Preparing to Leave Stuart
Thursday, November 29, 2012
We have been in Stuart for six months and have truly enjoyed the area. We feel like residents of the Treasure Coast now and will definitely return here next June for the 2013 hurricane season. Speaking of “season,” that is what the locals call the winter months when the people from the cold northern states come to stay in their condos, houses, apartments, RV’s, boats, etc. While Stuart and the surrounding towns (Port St. Lucie, Hobe Sound, and Jensen Beach) still have that small town feel, the streets and businesses are more crowded now than they were in the summer. Still, going 45 mph on US 1, the main thoroughfare, through the towns is much less stressful than driving in a big city like Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.
The marina is totally full, as are most of the mooring balls. There are 198 slips and 69 mooring balls. We have been on Dock A for these past six months and had told the dockmaster that we would be leaving at the end of November. Of course, since they have been full since last summer, that means another boat is planning on replacing us in Slip 57 on December 1. As it turns out, we have to stay through December 5. I have been going to an orthopedic surgeon to have a series of gel treatments injected into my knees. The last one is on December 5. We are going to be able to stay until at least then, but have to move to a different slip as soon as our replacement arrives. It will just be a few slips down the dock, which is fine. Since the marina and mooring field are full of boats, that means the number of cruisers has multiplied as well. Now that it is “season,” the marina has ramped up the social activities. Above is a photo taken last week on Thanksgiving Day. The folks at the marina provided turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, and potatoes. The cruisers brought a wide variety of side dishes. We had a similar potluck dinner on Halloween, but now they have started to have them every Sunday. There are other activities such as yoga, movies, lunches, sundowners (drinks and snacks), etc. Personally, we preferred the quiet summer months. Many of the boaters arriving on a daily basis plan to stay in Stuart for the entire winter season. Some will leave for a few months or more to visit the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, or perhaps the Gulf Coast, However, the vast majority have been coming back to Stuart every winter for years.
Since the days are dwindling, we have become serious about provisioning and checking off jobs on a list that is getting much shorter. Mark has tackled numerous large projects. He installed an AIS which allows us to see, on our chartplotter at the helm, the names and positions of all nearby boats that also have AIS, as well as information about their speed and if they are on a collision course with us. He also installed a Tracvision dome so we can continue to use Direct TV when we are away from a dock. In the past we placed a satellite dish on a tripod on the dock. This took well over a week, and I’m sure most people would hire a technician to do it. During the past few days, we replaced our four older batteries with five new more powerful ones. They power our 12V system. Once we leave the dock, the batteries will be charged by our solar panels, or if needed our generator. Of course, it’s the long, long list of small jobs that seems to never end.
Over the next week, we’ll start provisioning with six months of food, paper products, etc. We have a database of what we used the last time we went, which gives us a starting point, but we made many mistakes that time. Of course, there are stores at most of our stops in The Exumas, Eleuthera, and various other destinations in the Bahamas, but most are very small, often in houses, and get supplies once a week. Also, they are more expensive than we pay in the States, especially at Walmart and Sams Club, our major sources, and there is a smaller selection of products.
While we are looking forward to our cruise to the Bahamas, we will miss being in Stuart.