Vero Beach to Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort & Marina.

Dan declared he wanted to eat breakfast out, so we hurried ashore to catch the 8:05 shuttle bus that would take us across the bridge and into the shopping area of Vero Beach. We got dropped off in front of the Publix market and right next to a Panera Bread. We have always enjoyed their lunches and decided to try them from breakfast. Great idea. Very yummy. I couldn't resist Publix and was glad I stopped, got a few goodies we just couldn't live without. The bus got us back to the marina in time to depart around ten. We didn't have too far to go, but the weather report talked about strong South winds, and they were right. We had the wind on the nose the entire day and by the time we were headed into the marina at 4:00 it was blowing a steady 20 knots.

We had planned to have our last shared dinner with Andiamo, but Betty was not feeling well so we nixed that plan and instead enjoyed a very tasty French Dip at the Baha Bar up at the Marriott. We stopped at the restrooms on our way out and were tickled to find that the showers were equipped with Marriott towels, soap, shampoo and conditioner. We headed back to the boat for clean clothes and took advantage of the nice shower facilities. We will connect with Sevilla in the morning as we head towards Lake Worth and we have Pekabu III working on getting us all slips at his current spot. ~~~_/)~~~M&D

Right around lunchtime we passed Ft. Pierce Inlet, it looked quiet from our vantage point and the wind hadn't piped up yet.

By the time we reached Mile marker 985 and made the turn into the Hutchinson Island Marriot Marina Resort the wind was howling out of the South, making our approach and landing hairy. These windsurfers were taking advantage of the strong wind racing by the windward end of our slip.

We decided to check out the facilities and found that the bathrooms/showers were right next to the Baha Bar! It was an easy decision to stop for a drink and a quick supper. As we walked back out the dock, we found things a lot quieter. Andiamo ended up on the fuel dock for the night because the slip they assigned was too shallow. We on the other hand made it into the slip, but found ourselves bouncing on the bottom as low tide approached! The double hump of bridge lights spans first the Indian River between Hutchinson Island and the mainland and the second the bridge crossing the St. Lucie River. The St. Lucie River is the start of the Okechobee Canal that cuts across the whole state allowing boats (but not those with masts as tall as ours)

to reach the Gulf coast.