IF YOU ENROLL     

By Mike Pandzik

     Stuart is a 90-minute drive north of Ft. Lauderdale and about 45 minutes north of Palm Beach International Airport. If you’re flying in, I highly recommend you secure a rental car at the airport.
     There are many hotels and motels nearby, but you may find it more convenient to stay on the Chapman campus, right on the waterfront. On-campus housing at Chapman costs about $350 per week, and neither pets nor smoking is allowed. Units have air conditioning but no telephones; some units have TVs (but no cable service). Free wi-fi service is provided. See chapman.org for full details.
      Off-campus housing is available at similar cost. I stayed at the nearby Suburban Extended Stay Hotel for about $400 a week. These studio suites offer air conditioning, telephones, cable television, and kitchenettes with full cooking facilities.
      If you want nicer digs but still want to stay on the water, the nearby Pirate’s Cove Resort has nice rooms for about $90 a night. There’s a full-service bar, and restaurants on the waterfront. The Resort is less than a mile from the Chapman campus.
      The Chapman School doesn’t provide meal service, but a nice little Italian deli where we all seemed to congregate for lunch sits within 100 yards of the front gate. The school also happens to be next door to a West Marine store, in case you want to purchase additional navigational and charting tools and supplies using your Chapman student discount.
     While Chapman runs classes year-round, I chose to enroll in early November to take advantage of the fine Florida weather at that time of year. The days were sunny and bright, with highs about 80°F. Both the humidity and winds were low, making for pleasant days in the classroom and at the helm.
      Since I’m an old Navy guy, I took some free time while I was there to drive 30 minutes north to Fort Pierce to visit the National Navy Underwater Demolition Team-SEAL Museum. I was also there during the November weekend of the annual Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Air Show at the nearby Stuart Airport. This is a large regional air show with plenty of civil and military aircraft, including flybys, static displays, and individual and team aerobatics demonstrations. It was a nice diversion.