With little current and no tide to speak of, we were able to  leave early and quietly from our slip at Vero Beach. The only drawbridge opening went smoothly and it was sunny.

For the third straight day we were confounded by the wind forecast. Today’s forecast, both for the ocean and inshore along our route, called for 10Kt winds. Instead,  we had steady 20 – 25Kt winds from 10AM to 2PM. While we know it is tough to predict wind strength 24 hours in advance, you would think that the weather services could at least report it accurately as it is occurring (the old “look outside” check on your forecast). It was right on the nose and luckily didn’t cause us any problem apart from slowing us down.

The only event of notice was coming upon a sailboat anchored nearly in the channel just after Ft. Pierce.  This was unusual enough that he was hailed by radio by the trawler ahead of us, who asked if he was okay.  No radio reply. We approached a bit nearer,  and spoke to the young single-hander who indicated that his engine had quit.  He held up his cell phone and said he’d called a tow boat to come assist him. Cell phones can be extremely useful,  even on the water.

The latter part of our trip was made a bit hairy by a very long narrow shallow stretch that began just after the Ernest Lyons Bridge. Sometimes the depth registered a low as six feet.  It was a little scary to see families walking on the sandbar in 6 inches of water less than 50 yards off both our port and starboard.

We avoided any episodes of grounding or near-grounding and Tommy piloted this stretch  as he has the most experience in tight quarters.

Peck Lake anchorage  already had several sail and powerboats anchored.  Many were quite lovely. One cruiser had decided this breezy day was ideal for laundry.  His sailboat’s lifelines were full of flapping shirts and towels and he had cleverly clipped his bedsheets to the port and starboard shrouds. This took advantage of their height and length so the sheets could flap freely and not brush the deck. Everything was dry in an hour or so.

More unusual was the couple anchored next to us. They went about all their business (hanging up towels, working on the dinghy, viewing the anchorage) entirely nude. We have not seen this before and found it quite interesting. After a bit they both hopped in the dinghy and set off for the beach. The woman tied on a microscopic bikini top and thong, and the man donned what looked like an eye-patch over his essentials and off they went!

We had a lovely dinner in the cockpit and the wind has settled down considerably. Tomorrow, although a short distance, will be a challenge with seven bridge openings to contend with – four of them with restricted schedules. We hope to end up anchored in Lake Worth.