Stuart has indeed proven itself convenient for me. I am anchored in the “Stuart West Anchorage”, on the far side of the south fork of the St. Lucie River (in almost the exact spot that Mexicana was anchored a year ago).
The city marina and mooring field are across the river, but at $200+ and $55 per night respectively, I’ll be staying at anchor, thank you very much! Oh, and there are both great sunrises and sunsets here!
A half-mile dinghy ride to Frazier Creek leads to a nice little park and playground called Shepard Park. If the winds are light, it’s about a 5-minute ride because I can be on plane for half of it. If the winds are stronger and the waves up, then it takes over twice that long. But so far, as long as I’m going slow enough, even in two-foot chop, the dinghy has proven pretty “dry”.
At Shepard Park there is a long sea wall with cleats for free dinghy parking (ostensibly with a four-hour limit). There is also a source of fresh water to top off Jerry cans.
There are public restrooms, a nice walking path out along the water, and even a place to keep my bicycle locked up so I have transportation while in town.
A half mile down the street is a strip mall with a Publix grocery store and a laundromat. The city marina has a fuel dock with diesel and gasoline (and fresh water), so pretty much all the essentials.
I’ve been cleaning the bottom of my boat myself now–at least until my hookah battery died last week. But luckily, the annual Stuart Boat Show was going on and the vendor of my hookah and I met up there so they could hand me a replacement battery. The water is still cold (about 70 degrees), but much better than the 60-degrees that I had to dive in when I was further north. The river is dirty though, so I have to still do it all by touch. I imagine how nice it will be to actually see the bottom of my boat underwater some day!
Quaint and historic downtown Stuart is within walking distance of Shepard Park. There are nice restaurants and stores, coffee shops, parks, historic sights, and a nice, although rather short, river walk. Every Sunday there is a farmer’s market in Flagler Park, right along the water, with free live music. Later in the afternoon there is free live music at the Riverwalk Stage, also right on the water. It’s a pretty cool little town!
In the greater Stuart area, there’s also a West Marine, Harbor Freight, and a great boating supply store called Boat Owner’s Warehouse (BOW) that has an excellent (and large) selection of boating supplies and equipment. And, of course, the ubiquitous Home Depot and Lowes.
Another thing that’s made Stuart enjoyable is meeting Penny, a friend of Robin’s (who was a neighbor of mine when I lived aboard in Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton for a year). Robin and I have kept in touch–she tracks my journey–and when she realized I would be in Stuart for awhile, she “introduced” Penny and me. Penny’s been gracious enough to drive me around on errands, have lunch, and even cook for me in her very cute home in town.
I’ve also been trying to get caught up on all my preventive medicine-type doctor’s appointments. I’ve seen a dentist, optometrist, and hopefully soon an orthopedist for a rotator cuff issue that has resurfaced.
The weather has been all over the place. We’ve had nights down into the high 40’s, but also a few days in the high 70s, and even one day that got up to 83 degrees just before a cold front passed through. It was quite windy, but lusciously warm and I spent most of the day just basking in the sun in just shorts.
The used Starlink that my friend sold me a few months proved unworkable when I tried to get it up and running because it turned out that, unbeknownst to him, his ex was on the Starlink account and couldn’t be contacted to remove herself, effectively rendering the device an expensive brick! So, he bought it back, and I ordered a new Starlink mini. After some frustrating shipping issues, it finally arrived. I think I’ve found a place to mount it above my dodger and will be doing so once the current crappy weather passes.
I still don’t know where I’ll be heading next, i.e., the Keys or the Bahamas (or neither), but having the Starlink’s Internet access (especially for weather updates) no matter where I go gives me a nice warm fuzzy.
Everyone here talks about how the “Christmas Winds” make crossing to the Bahamas this time of year very difficult. I had to research this, but it’s basically that the position of the Bermuda High produces strong easterly winds in the Bahamas and Caribbean until about February. I’ve been told by experienced people to wait until that change happens if that’s where I decide to go.
But I’m not sure if I’m ready to do that Bahamas yet, or not. Yesterday my only-four-month-old portable generator from Harbor Freight died on me, and I had to exchange it. It has proven critical, especially with all the cloudy days recently, for charging up my house batteries every few days. Luckily there was a Harbor Freight in town and Penny to drive me there, but I wonder what I would have done had this happened in the Bahamas? Part of me prefers going to the Keys to have the security of still being in the U.S., and another part of me wants to taste the pleasure of cruising in beautiful Bahamian water. So, I’m still undecided. Of course, I could just stay right here until it’s time to move north again! No pressure!
Stay tuned!