VERO BEACH — Saturday’s intermittent sun showers kept some people away from the fourth annual Nautical Market and Craft Show, hosted by Rotary Club Vero Beach, but not hearty lovers of all things nautical, who just shrugged it off like so much sea spray.
The show continues Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Riverside Park.
“We have 130 vendors this year, from as far south as Key West,” said Paul Tripaldi, RCVB president elect.
He credited Rotarian Rip Tosum for bringing the concept to Vero Beach, modeling it as a smaller version of the Gigantic Nautical Flea Market held by the Upper Keys Rotary Club in Islamorada.
“There’s a big difference this year; we’ve added a craft component,” added Tripaldi.
“We added jewelry and artists which is great in this town. Debbie Avery has a Cultural Council booth here too.”
Club members were seeking to raise funds and awareness toward their efforts to restore the threatened Indian River Lagoon.
“The last two years we used funds to purchase buoys which we put around the Moorings Flats,” explained Tripaldi.
“That effort was lengthy because of the permitting process.”
He was speaking of a collaborative effort between the Vero Beach and Sunrise Rotary Clubs led by Rotarian, architect and avid angler Paul Dritenbas to protect a 440-acre submerged seagrass habitat southwest of The Moorings community.
The shallow state-owned land is home to a variety of diverse seagrasses, making it an important nursery and feeding ground for marine life in the bio-diverse estuary.
Known as RISSA, Rotary Initiative for Submerged Seagrass Awareness, they received permission to ring the flats with buoys and warning signs in an effort to alert boaters to the potential damage their propellers could do to the fragile seagrass.
As part of the project, Rotarians were encouraging event attendees to help create oyster mats; oysters act as filters to help improve water quality and clarity.
“We’ve been tying all morning,” said Daniel Fourmont.
“Paul just went out to get more oysters.”
Keen-eyed recreational boaters and fishermen were sure to come away with not only plenty of information about efforts to protect the lagoon, but also lots of great deals.
Tripaldi pointed at two men walking along carrying shiny new fishing poles and said, “These guys are walking out with rods worth probably $500 that they bought at almost wholesale prices. I bought two gel batteries – top of the line batteries for a boat. They’re typically about $300 each; I got two for $150. Unbelievable.”
Last year’s event was held in conjunction with the Vero Beach Boat Show, but the scheduling didn’t work out this time, so kayaks were the only watercraft available for sale.
But all variety of boating and fishing gear was obtainable.
“We’re one of the last manufacturers who makes wooden fishing lures, and we’re right here in Vero Beach,” said Lee Howard, of Blackwater Bait Company, which was donating $1 to Rotary for every lure sold.
“We have five different models and three prototypes that we expect to do really well with.”
“We’re also trying to bring back the old type fishing lures so that our next generation has them,” added Barbara Milas.
Nautical safety based nonprofit booths included the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Vero Beach Power Squadron.
The Marine Resources Council offered durable doormats for donations, made from both reclaimed and new lobster rope.
Florida Outdoor Center promoted its after-school and kids winter camp programs – perfect for all those idle minds and bodies during Christmas break.
And Keep Indian River Beautiful had a display of wonderful “upcycled” items made from recyclables.
The Rotary Club’s own Flea Market area was filled with tables of new and ‘recycled’ miscellany as well.
Vendor booths offered bargains galore – jewelry and artwork, knives and sunglasses, clothing and hats, marine refrigerators and dock lighting, Adirondack chairs and colorful chairs made from water skis, and a whole variety of tasty goodies too.
The Rotary Club of Vero Beach, considered the local “Mother Club,” was chartered in 1932 and is the oldest of the five clubs in Vero.
“And now we’re basically partnering with Indian River State College and have formed a Rotaract group for students 18 to 30 years old who can work on these projects with us,” said Tripaldi.
“We have Interact, for high school students, so we think it’s a good link. The hardest thing for us is to bridge the gap. We want to get the young people involved; it’s a big thing for us. We want to teach them the importance of staying civically active in their community. Plus, a lot of us are business owners so it’s a great way to network with other Rotarians anywhere around the world.”