Fort Lauderdale and Keys- where to go for a newbie with a trailer-sailer?

[zimm]

We're getting close to buying our first sailboat. We've recently moved near Fort Lauderdale and looking into a 19' trailerable sailboat (West wight potter 19).

I've been scouring marine charts and google maps and the possibilities are endless!

I figure we'll spend some time on Biscayne bay day sailing to learn the boat. My dreams are to pack up my wife and 2 kids (aged 5 and 7) and head to the keys for a night or 2 on weekends.

Any advice for great places to go? I really like the idea of having a destination to sail to, spend the night, and head back to the trailer the following day. Having some wine at anchor in a cove by ourselves would be awesome, then finding a sand bar to lets the kids swim before packing it all up and driving a hour or 2 home.

[pete33458]

Biscayne/Card Sound/Blackwater Sound/etc, all the way to Key West. Good choice for starting out, never more than stiff chop, and always somewhere to anchor off a lee shore (especially in a 19...). Just check Active Captain for lots of information about anchorages and marinas. Have fun! Pete