KELLY COLEMAN

As another great season in Vero Beach draws to an end and we begin to move into the quiet heat of the summer months, many seasonal residents are preparing to head back north. Local and full time residents start to recognize the familiar signs: homes are prepared to be left vacant during hurricane season, traffic congestion decreases, business pace slows exponentially, reservations at restaurants become unnecessary, empty car carriers start arriving… and slips empty & buoys become available in the moorings at the Vero Beach City Marina.

Vero Beach has always been home to a large population of seasonal visitors, including a growing group that arrive and dwell in Vero during winter months in our safe harbor marina on the Intercoastal Waterway. Vero Beach City Marina has long been a busy and active place, but many may not know that our marina is a favorite stopping spot with the cruising community on the east coast. Nestled in a beautiful setting and shielded from winds, the Vero Beach City Marina is a prime stopping point for folks seeking to ride out the winter here in great little town like Vero Beach. Our marina is known amongst the boating community for its great location with easy access to shopping via GoLine bus system as well as being within walking distance of the Vero Beach Museum of Art, Riverside Theatre, the beach business district, and a dog park. Even the multitude of boat owners that make infrequent and short stops are easily accommodated for the purpose of fueling, provisioning, errands, meals, medical assistance or other reasons to return briefly to land as they travel up and down the Atlantic sea board.

With so many seasonal and full-time residents on the island and the main land claiming to once be a ‘visitor who stopped in Vero, fell in love with this great little small town and simply never left,’ it’s easy to see how seasonal cruisers like Don and Anne Foster have chosen Vero Beach as their second home during the winter months. Retiring from a 30 year Naval career, Don and Annie started boating 20 years ago with a small sail boat. As their comfort level increased along with their sense of adventure and interest in cruising the Chesapeake Bay, so did the size and the capabilities of their sailboat. Currently commanding their fourth vessel, a large engine Nauticat 331 Motorsailer made in Finland, the Fosters call themselves conservative sailors. ‘Annie’s Song’, named after Anne, is no bigger in size than their last boat, just more than adequately capable and offers its sailors the amenities, speed and comfort they desire. “The original owner ordered it from Finland and then there was another short interim owner. We saw this actual boat at the Annapolis Boat Show in 2000 and fell in love with it. When it went up for sale again four years later, we were ready to buy it.”

This hearty vessel they call home for approximately five months was built to endure the brutal winter weather on the North Atlantic and safely transports the adventure loving couple and their Australian Cattle dog, Maggie, from their northern home of 20 years in Mobjack, Virginia to the marina in Vero Beach. When sailing in stormy seas the Fosters are in an ideal situation as this boat can be steered from the outside or the inside – something that Anne says, “we sissy sailors appreciate.” Taking about a month to venture south by boat, the Fosters then return north via their camper van in the spring. After putting in over 40,000 miles sailing where they wanted to go and making the trek back and forth, Vero Beach is their destination of choice. When these seasonal dwellers decide to go, Annie’s Song is sailed to and stored on the hard in Indian Town and the Fosters commence with their ‘land life’ in the north during the warm and stormy summer months in Vero Beach. Don says, “Out of all the places that we have been to, and we have been cruising now for 16 years, the two nicest places we have docked in Florida are St. Petersburg and Vero Beach. The bus system is a real draw for anyone coming here because it makes it so easy to get your provisions and to go shopping, do laundry, or access restaurants. The Marina is located in such a beautiful place as well. Many marinas are nice, but they are located in an industrial area. Here, we are so close to town, Arts In The Park…and the theatre – which we love. We can walk over there from here! There is so much going on all the time, and it is all right here.”

During the season, the Fosters will see hundreds of boats come through the marina, staying for 3-4 days while they shop, fuel and reprovision. Vero Beach also has a very solid Marine services base that makes stopping in Vero highly appealing and accommodating. Boaters can get anything from engines to sails repaired – anything needed is readily and easily available. Anne shares, “The boaters actually call this Velco Beach…because everyone says ‘I am just going to come in for one night and then go’…the Marina normally just tells them when you get ready to go, just let us know.” Apparently, when incoming sailors and boaters discover how great Vero Beach is, inevitably, they decide to stay longer. (Hmmm….sounds familiar!) Don says, “We have been coming here for years and probably know 20 people that have come, sold their boats, bought a house and now live here permanently.”

The Fosters lifestyle on their boat is envious if you’ve ever longed to just escape from the constant hectic pace of life. It’s simple, peaceful and quiet, yet you can still access what you need if you learn to live in a day by day manner. With amenities for propane cooking, bathing, sleeping and even watching a movie if you desire, it’s easy to see how the idea of living on a boat is something many people dream of doing at some point, but never do. Or, if they take the leap, and actually buy a boat, realities of life suck them back in the vortex of over-involvement, booking every waking moment and scurrying about with an unending lists of things to do. It’s obvious the Fosters have found the secret to success. That along with mastering the art of being organized minimalists!

“We enjoy living on the boat here in Vero Beach – this is our home, this is our life, this is where we want to be,” says Anne. Don enjoys working on model trains even on the boat, a hobby he also enjoys doing in a lot more space in their northern home. Anne loves to read and enjoys cooking on the boat and in her industrial kitchen in their Mobjack farmhouse. No matter what they are doing though, for about five months of the year, they are perfectly content on Annie’s Song in the Vero Beach Marina. With propane for cooking and power available from the dock, Annie’s Song is also equipped with a reverse cycle heat pump for air conditioning, solar panels and a wind generator as well as a quiet Honda generator for additional power needs. Living seasonally on Annie’s Song would be comparable to living in a two bedroom apartment – only 35 feet of surprisingly spacious, delightfully well lit, highly organized sailing space.

Tim Grabenbauer, Director of the Marina for the City of Vero Beach and Harbor Master since 2004, just celebrated his 17^th anniversary working at the Marina. Tim controls and manages all aspects of waterway issues and the operations of the Marina. He sees it all and he loves his job. Formerly a member of the Coast Guard for 21 years, Tim loves his customers and taking care of their needs the most. “We have two different groups of people. We have our cruising visitors that are coming through now and we have locals in the summer time. Whether it’s the locals just happy to be out on the water and stopping in for fuel or the cruising people on vacation, everyone is typically is a very cheery mood.” Sometimes it’s a challenge to accommodate everyone, especially in high season. But Tim is the master of accommodation, taking on the challenge to accommodate and satisfy everyone during the Marina’s busiest times.   “The economy must be getting better – I hear this also from my peers because the waterways are much busier this year – we have new people and we have our regular cruisers coming in to moor – a lot of these people know each other.” With limited weather windows this season, the Marina experienced a very busy season with plenty of regular cruisers that decided to tie down and stay for the entire season instead of taking typical short outings to the Bahamas and the Keys.

The Fosters agree that there is just something about boating people that ties them together even when they don’t see each other for a long time – a brotherhood of sorts. “The people here are delightful. It is a very tight community. We have a get-together every Thursday night and who ever is here attends. It’s a nice way to see everyone.” Exchanging boat cards, a business card with the boat’s name and contact information, the Fosters, like many boaters, have a book loaded with contact information from seafaring friends they have met along the way. “You meet people and you are instantly friends. You don’t get caught up in what happened in their past life. You go away and may not see each other for a year and then your the friendship is rekindled when you run into each other again in the future or see that boat again piloted by its new owner. You meet very interesting people. The comradery of the people is very important. In boating, people rely on one another, they help one another. It is an eclectic group of people coming from all walks of life,” share Don and Anne.

Comfortable pointing out that at the beginning they were clueless, they also laugh while admitting that their ongoing adventure has been a long continuous, but fun learning experience…experience and adventure being at the very core of why they will continue to sail as long as they are able to. With each misadventure they’ve had, they’ve learned as much about what to do as not to do. Hooked from the very first experience picking up their Island Packet 27 sailboat in Maryland, to every subsequent boat purchase and sailing adventure, they’ve had a mixed bag of experiences seasoned with a wealth of laughter. From sailing coastal waters to docking seasonally, the journey continues to unfold with a promise of plentiful peace and quiet in a lifestyle many simply dream about, right here in The Vero Beach Marina.