Good Day, Good Water, Good Friends, Good Food and Good Times

We really enjoyed our stay at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, FL.  Yesterday we walked into the Old Town section of Stuart and explored all the shops and eateries (ice cream) and took a walk along the fitness path at the water's edge.  Next morning we dinghied the garbage ashore and brought back a 10-lb bag of ice from the Ships Store.  After securing Jazzy on the stern we fired up Viridian, slipped our lines off Red #68 mooring ball and idled out to the channel to call the Old Roosevelt Bascule Lift Bridge to request an opening.  A train was crossing the channel on the track just below the lift bridge so we had to wait for that to clear.  But soon both bridges were opened, and Viridian passed through and turned south for the St. Lucie Inlet to the Atlantic Ocean where we passed last Fall on our way to Key West; this time we turned to port and pointed the bow north.  The water was that perfect viridian color, and for the first time in quite a while we were not sailing directly into the sun.  Our eyes celebrated the squint-free view of our northward bearing, as everything looked sharp and brightly lit by the sun that was now on our stern.

Today's passage took us 31 miles to Ft. Pierce, FL, where we found a nice protected hole called Fabor Cove to drop our hook.  We are sharing this great anchorage with 5 other vessels, none of which are Loopers.  As it turned out, several of our Looper friends were docked just across the channel at Ft. Pierce City Marina, so we contacted them and we all met on board Unruly with the crew of Dash Away and Good Life.  War stories were exchanged at the docktales gathering on Dock A, as we heard of Bahamas Island cruising and the never- ending stories of boat maintenance issues.  We really enjoyed getting back together with some of our Looping mates we haven't seen for months.

As the tide began to turn we said our goodbyes, as it was time for the crew of Viridian to get into our dinghy and make our way back across the channel 2.5 miles to where our ship lay at anchor.  The channel water was pretty choppy but as soon as we entered our cove it flattened out and we glided back to our floating home on the water.

That's the news and here's the views:

We are here

Today's Passage from Stuart, FL to Ft. Pierce, FL

Our well protected anchorage location in Fabor Cove

Early morning in the mooring field at Stuart, FL

Busy, busy, busy at the turnaround at St. Lucie Inlet

This will be our heading for the next few months

Passing northbound sailboats heading home for the summer

Other boats sharing our anchor location

Local wildlife checking us out

Great scenery

"Docktales" with Looper Friends

Evening on the hook