Best Cruising Guides for Florida?

[ssullivan]

I know... I've been posting a lot lately.

Any opinions on the best (and most up to date with anchorage problems) cruising guides for Florida?

I have a planned route from the Ft Myers area on up to Maine. Florida seems like *such* a hassle from everything I read for the anchoring cruiser, that I want to be sure the places I stop are friendly.

[Chuck Baier]

IMHO these are the best available. Salty Southeast Cruisers' Net ~ Your home for all the cruising news along the ICW

[Tropic Cat]

This action would literately dry up the navigation channel in the lake and possibly make the pools formed by the dams on both the west and east coasts of the lake innavigable for boating.

Florida Trend - *Florida's Source For Business News


Water agency to tap Lake O nearly to limit to help growers

by Palm Beach Post


In their latest salvo against drought, water managers are preparing to drain Lake Okeechobee almost to the dregs to keep irrigation supplies flowing to neighboring farms.


The South Florida Water Management District's strategy could allow the state's largest lake to drop to as low as 6 feet above sea level before the managers have to cut off agriculture entirely. That's nearly 3 feet lower than the record for the lake set last summer - so low, in fact, that the lake may not have experienced anything like it for thousands of years.

"There may be fish flipping and flopping on the bottom of the lake as the water goes down," district board Chairman Eric Buermann said Tuesday. Then the board voted 7-0 to endorse a $25 million emergency plan that could include $1.4 million for the lake-draining pumps. The emergency plan also includes quick repairs for floodgates and other canal structures north of the lake that could become vulnerable to erosion or collapse once heavy rains return.

Even with new pumps, the flow of water from the lake will be only a fraction of what the district typically supplies to the farms. It also may be tiny compared with what the 730-square-mile lake loses to evaporation. Still, Buermann said the district must meet its obligations to the sugar, citrus and vegetable growers who rely on the state's largest lake as their prime reservoir. That's especially true because the district refused last summer to augment the lake with polluted farm runoff from the Glades, angering the growers but pleasing environmental groups, he said. Now, the environmentalists may have to live with an ever-shrinking lake, even though they're wary about the ecological cost.

[ActiveCaptain]

The thing is, any printed guidebook is out of date the moment it is printed. Check out ActiveCaptain. It has the largest collection of marinas, anchorages, and "local knowledge" markers. Over 3,000 inlet local knowledge markers were made live yesterday. These document all ocean access points as well as harbors, coves, and other cruising destinations. You're really got to check out the information we have in these new inlets. Some have as much as 5 pages of text describing the area, hazards, etc.

There is no better database of anchorages anywhere. The data comes from real people who have anchored in the area. Often the data comes from people local to the area - true local knowledge. Every anchorage has one of more reviews giving information such as holding, wind protection, wake protection, shopping, and more.

OK, I'm biased...but it's well worth checking out for 10 minutes. You'll get hooked...

[billangiep]

Sean you may also find this helpful... Boating_Guide_to_America

[Chuck Baier]

These are also great resources but the fact is most will not have Internet access as we move from place to place so a good guide in the cockpit and on hand for info and planning is needed. Most of us still are not in a position to receive constant updates on the net as we sail from one place to another and even when anchored in some remote places. But that was not Sean's question. I believe he ask about cruising guides.

[ActiveCaptain]

On my last cruise between Florida and Maine, I had a constant internet connection except for 25 nm on the Pungo-Alligator Canal. This included a couple of overnight passages as much as 20 nm offshore.

It's pretty simple to get a good cellular data connection all along the coast where Sean was asking about. Unlimited data plans are pretty inexpensive today - just having access to the text of NOAA weather broadcasts anytime, anyplace is worth the price...