Cruisers call it "Velcro Beach"

As much as we love a stop in Ft. Pierce it is not a great place to grocery shop, at least not without a car.  So when we left there we decided to stop in Vero Beach for groceries...that was Monday, it is now Thursday night.  Several factors are at play here:  a) we don't keep to a strict schedule, hell, we don't even have a schedule 2) the weather has been a little iffy 3) it's so easy to love it here. 

This is  the welcoming view from the ICW; that enormous flag lives in a little park dedicated to the memory of all who have given their lives in service to our Country.  We reach the park by way of a free bus that picks us up at the marina parking lot, the same bus that will also take us to the grocery - both Publix and Fresh Market are nearby, the marine supply store, the thrift shop - to replace a couple of glasses that got broken, the beach, and numerous restaurants.  If we care to go farther we can even get to Walmart and Home Depot or take in a movie at the theater in the mall.  Did I mention it is free?!

We are once again on a mooring in what is probably the best managed mooring field in all of Florida.  The staff are courteous and pleasant, they answer the VHF radio and give good directions, and their computer system is so efficient that they told us "welcome back" despite the fact that it has been six years since we were last here!  The moorings themselves are well maintained and don't have barnacles growing all over them.  Yuk, how I hate picking up a crusty mooring pennant!  Add to this the fact that the entire location is well protected from the winds in nearly every direction - which has been important this week, and it about spells perfection.  In fact our only gripe is the darn noseeums, now if they could just control those....   Well, perhaps you are starting to understand why cruisers stick around here at Velcro Beach.

This picture will give you an idea of why it is called a mooring "field".  The moorings themselves are anchored deep in the seabed so that they will withstand the weight of the boats pulling against them in the wind and the waves.  They are planted much deeper than a boat's anchor would ever set, and they are arranged in rows much as field crops are planted in rows.  This arrangement, a set distance apart, assures that when boats "pick up a mooring" and attach it to their cleat  all of the boats there will swing the same way and maintain a safe distance apart to allow for swinging with the changes in the wind and tidal current.  This is a much more efficient use of the available space than having 100 boats anchored because of a bunch of boaty kinds of explanations that would probably bore you to tears.

We are spending our time reading, chatting with friends, riding the bus and just hanging out because it is so easy to do that here in Vero Beach.  Oh, yes, we've been to the grocery store too.  Now if the darn refrigerator would just defrost itself..... but that's a topic for another day.