Sunset Bay Marina (Stuart, on the South Fork St. Lucie River)
Here’s a different point of view on Stuart’s Sunset Bay Marina. Heretofore, the messages received here on the Net concerning this facility have been overwhelmingly positive!
8 March 2010. It looked like it would have been a great marina but available only to folks who book six months in advance. When we asked for a one-night transient dock, we were told to come back in June! There were empty slips and a big inside protected fuel dock that no one was on. Something wrong here.
Obviously no transient slips were reserved, despite the Waterway Guide claim of there being 60. This was the first marina we encountered that had nothing available for transients, keeping in mind our size usually guarantees a spot can always be found for us.
The facilities for the mooring field were excellent but as noted by others, it is completely open to high speed waterway traffic, subject to gunnel-to-gunnel rolling and wet dinghy rides. And why is there no bum boat available for such a large mooring field?
Two of the three other marinas in the area also claimed to be filled, with only the Harborage Yacht Club and Marina having transient places available. One said they don’t take sailboats despite the visible masts. For short term stayers like ourselves, Stuart wasn’t that attractive of a place. We anchored up the North Fork after the first rolly day on a mooring, moved to Harborage for a day for provisioning, walking over the bridge, cabbing back.
Fair winds and following seas,
Austin Whitten
S/Y `Discovery II’, Vancouver 27
Below is a response from the management at Sunset Bay Marina:
Austin,
As Assistant Harbormaster at Sunset Bay Marina I can tell you that our marina is always available to transients and since we opened last year we have not had to turn down, due to lack of availability, any transients who have wished to come in on a daily basis. We offer side to ties on our fixed docks for transients of all size vessels from 25′ to 125′. We have, however, had to put those who own vessels under 40′ and who wish to have a long term dockage on a waiting list as all of our slips that accommodate those size vessels filled up almost as soon as we opened last year. We are trying to accommodate these vessels on our waiting list as soon as slips become available.
The Okeechoobee Waterway traffic problem that we have had in the past has been addressed as the entire area surrounding the mooring field and the marina has just recently been designated as a no-wake zone by the State of Florida and slow no-wake signage has been installed.
As far as the `bum boat’ goes, unfortunately we do not have one but we have always personally patrolled our mooring field several times each day with our carolina skiff and constantly offer assistance to our mooring field guests in any way we possibly can, helping them with provisions, etc.
We apologize for any misunderstandings that may have occurred.
Ruth Conrad
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