Guided Discovery: Adventures in Fort Pierce: Getting Ready to Cruise North

The distance between Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale (four hours each way) made it difficult for Outer Reef to address the few warranty issues remaining, which we fully understood. Hence the decision to visit Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce. This location was "OK enough" for Outer Reef and very convenient for us, placing the boat at the Fort Pierce Inlet. When we leave early on Tuesday morning we will be less than two miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

Harbortown Marina in relation to the Fort Pierce Inlet

Harbortown Marina would not have been our first choice for a 10 day stay. While this is a first class facility with 342 slips, the ability to lift big boats (100 tons), full services and lots of amenities (pool, boater's lounge, gym, laundry, nice restaurant) it does not have floating docks, which makes it difficult for Kodi and Diana to get on and off the boat. Fortunately, the tide swing here is less than two feet. However, the face dock where we are tied up is high.

Harbor Cove Restaurant and Bar

Harbortown Marina Office and Harbor Cove Restaurant

Massive service buildings and two Marine Travellifts

Kodi is a trooper and as I have said many times, the consummate boat dog. She uses the forward boarding door to jump down off the boat and the aft door to jump down and back on. She is amazing. She will wait until we give her the command to jump. We also bought a plastic doggie ramp (made for RVs). The directions say it takes two week to train the dog. Kodi immediately used the ramp. This is interesting because she had not used a ramp since last May in Norfolk (where the ramp fell in the water and could not be found by a diver).

Between warranty repairs, maintenance and waxing we have been very busy. Hence, no foray into Fort Pierce until Thursday. Our Thursday car outing took us across the Intracoastal Water onto North Hutchinson Island. Hutchinson Island felt a lot like Long Boat Key where you drive for miles looking at medium rise condos along the waterfront and housing developments on the Intracoastal side. Surprisingly in 10+ plus miles we saw only one restaurant and very few views of the Atlantic Ocean.

The highlight of our outing was a visit to the Navy Seal Museum that had reopened two days earlier after extensive renovations. Turns out Fort Pierce was the original home of the Navy Seals, which trace their roots to World War II and the need for covert reconnaissance of landing beaches and coastal defenses. In May of 1943 (the year of Diana and my birth) Navy Lieutenant Commander Draper Kaufman, considered "The Father of Naval Underwater Demolition," was directed to set up a school and train people to eliminate obstacles on an enemy held beach prior to an invasion. The museum traces the IMPRESSIVE history of the seals from then to present day.

Display devoted to the Normandy D-Day Invasion

Actual Japanese Surrender Document

Mk V Special Operations Vehicle (82 feet with a 17.6 foot beam)

Mk V control panel

Chairs manufactured by Stidd (we have Stidds in the pilothouse and flybridge)

Navy Seal culture and symbols. The infamous bell which is rung when a trainee want to quit.
Note: Each student who rings the bell upon graduation

Memorial to four seals awarded the Medal of Honor

We met the owners of Quineska, a 65 Outer Reef parked behind Guided Discovery. Phil and Mary Beth bought this 2008 model, which we had looked. They did a fantastic job of upgrading the interior. They joined us for a glass of wine and a "yacht hop." We hope to see them when the visit Boston this summer.

Mary Beth casting off Quineska

Quineske, a 2008 65ft Outer Reef LRMY

Saturday, Outer Reef woodwork specialist arrived and corrected a number of small defects in the floors and woodwork. She did a first class job.

While Maggie was hard at work we drove to Fort Lauderdale to visit Sophocles and Elena Karapas, our good friends from Chicago. I worked with Sophocles for 7 years at the The Warranty Group service center. Together we did some amazing things to change the culture of a 400 person service center handling a million phone call each year.

Diana, Elena and Soph as we do brunch alfresco on the beach

Soph and Elena moved south from Chicago a year ago and live in high rise condo with a fabulous 250 degree view that encompasses the Atlantic Ocean, the ICW, Port Everglades and a large part of Fort Lauderdale.