STUART, FL TO FORT PIERCE, FL

Thursday, March 12th, 2015

Day 220
Miles Traveled: 30
Total Miles Traveled: 2801



  Just beyond the opening to the marina are two low bridges, the Old Roosevelt Bridge and the FEC Railroad bridge.  They are so close together, that both have to be open in order for a boat to pass through this area.  Fortunately, the FEC Railroad Bridge remains open unless there is a train approaching.  This bridge was open as we entered the waterway and we called for an opening for the Old Roosevelt Bridge.  We transited through without any difficulty.

Old Roosevelt Bridge and FEC Railroad Bridge - both open for us to pass

  Shortly after leaving these bridges behind we arrived at an area called The Crossroads.  This is where the Okeechobee Waterway meets the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).  This is also the location of St. Lucie inlet to the Atlantic Ocean.  At The Crossroads a boater can make a decision to go north on the Atlantic ICW, south on the Atlantic ICW, east to the Atlantic Ocean through the inlet, or west onto the Okeechobee Waterway via the St. Lucie River. 

Aerial view of The Crossroads
St. Lucie River is on bottom right, ICW in middle, Atlantic Ocean to top left 

    Our journey is taking us north up the Atlantic ICW.  The Atlantic ICW starts at Norfolk, VA and ends at Key West, FL.  It is comprised of rivers, bays, sounds, and some man-made canals.  It runs between the mainland and barrier islands, thus providing some wind and wave protection compared to the open Atlantic Ocean.  As we turned to port (left), we entered the Indian River.  This river makes up a good portion of the Atlantic ICW in Florida. 

Indian River on Atlantic ICW

  Although it appears to be very wide, much of the river is shallow.  It is very import to stay in the channel.  The United States Coast Guard works very hard to maintain the channel markers on the ICW.  During our cruise today, we saw a US Coast Guard vessel "Hammer" working on placing what appeared to be a new marker in the ICW.  

US Coast Guard vessel "Hammer" working on ICW

  Our final destination for the day was Fort Pierce, FL.  We docked at the Fort Pierce City Marina.  This marina is undergoing some significant improvements.  Floating docks are almost complete.  Islands of rock were placed to create a break wall to provide better wave protection for the new floating dock area.  The older docks are not floating, but still have quite a bit of protection from wakes. 

Approaching Fort Pierce, FL

Fort Pierce City Marina

  "Seahorse" seemed comfy in her slip, so we went for a short walk around town while awaiting the arrival of dinner guests.  Like most city marinas, it was located right downtown.

"Seahorse" docked at Fort Pierce City Marina

  A couple we met on our "shake down" cruise, Jim & Cathy of "Merried With Her", drove over from North Port to have dinner with us.  We ran into them at Fort Myers, but were not able to get together while we were there.  We kept in contact, and, they drove over to Fort Pierce to catch up on how our trip was going.  They are Gold Loopers (have completed The Loop) and gave us a lot of helpful tips before we started our Great Loop trip.  It was great to see them again.  (Forgot to get our picture together - darn it!)