Fort Lauderdale Sailers Question

[Irish Ayes]

We are new to the Fort Lauderdale area.

What are the more favorable areas for day sails, e.g., is north better than south along the coast? How many miles out, etc.?

What type of weather should you look for...I suspect winds out of the south to southwest for ideal conditions?

Any additional information would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[ssullivan]

Irish Ayes once whispered in the wind:
We are new to the Fort Lauderdale area.

What are the more favorable areas for day sails, e.g., is north better than south along the coast? How many miles out, etc.?

What type of weather should you look for...I suspect winds out of the south to southwest for ideal conditions?

Any additional information would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

While I haven't spent enough time sailing there to know what the good places are, I do know what you want to be careful of. Pay close attention to the weather and forecasting as it pertains to the Gulf Stream. Just a short distance off the shore in Ft Lauderdale, it tears through the area, sometimes creating quite hazardous conditions. It seems to change demeanor very quickly (within an hour's time)

Also, I'm not sure if you are into organic and natural foods, but there is a Whole Foods Market there which is happy to help with provisioning. They will help you with large case-type purchases.

Hoepfully, others can point you to some more concrete info on fun destinations.

Sean

[Harriet]

Ft. Lauderdale was our home for 25 years, so I hopefully have some useful information for you. Day sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale is less than ideal, mostly because there is nowhere to go. If you just want to take the boat out with no destination, it doesn't matter if you go north or south; it just depends on the wind direction. You can even go out to the edge of the gulfstream (you'll know you're there by the change in water color and depth), turn south, and sail for hours without going anywhere, because the stream will be pushing you north although you are sailing south. Otherwise, plan for the weekend and sail down to Biscayne Bay for a very enjoyable couple of days.