A Sailor's Dream!

From:          Sunset Bay Marina, Stuart, FL OWW 8.0
To:               Vero Beach Municipal Marina, Vero Beach, FL AICW 951.7
Odometer:   44.2 miles
Latt:             27 39 37 N
Long:          80 22 22 W

Weather:     SE 10-15 knots, 83, 65; partly sunny

Comment:   This is the kind of day Sailor's dream about. The wind was out of the southeast, perfect for sailing in a northerly direction. SUNSHINE enjoyed broad reaching up the Indian River from the crossroads at St. Lucie Inlet to Vero Beach.

We sailed on a starboard tack the entire Way. Only minor adjustments to the sails were required as the waterway is relatively straight. Our speed range was 7.0 - 9.3 miles per hour. Yes friends, it was a beautiful day for a sail!

Our departure from Sunset Bay was perfectly timed. We began the process of disconnecting from the mooring ball just as we heard the train whistle. It was 0704 hours and a train passed by yesterday at the same time. 

Why all this talk of a train? Adjacent to Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage is the Roosevelt Bascule Bridge and only 100 yards further down river is the railroad bridge that said train must cross. Roosevelt Bridge does not open when a train is coming.

By the time we slipped the mooring ball and approached Roosevelt Bridge, the RR Bridge was opening. The Roosevelt Bridge Tender opened the bridge and we didn't even have to throttle back.

We even got lucky with the current. The flood tide was just starting and would provide a foul current until we reached the crossroads where we would turn northward. We made it to the crossroads before the strong foul current arrived. Immediately afterning to the north, our speed increased from 4.9 to 8.3 knots. The current would be our friend all the way to Vero Beach!

Shortly after heading north, we raised the sails and lifted the engines out of the water. That how our great day of sailing began! It ended in Vero Beach when we doused the sails about 1/2 mile from the mooring field. Before securing SUNSHINE to the ball, we pulled up to the fuel dock where we took on 21 gallons of gasoline, 30 gallons of fresh water, and pumped out the holding tank. The dock hand called it the "trifecta" of services available at the fuel dock.

Once shoreside, we took a 1 1/2 hour walk from the marina, through streets lined with Live Oak Trees, to the boardwalk, town and back to the marina.