NH arrives at Harbortown Marina Fort Pierce

The sun is setting behind the flock of pelican and snowy egrets at Harbortown Fort Pierce which is a Safe Harbor Marina. An early start this morning and a steady speed of 15 knots meant that NH cruised beautifully and was docked by 2pm after our 92 statute miles. Today we passed more  boats than in the last few days and the weather continues to be sunny but chilly. The homes along the way continue to get bigger and bigger and Nana decided that this one as we approached Vero Beach deserved the blog entry.

As mentioned we passed many boats, went under multiple bridges, continued on the Indian River with Merritt Island to port for some 46 miles. NASA’s John F. Kennedy Center is located to the north of the island and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

Boats were cruising both north and south so we had plenty of practice with one whistle ( for port pass ) and two whistle ( for starboard pass ). While on the helm Nana thought she saw several dolphin on her bow so a quick check with the binoculars revealed a group of single and double kayakers working very hard to get across the river. Naturally she reduced speed as the wake would not have been very pleasant and could even put them in the water. They were really getting quite the workout. 

We were fascinated at the new construction taking place to replace the bascule bridge. There are many bridges being replaced and old ones being demolished. 

We spent the afternoon listening to a great band playing at Skippers Cove, which is right at the dock, and it was fun to watch the patrons sing and dance the afternoon away. Nandad took a picture of this classic in the parking lot. We had a delicious dinner later but it was a much quieter atmosphere. A fun, colorful, Caribbean style bar.

Tomorrow we plan to stay at New Port Cove SH for two nights where we will meet with our good friends Ellie and Richard and start the process of looking at the weather and hopefully make the crossing to West End. We will look at the Click2Clear - the Bahamas Customs and Excise Department - online and check in with the weather expert Chris Parker. So excited at being so close to our ultimate destination.