Motoring to Beat the Storm

Nicole and Chris in the Bow
ICW near Hobe Sound, FL
August 21, 2026

 We had a marvelous day boating the ICW. For most of the day, the weather was perfect.

We headed out of Manatee Pocket in Port Salerno and headed to my favorite beach. After securing the boat along the shores of Peck Lake, we traversed the short path to the Atlantic Ocean to enjoy the sun and sand. The ocean was nearly flat with gentle rolling waves and it was as clear as I have seen in a very long time.  

Mike and Chris on the Beach
Jupiter Island, FL
August 21, 2026

We enjoyed our time on the beach even though I had forgotten to pack the umbrellas. Fortunately, the clouds passed in front of the sun providing the shade that I forgot to bring.

After enjoying the crystal clear water and watching the fish and shorebirds, it was time to load the boat and head off to lunch. The Stuart City Docks are closed for renovation which meant that I needed to find a new spot to enjoy lunch. I had researched Dock and Dine locations in Jensen Beach and chose Conchy Joe's. 

It was easy to boat there as the ICW channel is generally straight. There were many sandbars along the way that required me to pay attention to the GPS chart and not stray too far from the channel. We had a bit of trouble finding the huge pier. It was almost funny, but the pier comes straight out into the water and after clearing the Jensen Beach bridge we were looking straight at the pier and could not make it out along the shoreline. We did finally see it as we neared the shore where I thought the restaurant was located. After some fun securing the boat, we enjoyed a great lunch with some equally great music provided by David Goodman. 

Racing the Storm, the View from the Boat
Port Salerno, FL
August 21, 2026

Coming out of the restaurant we noticed storms building to the east. I checked the weather map and determined that it was clear to the south, where the marina was located. We wound up racing the storm back to the marina to turn-in the boat. Had we tarried at the restaurant, we would have had to ride out the storm there. But, we were successful in getting away from the storm with only a few drops of rain and no wind so the roughly 30-minute trip to the marina was a fast, smooth ride.

I was surprised at how close the storm was as we navigated from the ICW and into Manatee Pocket and the marina. Although we were bathed in sunlight with broken clouds, the storm was definitely approaching. We made it to the marina without incident and were loaded into the car and headed home well before the storm arrived at Port Salerno.

Arriving home, we completed a successful and enjoyable day on the ICW. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

ICW - IntraCoastal Waterway