Vero Beach to Jupiter, FL

We woke before sun up to prepare to travel south to Jupiter.  After moving the boat to the fuel dock to pump our and take on water we headed to the high bridge and then headed down a calm waterway.  Gradually the wind began to build up and with the current we were moving about 9 knots to Fort Pierce where we stopped for fuel.  Wow - about one hundred and fifty gallons at just over $3.00 each.  Great prices.  We were told about this fuel stop by members of the Chesapeake Bay Grand Banks Owners Association who were staying the Vero Beach Marina. This is a commercial fuel depot for tug boats and ships coming into the harbor. It's not well known that they also sell sell fuel to the public if they are not busy. We saved a good fifty cents per gallon.

The further south we traveled the more boats we met along the way. The weekend was coming and there were many younger couples in fast boats flying by us. Traffic really picked up after we passed the St Lucie River Inlet. It reminded me of a good summer day on the Chesapeake when people take the day off to get in some extra boating. Then again this is Florida. We have been told the further south we get the more boat traffic we will encounter. It seems the local boaters do not observe the slow speed requests posted within the manatee zones. The also have little concern about creating huge wakes when the pass slow trawler's in a narrow chanel. We passed many stately homes along the way today between Stuart and Jupiter Inlet. In many ways it's more of the same scene we've observed since Jacksonville Beach. Beautiful homes with well manicured lawns next to run down property. It's just that the homes are getting much larger and there are fewer older ones. I just can't fully conceive the wealth we are beginning to see.

We were planning to anchor but as the day progressed the wind kept getting worse, and we choose to stay the night at JIB Yacht Club just north of the Jupiter Inlet. It was our first time in the really clear Florida water. It was really deep aqua blue water and we could see the bottom and a few fish. We completed docking at about four o’clock and Joe had the opportunity to wash the boat and Rosa did a little house keeping.

This yacht club was close to the Jupiter inlet and all of the slips were filled with large sport fishing boats. They were having a cocktail party when we left to walk to a restaurant for dinner and we were really surprised to find noone was onboard other boats. We had the marina all to our selves. We were the only transient boaters in the marina. The wind eventually calmed and we were also well protected for a quiet nights sleep.

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