Stuart FL to West Palm Beach FL

Stuart Florida, Sunset Bay and Marina, is rated by many boaters are one of the greatest marinas on the USA East Coast, and we must agree. We have spent exactly two months here, working with Mack Sails and repairing our boat after Hurricane Marina damages in Puerto Rico. Now, with one last beautiful sunset and several gatherings with great friends, we actually departed. Hard to do, but we did it. Take a look at our final sunset….

Friends Friends Friends

Did I say, friends? Yes, we really enjoyed our many friends and shared meals together! Every night at sunset people gather on the porch or around the firepit and share a snack or a bottle of wine and visit. It really is an amazing place to live on a boat. Many people simply make this their winter destination, then in the spring they all depart and head north. Some live here full time, and we can see why. This is THE BEST place to live on a boat, hands down. We could easily live here if we were not cruising. Check out these great friends we shared our time with….

Fun Fun Fun times with so many buddies gathering in Stuart and passing thru. One more reason this is a hard place to sail out of, but we did, once all our work was finished.

NEW PLACE TO DISCOVER

With the winds EAST and the Bahamas due EAST, we have had to wait for a south wind or a cold front to head out. Well, with EAST winds, we can sail SOUTH so that is what we did. We powered out thru the St. Lucie Inlet to sea under full sails and turned south. But with only 6 to 8 knots and a 2-3 foot quartering sea, we added the motor to push through the chop. Still, we were in the Atlantic and heading to a new destination. That was West Palm Beach, FL. We have passed this 6+ times and never stopped. Others have told us how great it is. So, we headed to drop anchor off the town of the rich and famous.  West Palm Beach was created and built by Henry Flagler to be a winter resort for the wealthy who would ride his train south and stay in his luxury hotels. They found it to be a perfect place to winter over. His idea, started when he was 65, worked and now, the town is better than ever and people still love it here. Mr. Trump has his Mar a Lago resort just down the waterway south of here. Lucky for the waterway at West Palm, when he is in town, it does not affect this area. Here we are, anchored off West Palm Beach….

We Found a DIVER

For two weeks, we tried to get a diver at Stuart, but it just never worked out. They are so busy and we were out in the mooring field, so we left with a dirty bottom and dirty prop. This slows down the boat, so we really wanted a diver to clean the bottom. A phone call to BoatUS and they referred me to SCUBA SCRUBBERS. We intended to leave a message, but the owner answered the phone on Easter! She said she would call me Monday to see if she could schedule a diver. She did, and by 12:30, she had a diver at our boat. WOW WOW WOW, now that is GREAT SERVICE. One hour of work and the boat bottom was cleaned of all barnacles and the prop was spotless, too. Each thru hull was cleaned and now we are ready to go. Outstanding company and outstanding service. I am really impressed with how they helped us out. http://ScubaScrubbers.com

Did I say we hoisted full sails on our way to WPB?

Passing MEGA YACHTS in West Palm

Yes, the 1% people of the world use the Lake Worth Inlet and the West Palm Beach area to have their yachts serviced. Here is motor vessel AQUARIUS; she is 301 feet long, 5 stories tall, she takes 16 guests in 8 staterooms and she carries 31 crew members to cater to the guests and to manage the yacht. It is PRIVATE. Can you say KA-CHING$$$$? Imagine paying 31 people’s salaries just to manage your private yacht! I guess the owner is not a public school teacher 🙂

HAPPY to be on Island Spirit

We are content and happy to be on Island Spirit and to be cruising to wherever we want to go! This little boat will take us anywhere. Lucky us! We are thankful and we appreciate this every day.

CALM South WInd = Easy Gulf Stream Crossing

We waited out the East winds, now a mild front is coming which will pull the Tradewinds south and that is when we go, Wednesday at daybreak. Yes, we prefer to sail, but any time you can cross the Gulf Stream in a south calm wind, YOU CROSS. Otherwise, it is 4-6 foot seas and you take a beating for 8+ hours. We do not mind a motor run. We will skip West End because the front is slow moving, so we can run all night on the Banks. We will pull up to Great Sale Cay around midnight, drop an anchor and sleep. Wed night into Thur, it will be NW and N winds but only 10-15 knots. So this will be a nice sail as we push on to Green Turtle Cay. See you Thursday!

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Thank you for sailing along! We enjoy the Bahamas and the cruising life and we love sharing it all with you. Please leave us a comment; we receive them in our email.

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