Cruise up to Vero Beach. No Pics.

[Moonstruck]

Lou is undergoing physical therapy, so sat this trip out at home. My son, David, volunteered (actually wanted) to go. I wanted to check out the changes made to the charging system, new batteries, and exercise the equipment.

We cruised up to Vero Beach. The first night the mooring field was full, so the City Marina dock master put us on a T head with promise of first opening mooring. The next morning we moved to the field. There must be over 100 boats on the moorings. We had a fairly consistent breeze out of the east. Very pleasant indeed. David walked over to the beach for a couple of days while I did some stuff on the boat.

Vero Beach is probably the most cruising friendly marina on the coast. They are courteous, reasonably priced, have reasonably good WIFI, good showers with laundry, and a free shuttle bus to the beach or town. The bus will drop you right in front of Publix and West Marine.

I am happy to report that all my upgrades are working as designed. I ran the fridge and ice maker the whole time. With running the generator 3 hours a day, the batteries never went below 75% charge. I am happy with that. The new dinghy hoist was perfect, and a huge improvement.

I love Vero Beach. If closer to the inlet we would probably be staying there. Sorry, but no pics this trip. Maybe next time. You skeptics can believe it happened or not.

 

[Larry M]

Don: Good report. Again it confirms why it's referred to as "Velcro Beach" Hopefully they'll have a mooring for us next week.

 

[caltexflanc]

Have stayed on the moorings there a few times as a transient, agree with your review!
My only complaint was having the pennant come apart in my hand once when trying to get secured. Ann wasn't so big on the mandatory raft up but I didn't find it so bad. On one trip, one of our mooring mates was Dyad, aka "Big Dumb Boat" of Open Cpn fame. Very cool.

There is a reason it is nick named among cruisers as "Velcro Beach"... a lot get that far and like it so much they just stay. Good dinghy dock, good shuttle bus service around town, good pretty much everything. EDIT, I see Larry and I were simul-posting.

For those who want something a little more resort like and deluxe (and +$$$) the Loggerhead across the ICW is very nice.

 

[Jeffrey S]

I'm under the impression that trawlers are no longer allowed to raft and boats over 50 feet are no longer allowed on moorings at the Vero City Marina. This is a new development until the moorings are inspected/repaired. If you're a trawler or a larger boat, you should call and check before assuming you can stay there.

 

[Moonstruck]

I'm under the impression that trawlers are no longer allowed to raft and boats over 50 feet are no longer allowed on moorings at the Vero City Marina. This is a new development until the moorings are inspected/repaired. If you're a trawler or a larger boat, you should call and check before assuming you can stay there.

Jeff, I don't know if this is the case, but there was no offer from the dock master to raft us the first night. We were next to a Krogen 48 from British Columbia. We were on mooring 21 which was open on three sides. It was spectacular in the privacy and view.

 

[jwnall]

Lots of good memories of mooring at Vero Beach, back in the cruising days. Thanks for recalling the memories (1996 - 1999). Sounds as if they have expanded a lot since we used to moor there though.

 

[BandB]

It's always great to hear such glowing reports. It's proof how popular a well run city marina can be.