TUESDAY
TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 76 NM
DOCKED AT RIVIERA BEACH MUNICIPAL MARINA MM 1018 ($1.59 /FT W/P OVERALL)
SUNRISE AT SEBASTIAN: 6:58 AM
SUNSET AT RIVIERA BEACH: 5:27 PM
HIGH: 80
LOW: 60
With another long day ahead of us we, once again, left early. Creeping out with the promise of the sun’s rise still half an hour away, we followed the first early fishing boat out the channel and were on our way.
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| CREEPING OUT IN THE EARLY DARK MORNING |
The cloudy skies seem to generate some spectacular sunrises and sets. This morning was no exception and we basked the beauty of it all.
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| OH WOW! |
Vero Beach, just south of Sebastian, was the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers spring training camp at Holman Stadium until 2008. Piper Aircraft is located here and tourist flock through the Vero Beach Municipal Airport. This huge condo-complex dominated the shores and sported one of today’s several rainbows.
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| A PALE RAINBOW DUMPS INTO THIS VERO BEACH CONDO VILLAGE |
After listening to much chatter on the radio about an approaching tow and barge we finally crossed paths between Vero Beach and Ft. Pierce.
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| THE WORKING SIDE OF THESE LOVELY CANALS |
The St. Lucie Canal was the site of some much needed dredge work. Dig up the silt, deposit it on the barge then transport it to the nearby and rapidly growing silt-island. This is an ongoing process and we boaters appreciate their hard work to keep the marked channels deep and passable. Thanks guys!
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| THE NEVER ENDING CHALLENGE OF KEEPING THE WATERWAYS OPEN |
Crossing the St. Lucie Inlet we could see the angry ocean out through the opening and were glad to be inside. Small craft warnings are keeping most of the boats inside the channels. St. Lucie is the crossroads where the sea, the ICW and the Okeechobee Waterway meet. From here you can head west in the Okeechobee Waterway, cut across Florida and end up in Ft. Myers on Florida’s western shore. Imagine that!!
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| LOOKING OUT THE ST. LUCIE INLET TO THE ANGRY SEA |
In the narrow channel between Peck Lake and Hobo sound we met the tow, Regina and barge laden with this humongous tank. Everyone gave them a wide berth.
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| NOW THAT'S A BIG TANK!!! |
Most of our bridges were plenty high (35-65’) but we did need to request openings for the Fort Pierce North Bridge (A1A), the Hobe Sound Bridge, Jupiter Highway (707) Bridge, Jupiter Federal Bridge, the PGA Blvd. Bridge and the North Palm Beach Parker Bridge. In the most part, the bridge tenders are most accommodating and helpful to us pesky boaters. One even commented on our “Ditch Kiss”. Guess you know it’s time to scrub off that offending moustache when the kindly bridge tender brings it to your attention.
The upscale Hobe Sound areas sure let us know we were entering into a better neighborhood. The docked boats took a step up and graceful old homes lined the east shore. Much of the western shore belongs to the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and thus undeveloped.
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| WHERE THE BIG BOYS CAMP |
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| TASTEFUL OLD ESTATES |
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| ---WITH TOWERING PALMS |
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| AND IMMACULATELY MANICURED GROUNDS |
Our dockage at the Riviera Beach Municipal Marina put us right in sight of the busy Port of Palm Beach. Man, there was lots of activity going on. Right in front of us was a ship being loaded with boats to be taken to places unknown to us. Will I ever be able to drag Dan out of here?
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| OUR VIEW OF THE BUSTLING PORT |
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