Class A Florida Inlets.

[unbusted67]

Hey am I right in thinking that

St Johns

Cape Canaveral

Fort Pierce

Lake Worth

Are all inlets that are navigable in moderate conditions without local knowledge? Would anyone like to add to that list?


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[Vasco]

Miami
Ft. Lauderdale
St. Marys River

[RTB]

Are you sure that Ft. Pierce is class A?

Definitely not fun with an ebb tide and SE winds. Be careful if you use this inlet.

Ralph

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by RTB

Are you sure that Ft. Pierce is class A?

Definitely not fun with an ebb tide and SE winds. Be careful if you use this inlet.

Ralph

Don't think it is.

[avb3]

Class "A"? Is this some new nomenclature people are not aware of, especially as it relates to Florida waters?

[RTB]

Originally Posted by avb3

Class "A"? Is this some new nomenclature people are not aware of, especially as it relates to Florida waters?

I have seen Inlets classified Class A in the Waterway Guide. Usually inlets used by cruise ships, not small craft inlets. Where did the OP get his list?


Some info here - http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/ar...as-inlets.html

Ralph

[onestepcsy37]

Fort Pierce is wide and well marked, so on that basis its class A. But if you're underpowered dont try to run it against the tide...

[unbusted67]

Class A as in Almost Terrifying. Lolz. I'm not sure where I got the term.

I think my mother and stepfather had a pretty rough time of it coming into Ft Pierce once from the Bahamas.

What's the story with Cape Canaveral? There's a lock you have to go through? Oddly the Waterway Guide makes no mention of the entrance.


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[Vasco]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

Class A as in Almost Terrifying. Lolz. I'm not sure where I got the term.

I think my mother and stepfather had a pretty rough time of it coming into Ft Pierce once from the Bahamas.

What's the story with Cape Canaveral? There's a lock you have to go through? Oddly the Waterway Guide makes no mention of the entrance.


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The lock leads to the Orange River and the Indian River (ICW). It's only a foot or two and no problem at all. There is no place to anchor before the lock (Port Canaveral) so if you need o anchor go through the lock and anchor in the Orange River.

[Waterway Guide]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

What's the story with Cape Canaveral? There's a lock you have to go through? Oddly the Waterway Guide makes no mention of the entrance.
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Cape Canaveral Inlet – Waterway Guide Southern Edition 2015 pg 63 (2014 pg.67 – I don't have any earlier ones near me right now). One of the easier inlets to navigate, deep channel, well marked, many marinas and customs just inside, but 7.5 nm to the ICW including a lock.

[amytom]

Originally Posted by Vasco

The lock leads to the Orange River and the Indian River (ICW). It's only a foot or two and no problem at all. There is no place to anchor before the lock (Port Canaveral) so if you need o anchor go through the lock and anchor in the Orange River.

It's called the Banana River. If you need to wait for the locks to open (middle of the night) you could always use one of the fuel docks at the marinas. Buy a couple of gallons when they open then head through the locks.


For Ft Pierce, just watch the tides. My first time through had a falling tide and a stout east wind. The waves at the inlet were quite vertical; one of my clues that something wasn't right was that the USCG was staying inside the breakwater. That was the only time I've seen both bows underwater.


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[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by RTB

...Ft. Pierce...not fun with an ebb tide and SE winds...

Ralph

Are any of them 'fun' in those conditions?

[AlwaysFORSAIL]

I can understand using the term 'class a' when referring to things but I have never seen it in any official documents referring to inlets anywhere. It seems to me that a level of confusion is inserted by using different language than that used in the Regs.


Informal conversation is another thing. Not to be a stickler but 'stickling' to the official jargon is a good thing.


And, to your question, The waterway guide is the best reference I know of and local knowledge is usaually very good at the time you intend to transverse the inlet in question.

[Hudson Force]

It appears that everyone has been restricting the list of "Class A" inlets to the Florida East Coast. Some of the easiest inlets are on the Gulf Coast such as Point Ybel at Fort Myers Beach and Tampa Bay and more.

I think I can interpret the "Class A" descriptor as simply an inlet that is generally easy to transit in most all weather conditions without a further operational definition.

[tdh1849]

Lake Worth Inlet, Ft.Lauderdale ( Port Everglades) and Miami ( Government Cut). Miami requires you to take the shipping channel to the left and not continue straight where the cruise ships are docked, this since 9/11