Stuart-Port Salerno

Our trip from Indiantown to Stuart was relatively uneventful – there was one lock (15 feet) to go through but we arrived at a good time and only had to wait about 10 minutes. That was especially good since the Indiantown Marina had no fuel (!) and we had to make it on the ½ tank leftover from last year. This is an unusual lock as there is no pumping whatsoever. The lock door closes behind the boat, and then depending on your direction, the other one opens either letting water in or out. It was quite breezy and at times a little bit hard to understand exactly what to do with the combination of current and breeze but ultimately no big deal. It was a little bit more edgy coming in to the anchorage here at Manatee Pocket, but we were forewarned that the water is sometimes no more than five feet deep and given our 4-½ foot draft we should be fine. We managed to fuel up a one of the nice marinas here in “the pocket” and then explore our way into the Pirate’s Cove anchorage. Indeed, depths of 4 feet were showing up on the depth sounder, but we “know” we have about another foot of water under that, so incredibly enough I did not even come close to panicking. Another reason could be that this was a 30—mile trip down the Okeechobee waterway and a long, exhausting few days to get this far. Running aground in a nice, safe anchorage doesn’t sound too bad in comparison. We did NOT run aground, and since then we have learned there is a three-foot tide in this area. We have subsequently been aground now and then for bits of time, but always float off again when the tide comes up. We intend to leave here about half-tide rising, as apparently there is a tricky little shoal just at the ICW entrance. The we’ll go only about 9 miles or so to the Hobie Sound, where it’s a piece of cake just to pull of the ICW to starboard and throw out the anchor. There is nothing there save some birds, bushes, and occasionally another boat. It’s a peaceful, restful place. We intend to go there Monday afternoon, and then make a much longer haul to Lantana on Tuesday – provided nothing screws up between now and then. We have profited from access to commerce here, and have purchased a number of things including, unfortunately, a new car-stereo. For whatever reason, our one-year-old Sony died an untimely death. The XM radio comes in (poorly) but perhaps we just need a new antenna for that. We purchased new bedding, filled the propane tanks, obtained endless little supplies and finally bought a solar panel. That should keep all of our “house” power needs met, as well as serving as an emergency charger. The weather has been too beautiful for our winter-white bodies, and we have been putting on lots of sunscreen and avoiding the midday sun if possible. When not possible, we get into the shade immediately after exposure and stay there for the rest of the day. Even with this careful regimen, we are beginning to look browner and leaner from all the walking and schlepping. In a lot of ways, it is glorious to be back, floating around in sun-drenched Florida instead of shoveling like crazy in snow-soaked Marquette.