Day 65 back in saltwater in Stuart, Fl

We had a short 90 minute trip from River Forest Yachting Center to Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart Florida. Since we left Lake Okeechobee, we have been in the St. Lucie Canal, and shortly after leaving this morning we passed through the St. Lucie lock with a drop of about 12 feet.

Above the lock, there are several large shipyards with inside and outside storage that are full of large (65-90+ ft) yachts. The 12 foot drop in the St Lucie lock means that above the lock, the boats are safe at least from storm surge during hurricanes. This has a big effect on insurance rates for boats that are left in coastal areas subject to hurricanes. Thus, owners of larger yachts can save a bundle of money by taking the boat up north or moving it to a "hurricane hole".
     We only travelled 9.4 miles to the middle of Stuart, FL on the Atlantic coast, but once past the St. Lucie lock we were back into a tidal enviroment with increasing salt content. The new "thing" for today was the first boat mooring ball field.

There has been a legal battle raging in Florida for years as to how, where and for how long boats can be anchored as well as to who can regulate this, such as city versus state. There are many problems related to this, such as abandoned boats, waterfront homes with views obstructed by anchored boats, including the noise from generators, etc. One proposed part of the solution would be mooring fields, such as this one provided by the city of Stuart. They can also put at least some regulations on condition of boat, live aboard, lenght of stay, etc. The mooring field is cheaper at $20/day versus $2.00/foot plus electricity (metered) in the marina.  So, why not stay in the mooring field and use our dingy to get to shore? One significant reason is that no generators can be run after 9:00 pm, and most evenings we really do appreciate the air conditioning on Lucky Us... Okay, we may be soft, spoiled, etc.  Don't say it!

The last picture was taken looking west from our dock... Not much of a "sunset" (Sorry, Bonnie), but I took the picture because the little band of "white" was actually about all of the blue sky that we saw all day.

 

The marina is very nice, and we had an excellent lunch at the restaurant next door. I had a really delicious, but really unhealthy Shepard's Pie for lunch.  Later--- Well, first I must be honest and "admit" that the 90 minute boat trip tired me out so much that I needed a nap. Later, we took the electric scooters to West Marine, and then we saw the new movie "The Heat", which had plenty of action and was very funny. We are staying in Stuart again tomorrow night so we hope to see more of the city tomorrow (and perhaps another movie?).