Up the Indian River to Melbourne, FL -- June 3

We got off to a late start this morning (underway just before the 11am checkout time) because we slept in, then worked on the blog and bought some treats at the marina's fancy coffee shop. We've decided that we are going to run a bit more laid back on this trip. And in that spirit, we checked into a marina in Melbourne just after 4pm, so we didn't work too hard today. But we did log 77 miles. 

Our weather was delightful, with temps in the mid-80s again, and a nice NE breeze. Today's stretch of the Intracoastal ran the entire way in the Indian River, which is a shallow body of water generally 1-2 miles wide that separates the mainland from long barrier islands, with widely spaced inlets out to the Atlantic. The Indian River is often in the news in Florida for concerns about manatees and water quality and such. It is easy to understand how its ecology is under pressure, as there is development along both banks much of the way. But there are undeveloped stretches and it is beautiful to cruise on.  

This picture shows the three bridges that cross the St. Lucie River at Stuart. First is the old Dixie Highway bridge (which opens on demand), then the railroad bridge (which is always open unless a train is passing ), and then the US Hwy 1 bridge, which is high enough (about 65') to be a fixed span. 

Here is the inlet at St. Lucie, with the Atlantic in the distance. The various buoys mark where the Intracoastal intersects the Okeechobee Waterway. This is at mile marker 988 on the Intracoastal -- with Norfolk being mile marker zero.

Here is the inlet at Fort Pierce, about 22 miles north of St. Lucie Inlet. The next inlet is at Sebastian 30 miles north of here. 

Here is construction on a new bridge over the Intracoastal at Fort Pierce. The current bridge (to the right) is a bascule bridge with a 26' clearance when closed. The new bridge will most certainly meet the Intracoastal standard of 65' clearance. The goal is to eventually get rid of all swing and bascule bridges along the Intracoastal. 

Here is a fancy French-built racing trimaran (Ultim'Emotion 2) that lost its mast off Newport last September and is now anchored near Fort Pierce inlet -- presumably waiting for someone to repair her. The First Mate found this all out on the web. A great resource when cruising!

Here's one of many abandoned boats that we saw today; we probably saw a dozen or more. Hard to know how this one got up on this beach when the Indian River has hardly any tide. Maybe the last hurricane to hit the east coast?  

And finally, here is the First Mate all dressed up and ready to go out to dinner. There was a Chart House restaurant right at the marina entrance (the tan one-story building behind the distant sailboats) which was convenient and very nice. We had a window table looking out over the Indian River, but are on the wrong coast for a sunset view at dinner.