To Cruisers Members from Florida

[blueyama]

Do you like Florida and the surrounding area for sailing yes or no?
Just curious as I was planning on moving to Florida as soon as next year.

[Ram]

Whats very nice is its only a few hours from the Bahamas- and that is a world away

[QreusJorj]

I don't live there myself but have spent some time there. i've been in the water in boats but for fishing. It seems like a mecca. I'm not sure what it would be like to be a boat owner there during hurricane season, so that should be for a native. Personally, if you are intersted you should go and check it out and spend some time. There are a lot of different areas to look at as well. What type of boating do you want to do? The east coast with the intercoastal is different from the keys, which is different from the gulf side.

[skipmac]

Let me qualify my yes vote. FL itself is a pretty good cruising area but I agree with Ram. It is as a base for your boat and launching point for the Bahamas and Caribbean that FL excels.

[belizesailor]

Lived in SW Florida for 5 years and did lots of diving and sailing in FL before moving there. Great cruising ground form Tarpon Springs all the way down to the Keys and the Dry Tortugas. Love to go back and cruise it again sometime. Pensacola Bay and West into Mississippi sound is also a good cruising ground. I did deliveries around to the east coast when living in FL -- east coast is mostly not so interesting unless you are far SE around Biscayne Bay (Although South Beach at night is pretty entertaining!). Far NE coast maybe a little more interesting, but have not sailed there.

Which part of FL is the OP moving to?

[blueyama]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Which part of FL is the OP moving to?

Me and the wife, were planning on moving around Sarasota-ish area. We visited this year and enjoyed it increasingly. Mostly everyone we met were very Friendly, the gulf side was beautiful with its white sand beaches. The Atlantic side wasn't overly beautiful when compared to the west ( Fort Lauderdale was interesting). I personally want to get aboard a boat and start sailing seriously so sooner than later I was hoping to become a liveaboard. However, I've heard that its a bit hard to be liveaboard in Florida, is their some truth to this? Another area, geographically speaking Fort Myers looks good for sailing. And it looks like the Okeechobee Waterway would shave off time sailing to the Caribbean. I've never done it but it looks like it would save a day.

Originally Posted by QreusJorj

What type of boating do you want to do?

My vision is to sail offshore asap however my analytical side keeps me in check (aka my wife) so I will most likely get my feet wet for a year or two in the greater & lesser antilles area. Once that works out then its time to break free from dry ground and set out offshore toward Europe and beyond. I really want to sell to the region of China however I realize that's thinking years into the future.

[LostAtSea2011]

I'm on the east coast of Florida and it isn't so hard to live aboard here. It's cheap and most marinas around here allow liveaboards . When you get south of Stuart on the east coast it gets expensive. I don't know much about the Okeechobee waterway other than its shallow and maybe a low bridge.

[blueyama]

How cheap is 'cheap'? It wouldn't tear me up if it was around 500-600 for a 35ft boat and saving money always means more traveling

[denverd0n]

First off, what time of year have you visited Florida? If you haven't been here in July and/or August, then you might want to check that out before moving down. The reason I say this is that a couple of years back I read that almost 2/3rds of the people who move to Florida only stay through one summer, and then decide to move back to where they came from. The heat, humidity, bugs, lizards, and so on are all just too much for them.

Personally, my wife and I both love it, but it's not for everyone.

Not sure what you mean by "hard" to live aboard in Florida. It's probably easier here than anywhere else I know of. There are plenty of marinas that allow liveaboards, and in some areas it is possible to live on the hook, or on a mooring. Due to perennial problems with derelict vessels, and with jerks who ignore discharge laws, you'll probably get some scrutiny if you are anchored in one place for very long. Personally I don't see that as a problem, though.

In the Tampa Bay area you would have no problem at all finding a slip in a marina for a 35' boat for less than $500 per month. Some of them charge an extra liveaboard fee, but even then I'm sure you could find something for well under $600 per month. Sarasota is a little more expensive. Fort Myers, I'm not sure about.

[Richard Jordan]

Many different areas in Florida. Tampa Bay area is an awesome place to practice sailing around the bay. Biscayne Bay is also that kind of place. The Keys are a gunkholing area. In Fort Lauderdale like Skip says, it is all about a jumping point for the Bahamas. The space coast is about the intra-coastal areas.

[Hudson Force]

Florida's coastline, at 1,350 miles, is a greater distance than from Seattle to San Diego. This poll asks people to speak of it as if it is a single location. There's a great variety of "Florida".

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

First off, what time of year have you visited Florida? If you haven't been here in July and/or August, then you might want to check that out before moving down.

Absolutely. If you don't tolerate heat well then July-August in Florida will get your attention. Can't wait until I will the lottery so I can buy me a summer cottage in Aspen.

[Cheechako]

I've never had any hassles living aboard in Fl. I dont live aboard though, I'm "cruising". :>)

[saylor240]

It's Horrible, we have really warm winters, the gulf stays swimming temp all year round, we have no state taxes, Some marinas have free wifi, the marinas are always having cookouts and partys and inviting you over for a drink...I'm thinking of moving...Maybe to Key west ...its still its own Repulic right?....

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

Florida's coastline, at 1,350 miles, is a greater distance than from Seattle to San Diego. This poll asks people to speak of it as if it is a single location. There's a great variety of "Florida".

Good point. Florida goes from the Red Neck Riviera to the Conch Republic. We have the Gold Coast, Treasure Coast, Space Coast and probably a few more that I forgot.

Beaches and mangroves. Unbroken shoreline and Thousand Islands. Metropolitan and isolated. Occasional freezes in N Florida and truly tropical in south. Neighborhoods where they speak Spanish, French, Greek, even English.

When you get tired of boating, you can go see Mickey.