Melbourne to Vero to Stuart

We had another great day on the water from Melbourne to Vero Beach.  I spent the day recording the dolphins.  Vero is one of our favorite marinas because it is easy to get into and it is close to a terrific park with everything from walking trails, boat ramps and tennis courts.  We took a short bike ride to the beach to discover some beach side parks and many many restaurants.  The highlight of our time in Vero was our visit with Jack and Evie.  These two have recently moved to Vero after selling their boat Eldridge C.  They are currently looking for a boat while enjoying the renovation of the condo.

The last leg of the trip to Stuart took us past Fort Pierce, Hutchinson Island, Jensen Beach along the Indian River.  The St. Lucie Inlet is busy with a crazy array of markers.  It can be a little tense aboard Meandering Joy to get through this hectic area.  As we turned west into the St. Lucie River there is a missing marker.   We found the area the marker would have identified by gently touching the silted in area.  MJ plowed right through with the greatest of ease.

A few minutes later we were cruising Manatee Pocket looking for Mariner Cay Marina.  A stalled boat at the marina forced us to hold position for about twenty minutes while they made some repairs. Once they were on their way we tied up to the transient dock to take on some fuel--we hold about 1,000 gallons, so this was not to be a quick fill up since we have not purchased fuel since April 2015 when we returned from the Bahamas.   There are 4 tanks which we fill alternately to prevent listing to one side or another.  Piper and I hopped off for a quick walk and look around at our slip.  Faye and Sanford Flack (aboard Paula Faye) came down to welcome us to Stuart.  We met these two in Marathon last year.

Mariner Cay Marina is in a gated community with condo's and homes.  Inside the neighborhood are two pools, tennis courts as well as the 51 slip marina.

Joy