service and we didn't understand a thing, but it was interesting from both an audio and visual perspective. After mass we walked over to the 2nd Street Bistro where we indulged in an all-you-can eat Easter Buffet; again, we stuffed ourselves.
On Monday, April 22nd, our good friends Karla and Scott stopped by to say hello and to introduce us to their pet African Grey Parrot, Kona. They were on their way back to Marathon after vacationing in Cocoa Beach. Scott was concerned about leaving Kona alone in the car so they couldn't stay for a meal or drinks, but it was great catching up with them once again.
Earlier in the day we learned that Steve and Judy, cruising friends from Cincinnati, would be pulling into our marina in a few hours. They were on their way to Tarpon Springs via Lake Okeechobee and were just stopping for the night. We invited them to join our little party scheduled for early in the evening.
Laura and Kim came aboard around 7:30; Steve and Judy joined us about one hour later. We talked, and laughed, and drank, and ate to our heart's content. It was a fine evening with old friends and new.
The next day we finally made the new hatch covers that we had been postponing for some time. I did all the measuring, marking and cutting while the XO drove the sewing machine. They turned out great; all three a perfect fit, and they look really good. Later in the day, after our big project was successfully completed and the heat of the afternoon sun had dissipated a bit, we took a long walk across the Fort Pierce Bridge and back.
We once again took the 4-mile, round-trip walk to West Marine the next morning. On the way back we stopped and had a wonderful lunch at the American Legion. The Legion is a fine establishment offering good food at a really good price. We shared the bar area with two older gentlemen and the female cook who, when not in front of the stove, is behind the bar with the bar tender enjoying a beer. They were good folks and we enjoyed their company.
Dinner at the Cobb Grill, a tiki bar next to the marina, wrapped up our day.
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas.