Vero Beach City Marina, Vero Beach Florida

Vero Beach City Marina, Vero Beach Florida

We had a super week staying at the Vero Beach City Marina.  Lots of walking and bus riding for us. There were 3 different playgrounds that we were able to enjoy, lots of restaurants, and the beautiful beach.


Pros:
Number of bathrooms plus a family bathroom
Lot of washing machines at marina
Gas and Diesel at marina
Staff is friendly and helpful
Grassy area with covered pavillions on premises
Marina was not noisey anytime during our 7+ day stay
Captains room was clean, well apointed, and had lots of good local information in it with a good trading library
Free city buses with bus stop at marina
Vero beach is 1.2 miles away
2 playgrounds and 3 parks all walkable
Great dog park within 0.1 of a mile
Close to a number of reastaurants
Close to many financial institutions (Fidelity, Scottrade, and more)
Lots butique shopping opportunities (not our thing, but notable)
Ace Hardware is 0.5 miles away
PakMail ship center is 0.4 miles away
Island streets near marina are on a grid so it is easy to navigate
Very close to the Intercoastal Waterway


Cons:
Number of dock carts is too few
Grocery store is 5 miles away (but is on the bus line requiring 0 bus transfers)
Marine store is 5 miles away (but is on the bus line requiring 0 bus transfers)
Walmart is 15 miles away (but is on the bus line and requires 1 bus transfer at main station)
Propane isn't reachable by foot or by bus line (even if you wanted to sneak it on the bus)
Can be congested at the channel turn in since channel turn in is at a bridge

Neautrals:
Price of marina for a slip
Laundry is of average price

Ariel at the slip at the Vero Beach City Marina

Half of the Captain's Lounge at the marina

Dinghy Dock at the marina

Fuel Dock

KJ Jumped off this stump, the Jumping Stump, no less than 83,171 times

Plenty of washers and dryers at the Vero Beach City Marina
as well as a dollar bill changer! Wahoo!

Rock wedged into a tree

 KJ and I discussed how long ago that rock must have been put into the tree, given that the tree has now grown around it.  Some day KJ may return and still see that rock!

Multiple picnic tables at the marina

Vero Beach City Marina receives the Sailboat Family seal of approval.

Ortega Yacht Club Marina in Jacksonville, FL

Paul Howe (Dockmaster OYCM), Lady Bug, KJ, and Dy

The concluding point of Leg 1, Savannah GA to Jacksonville FL, was Ortega Yacht Club Marina (OYCM).  We found the marina though an ad in one of the guide books we used to help us get down the Intercoastal Waterway.

OYCM was one of a few different places Val called while we were at our last anchorage.  OYCM's Dockmaster, Paul Howe, was the most friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

Our plan was to stay at OYCM only for a couple of days, to re-provision us and the boat.  However, after just a few days, we found out what a true gem this marina is and then we elected to go ahead and stay a week.  As the week came to an end, we fueled up, watered up, and got food aboard the boat for Leg 2.  The weather decided for us that we would stay another few days.  This put us into a date zone that Dy's birthday could be celebrated at Disney if we stayed just a few more! This put us at a total of 2 weeks!! And we enjoyed each day very very much.

We cannot thank Paul enough for all his great help.  He treated us so well, and made us feel a part of the marina.  His knowledge of the area, plus the areas we would be cruising very soon, we so appreciated. Paul is the man!

If you are looking to stay in the Jacksonville area for a few days, the OYCM has got our SailboatFamily seal of approval. We would most definitely come back and stay here.

Here are the Pros:

1. Paul
2. The restrooms/showers were always clean and working
3. 2 courtesy bikes
4. Rates for marina were outstanding
5. Walking distance to Publix, West Marine, Pier 17 (another marine store), a number of restaurants, and 2 playgrounds (one is 0.25 mile away, one is 1 mile away)
6. Enterprise Car Rental really close (I walked over)

Here are the Cons:

1. 4 hours off the Intercoastal waterway (at SailboatFamily speed anyway)
2. No Gas/Diesel at the marina (you can easily dinghy, or walk, to another marina that has fuel)

Here are the Neutrals:

1. Only 1 shower for men, only 1 shower for women
2. Only 1 stall and 1 urinal for men, 2 stalls for women
3. Only 1 washer, but 2 dryers