Known Anchoages in the Florida Keys

[Wildag8r]

I have just struck a deal on Columbia 34 in Key West. I will be sailing north to bring her home on east coast of Florida. Any suggested anchoage areas through the Keys. Have not sailed the Florida keys yet so not sure how long it will take. Thanks.

[speedoo]

I believe your boat draws 5 or 6 feet so that will limit the anchorages available to you, and you will want to look for a good weather window because there are only a few spots where you will be able to find shelter if necessary.

About 30 miles east of Key West, you might be able to anchor in Newfound Harbor near Ramrod Key, if your draft allows. Another 25-30 miles east is Marathon which offers good protection in bad weather in Boot Key Harbor. A lot of boats moor permanently in Boot Key Harbor and finding a spot to anchor might be a challenge so be ready to go to one of the marinas there. I'd leave Key West at dawn and shoot for Marathon if at all possible with Newfound Harbor as a backup.

The next spot that I personally know about is a good 50 miles east at Key Largo, where you can either anchor at Rodriguez Key or duck into one of the Key Largo marinas. And from there you should be able to make it in less than a day to Biscayne Bay, where you will have a choice of anchorages around Key Biscayne. That puts you basically in Miami.

When are you planning to do this? I may have a cruising guide that I could sell you that would probably be a big help. And I assume you have the charts you need.

But you really need to focus on the tides and where your draft will allow you to go. Also I would advise you to get towing coverage as there will be plenty of opportunity to go aground if your navigation is not 100% accurate.

Anyway, weather permitting you should get to Miami in three or four days, five at most.

[Tellie]

I agree with speedoo, get towing coverage. You don't tell us your experiance. The Keys are not too hard to navigate with good charts. But they can be a real problem if you're not a fairly comfortable navigator. Especially with a possible 6 foot draft and a new to you boat.

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by speedoo

About 30 miles east of Key West, you might be able to anchor in Newfound Harbor near Ramrod Key, if your draft allows. Another 25-30 miles east is Marathon which offers good protection in bad weather in Boot Key Harbor. A lot of boats moor permanently in Boot Key Harbor and finding a spot to anchor might be a challenge so be ready to go to one of the marinas there. I'd leave Key West at dawn and shoot for Marathon if at all possible with Newfound Harbor as a backup.

Plenty of room in the anchorage in Boot Key ATM.

[KittiwakeCD28]

Rodriguez Key anchorage can be "not the best" with significant east/southeast winds, but works okay most of the time, although it can be a rolly night if the swells are coming in.

[capngeo]

Don't forget the Bahia Honda anchorage (pic below)! In addition to what the others suggested, on Key Largo, the Upper Keys Sailing Club is run by a great bunch of folks, who don't mind helping out transients. Once the dockmaster even let me borrow his car to go re-provision in "town". As you get a bit further on, Just to the West of the Card Sound Bridge, on the causeway is a place called Alabama Jack's
Jewfish Creek can be a bit daunting with a running tide, so pay attention to the tide chart if you plan to transit inside.

I won't be back in town until the 4th, but if you want to bring a chart or two over to my boat, I'll mark them up for you over a beer. I've sailed those waters for 20+ years.
George

ETA: Remember there are very FEW places you can cross US 1, so you want to plan your route with that in mind!

[Janice]

I don't care how much experience you have, get towing insurance. It only costs about $125 or so. If you don't need it on this 4 day trip, you will need it sometime. Fl is shallow and one ingrounding without insurance can cost you big money.

I use Active Captain often and I love it!

[AnchorageGuy]

Wildag8r, Here is another resource, Waterway Cruising Guide | Waterway Planner , you can filter out the marinas by unchecking the box at the top. You can also move the map around and zoom in and out. This is Google Earth with NOAA chart overlays. Some have mentioned groundings. In the Keys you can be fined big time for running aground in seagrass or on the reefs. It is very important that you know where you are at all times if this is your first trip. Here is additional information, http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/edu/keeping_your_bottom.html .Chuck

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by capngeo

Don't forget the Bahia Honda anchorage (pic below)!

grrrrrrr, got to disagree with you captain, and hate to do it, but Bahia Honda is terrible holding in my experience, sand over rock, and if you drag, or need to bail for any reason, you only got one option with the bridges.

Cheers,

[AnchorageGuy]

I totally agree about Bahia Honda. We were based out of the Keys for ten years and spent some time there. It is a day anchorage only and in very settled weather IMO. The bottom is scoured down to rock and the hold is very poor. There is a very strong current that runs through the anchorage and you are sitting between two bridges with little room if something goes wrong, and especially in the middle of the night, when the crew is asleep and only one way out. Sudden aftrenoon and evening thunderstorms with 60 knot winds and accompanying waterspouts are not uncommon in the Keys any time of the year. Chuck

[capngeo]

I've never drug there with my trusty Fortress.... THAT SAID, I wouldn't want to harbor a blow there!... But it is damn pretty!

Just for the thread, some more of the top ten (IMHO) in that stretch, in no particular order:

• Cesar Creek
• Just S of Jewfish Creek Bridge (great Cuban Resturant there)
• Blackwater Sound
• Indian Key
• Any of the swash channels inside Snake Creek
• Boot Key Harbor
• Bahia Honda

[onestepcsy37]

consider not anchoring at all. leave key west at daybreak heading for the gulf stream. you will pick up a couple of knots and can be back in biscayne bay the next day.

boats returning to south florida after the key west race usually do it that way.

[ActiveCaptain]

Originally Posted by shipofools

...but Bahia Honda is terrible...

Given that someone else mentioned it, let's do a comparison.

ActiveCaptain gives the Bahia Honda 2 out of 5 stars. It has a warning in the description to "check your anchor set". It also warns that it is a pet unfriendly area if that is of concern to you. Included in the marker are 5 different reviews giving a variety of warnings and problems with the anchorage including one description of sharks in the area - multiple pages of opinion information from 5 people who have been there overnight. There's also a hazard marker in the anchorage area providing a LNM warning about the bridge that is falling apart there.

Just for fun, let's go to the Waterway Planner page that Chuck/Waterwayguy suggested. They, in fact, have a marker for the Bahia Honda anchorage. Click on the marker and you get 3 lines of information - the depth is 9-10 feet, the holding is "Good" with sand and grass, and it is open and exposed to the north and southwest.

This is just one example. We have about forty thousand others.

[AnchorageGuy]

Thanks for pointing out the error Jeff so it can be fixed. Chuck

[Tellie]

I gotta agree about Bahia Honda. It's a great day stop over and I see many boats over night there. But since this is a new boat to the OP and he has not even given us a clue to what he has on board concerning ground tackle. I'd strongly advise against a overnight stop there. The current can be swift and you are basically boxed in between two bridges. Especially the north end of the west bridge. This is not the place to first learn the ability of your new ground tackle while overnighting.