Heading towards Stuart again

Although we felt confident with handling and sailing the boat, we decided not to go further south towards Ft. Lauderdale. There are simply too many bridges to clear on the inside. To go on the outside did not appeal to us, because of the still a bit rough ocean conditions. So we decided to head back north. Maybe we will stay another night at anchor near Stuart or Ft. Pierce, or heading in to the yacht yard right away. Lets see on how we are doing time wise, and how well we will pass the shoals near the St. Lucie Inlet State Park and at Cross Roads. Unfortunately, the tides were not in our favor again. Low tide at Cross Roads were predicted for 2 pm. About the estimated time of arrival in that area.

We timed the start of our day according the opening schedule of the first bridge, we had to pass on our way to Stuart. If you are northbound on the ICW, starting in Lake Worth, you will need to jump in to the cycle of the bridge openings right away. The opening times are laid out so, that one can straight go from one to next next opening just in time, as long as you can travel with at least 6 knots over ground.

It is Sunday and already in the morning hours, you find lots of boaters and water sports enthusiasts on their way on, and along the shores of the ICW.

For the first time we even saw an approximately 40 ft sailboat on the ICW, with all their sails fully raised! We felt much more confident to go with the iron wind from below deck ;-)

Traveling on the ICW in this area is fantastic. You can see the celebrities million dollar homes, and within a blink of an eye, you find yourself in a beautiful peace of nature, with nesting eagles, lots of wild life in, and along the water way. We even had a couple encounters with dolphins. Still after many encounters we've already had, again it is a very special moment, when seeing these special mamals.

Of course, we did not miss the picturesque Jupiter Light House right next to the Jupiter Inlet.

I decided to try to go more towards the green markers at the State Park and towards the red marks at Cross Roads. This proved to be a much better way to pass these shoals. We still touched the sand at Cross Roads and the depth sounder showed scary digits at the State Park, but we actually never came to a full stop. It was 2.30 pm when we entered the Manatee Pocket and approached the gas station for a pump out. Like on many other previous occasions, the marina's pump out installation did not work. And we left the fuel dock again.

We approached the home dock and found that we could pull in long side at the T-dock. An easy maneuver at the end of our three days excursion. Perfect!