Cruising Florida's east coast

[LarryS1]

I am relocating to Delray Beach, Florida in May. I have a Beneteau 393 sailboat currently in Kemah, TX and will be moving it to Florida. It appears that the best location initially for my boat will be Fort Pierce as there are numerous marinas and a large inlet into and out of the Atlantic.

I'm trying to understand what destinations might be available for day cruising. It appears that there is significant distance between suitable inlets into and out of the Atlantic which would make day trips for just my wife and I difficulat as we won't sail overnight without additional crew. We'd prefer not to have to rely on the ICW as we want to sail, not motor.

I'd love to hear from fellow sailors based on Florida's east coast to better understand sailing options in that area. Thanks!

[Snore]

Larry

Ft. Pierce is nice. West Palm/ Lake Worth Inlet is ok. Avoid Boca Inlet. Once you learn it, Hillsboro is great. Prior to moving to St Pete, I regularly sailed my Tartan 33 out of it. Lauderdale/Port Everglades is a great Inlet but can be busy and expensive. My favorite weekend trip was down to Elliot Key. So the further south you can keep the boat the better.

[s/v Moondancer]

Snore has it right, the further south the easier the boating.

I would keep on Biscayne Bay where the day sailing is fabulous. A lot easier to drive than to motor the ICW.

Join www.CGSC.org

Phil, who lives overlooking Biscayne Bay.

[Captain Bill]

Ft Pierce is ok if your day sails are out into the Atlantic and back but not very good for day sails in more protected waters. Though a trip out Ft Pierce inlet and in St. Lucie is not a bad day sail. The water inside the Indian river is just too shallow for decent day sailing in the river. You're pretty much restricted to going up and down the ICW channel. If you want water deep enough to sail in you need to be between Melbourne ad Cocoa in the Indian river. It's a couple of miles wide and only a few well charted spoil banks to worry about. It does mean a bit of a trip either to Ft Pierce or Port Canaveral to get to the ocean however.

[LarryS1]

Thanks to Snore and Moondancer. Interesting that you would mention Biscayne Bay. My son just moved to Brickell in Miami. He lives on the 48th floor of a highrise that overlooks the bay with a beautiful view of the bridge to Key Biscayne. Just south of the bridge there are always around 50 small sailboats racing and maneuvering. Are those boats part of the CGSC?

Any recommendations for a marina in that area? From what I've seen they are very expensive. I notice there are a number of anchorages in the area. I'll also check WG to see what I can find.

Larry

[woot17]

We keep our CS 36 Merlin in Jupiter, which is more than a few miles north of Delray but south of Ft Pierce by a lot of miles. The inlet in Jupiter can be challenging but the sail out and south to Peanut Island/Lake Worth Inlet is a nice day.

[jsbartley]

Im in Biscayne Bay (Mathesson, Dinner Key and Gables Estates).... still some trouble getting slips due to Irma, but can get daily rates at some (e.g. try Mathesson). Free anchorage areas are several, but of course, requires dinghy and have no shore power or facilites. Dinner Key has buoys, kinda pricey but gives you access to new "clubhouse" facilities and a shuttle service. Definitely agree that Biscayne Bay is the best in the southeast for reliable, all-year-round sailing, with great variety... natural (south bay), or big city (north bay).

[JasonS]

Hi Larry,

Congratulations on your move to Delray Beach. You will love it here. Having grown up in Ft Worth, went to UT Austin, and lived in NY and NJ for 20+ years, our move to South Florida almost 8 years ago was the best thing we ever did!

As to where to keep your boat, why even consider Ft. Pierce if you are living in Delray Beach????

You are directly between Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale - each being about 25 miles North and South!

You have several inlet options North to South:
1) Marina around Peanut Island area inside Palm Beach Inlet
2) Several small marinas or private dock in Boca near Boca Inlet - note this inlet is notorious for shoaling and we never take our boat in/out here
3) Marina (there are two) or private dock in Lighthouse Point, Pompano Beach or Deerfield beach inside Hillsboro Inlet. This is where we live (actually on the first canal South of the Inlet). Been here almost 7 years and love it. You can get out to the ocean in minutes. Lots of mooring balls close by for scuba/snorkeling and if you are into racing, the Hillsboro Sailing Club. It's an easy day trip to Miami Beach/Biscayne Bay or to Palm Beach/Peanut Island for a wonderful 3-day weekend. And we regularly take longer trips down to the Keys. Going rate for dockage behind private homes is $10/foot/month - so figure $400. Marinas are higher.
4) Ft Lauderdale - huge inlet with commercial traffic and cruise ships. There are many marina options here.
5) Miami Governer's - Gateway to Miami and the Keys with lots of options. Insurance is becoming harder and do you really want to be so far away from your boat? Traffic driving down to Miami can really be painful sometimes.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions or PM me. We also have lots of pictures over the years in/out of the inlets, along the coast, keys, etc. on our Facebook page BreatheSailDive.

Best of luck and hope to see you out on the water soon!

Jason
Breathe
Manta 40

[capn_billl]

I have a SeaRay in Kemah, I'm planning on moving to Cape Coral, FL on the mouth of the okeechobee channel.

I would like to go with a group if possible.

[LarryS1]

Thanks, Captain Bill. I appreciate your input. Any other thoughts/ideas welcome.

Larry

[rlg]

Stuart, Just north of Jupiter has moorings for rent about 425 per month. They also have slips. You can sail in the river but its not huge. It takes me over an hour to get to the inlet, which is fine, for sailing outside. There are also several anchorages for overnites or day triops... Look on a chart.
I lived aboard at delrays city marina. It was great being downtown but the 2 plus hours each way to sail and the boat wakes were negatives.

Enjoy

[LarryS1]

Thanks for the information rlg. Stuart is definitely a pretty place. I'm thinking I might want to be a bit further south with easier access to the Miami/Biscayne Bay area. JasonS suggested I take a look at a private dock in Lighthouse Point, Pompano Beach or Deerfield Beach. That would get me closer to the Miami/Biscayne Bay area which would be great since one of our sons lives in Brickell.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, jsbartley, & LarryS.

[rlg]

It sounds like your best bets then will be keeping the boat in Miami or Ft lauderdale. You should be able to find dockage behind a home in either place.

[Lowcountry]

My vote would be for Lake Worth. Easy in and out, several marinas to choose from, and a couple of waterfront restaurants with dinghy docks. Also, the water down that far is less muddy than it is further north. Another favorite of mine is Fernandina Beach, but that's almost Georgia.