Mid-May Boat Day with Friends

Heading Out
Manatee Pocket, Port Salerno, FL
May 16, 2025

 It had been since the end of January that we last ventured out in a boat. I had four reservations canceled during February, March, and April primarily due to weather. As a result, I was excited yesterday as Chris and I were joined by four friends for a day on the water. 

Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge 
Jupiter Island, FL
May 16, 2025

I reserved a pontoon boat for the day, since there were six of us. It is more comfortable for everyone because there is plenty of space. The boat is rated for 15 people, so there was lots of room to move around. Another good feature is that, being a pontoon boat, we could board or deboard from multiple locations including the bow. Boarding/deboarding from the bow was great for our first stop at my favorite beach on Jupiter Island. Everyone could stay dry. We enjoyed being the only ones on this stretch of beach until it got near noon, when others began to arrive. 

I have never been a big fan of pontoon boats because they are big and slow, but I realized big is good as it handled the wakes of the passing boats very well. As for slow, well I was able to sustain about 16 mph which is OK for motoring around the ICW. 

Sea Nettle
Stuart City Docks, Stuart, FL
May 16, 2025

After the beach we headed off to Stuart for lunch. I enjoy boating on the St Lucie River because there is usually not too much traffic and it is mostly open water once we get past the sandbars where the river joins with the Indian River. 

Arriving in Stuart we were greeted by thousands of sea nettles. They were everywhere around the docks and we enjoyed looking at them for a bit.

While we dined, the winds increased making the ride back to Manatee Pocket and the marina a bit more blustery and rough than the outbound trip. I was pleased that the pontoon boat handled very well in the rougher waters. 

We had a great day together and I look forward to getting back out on the water soon. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL