Crystal River

[rancher44]

I plan on sailing from ft Myers to the Crystal river area and wonder if anyone has some good recommendations for anchorages and suggestions for seeing the manatees
I am in a cat with 4 ft draft
thanks for any input

[a64pilot]

Anchoring behind the island out of Tarpon Springs is good as a stop. Manatee watching go in the winter snorkel not Scuba suggest at first you go on a tour boat to learn the rules etc.
There is a lot of skinny water around there. I saw more Manatee at the motel dock etc than I saw where you were supposed to go to see them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by rancher44

I plan on sailing from ft Myers to the Crystal river area and wonder if anyone has some good recommendations for anchorages and suggestions for seeing the manatees
I am in a cat with 4 ft draft
thanks for any input

Click over to ActiveCaptain.com, register (for free), and use the interactive cruising guide which contains a wealth of information contributed by other cruisers.

FWIW...

[AnchorageGuy]

We were just on the Crystal River a month or so ago and loved it. Other than a 5 foot bar at low tide at the last set of markers before you pass Shell Island, the river and approach channel is plenty deep. We did a short video, Tarpon Springs to Crystal River - YouTube . The best anchorages on the river are at Kings Bay. Even with your 4 foot draft, you will need to feel your way around to find depths for anchoring. The area near the restaurants, etc. look like they would be great but there is lots of 3 foot depths there. There are a few wide spots in the river, but be careful since there are also lots of rocks in the river. Kings Bay gives you access to all of the Manatees. Chuck

[expectations]

Originally Posted by rancher44

I plan on sailing from ft Myers to the Crystal river area and wonder if anyone has some good recommendations for anchorages and suggestions for seeing the manatees
I am in a cat with 4 ft draft
thanks for any input

Stop at egmont Key out side sky way bridge
check out my video YouTube type manatees egmout
Key july 4th

this time of year go time to go north

[AnchorageGuy]

Rancher, Anchorages from Ft. Myers to Crystal River are plentiful. We just completed our Gulf Coast anchorage book. It's available from our website or it will be in stock at Ft. Myers Municipal Marina in a few days. It covers from Cape Sable, Fl to Mobile, Al and includes the Okeechobee Waterway. There are dozens and dozens of excellent anchorages. Chuck

[rancher44]

Hi
Very interested in your book, Can you send me how I can purchase the book
as I won't be in ft Myers until Oct
Does it have Pic's and anchorages marked ??
Michael

[AnchorageGuy]

Michael, You can click on the banner on my signature or visit our website here, https://www.tgboa.com/ . There are sample pages of the books for you to look at. We also have lots of photos of the anchorages in our books on our Facebook page if you do Facebook. Chuck

[scottydaum]

I guess I never thought of going somewhere else FROM Ft Myers to watch Manatees. Up River near the Florida Power and Light (may be progress energy now) was favorite place. The River is full of them. They even stopped having the powerboat races in the River because of potential of hitting Manatees. But if you are just up for a trip I get it.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum