Best parts of Florida for living (on land) and sailing/cruising hobby?

[BlackHeron]

Vero's biggest issue is that it is a long way to get to ooen water. Most cruising boats aren't going to be day sailing much based there. Fort Pierce Inlet is not exactly a hop, skip, and a jump away.

[Linesledaft]

I rented a slip in Stuart for two months. Price was reasonable, and the depth was reasonable even with my 6’ draft. Grocery stores and entertainment are abundant, as well as a decent downtown. Drive time to FTL is a little over an hour. Other than that, Fernandina was ok as well. A little shallow, but the inlet is close. Dock prices in Fernandina were super reasonable, and the downtown is nice too. St Pete is great sailing, but on the Gulf side.

[Linesledaft]

Originally Posted by dwedeking2

Are you 100% sold on Florida? I've lived in Florida a few years (Jacksonville and Key West) and really it's not my top pick. If I was working remotely again I'd head to Mexico. You could live like a king (on US wages) in La Paz and sail to the little local islands every weekend.

Now you are talking lol. JAX is crap though.

[GrowleyMonster]

One word. Carabelle. It is a nice place to visit but it is a better place to be an adopted local. Very laid back, crabby shrimpy cheap oysters and beer kinda place. The "big city", Tallahassee, is just a shortish drive. No train or bus or sched air service though. Once you are in the loop you can always find a ride though. Otherwise get an old beater car and drive it til the wheels fall off. Lots of slips. Not much interference if you don't interfere. It is in a way, the end of the world. A dead end. The ICW runs out there, and ditch sailors have to hit the open gulf to get down to Tampa or the Okeechobee waterway. A lot of boats get abandoned or scrapped, so lots of cheap hardware, masts, engines, gennys, sails, etc for the budget sailor. Land prices not too bad.



Only thing is, there are more crab floats than Lake Pontchartrain.



The offshore barrier islands are pretty cool. Great little getaway.

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

New 3 mile bridge at 65' opens up East Bay and Escambia Bay, to Blackwater River and back of Navarre.

I also very much like P'Cola. If the new bridge is 65' that will open up a lot of great water. It doesn't look that much taller than current bridge but perhaps looks can be deceiving.

[Pearson27]

Melbourne, Florida

Some of the best ICW sailing, one day from Canaveral or Ft. Pierce to ocean access, a high tech hub in aerospace, great schools, near to FIT and UCF, and lots of active sailing.

Our club Melbourne Yacht Club http://melbourneyachtclub.com will give you some insight...

[Steelhands]

Timely stuff for me. We're in New Port Richey Florida for the next month. We sold our house in Washington state in January and planned to move to Florida, buy a house and a boat. Just a n average home and maybe a Catalina 32 or like.

We just left Pensacola after looking at several homes but were about 50k more than here. We're going to Fernandina in a week to look at homes. We need to find a house we like then discover where and how to keep the yet unknown boat.

It's blazing hot here right now. We spent the last 5 years living and sailing on the straight of Juan de Fuca. Cool air, cold (read deadly) water. I'll get used to it but I had a minor episode of heat exhaustion 3days ago.

I'll post more as our trip unfolds.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Carl-T705

.
Panama City area is more redneck??? I believe Rednecks would take offense of that observation.

I’m what would be considered to be a Redneck, and yes the Panhandle of Fl is more Redneck than the rest, and that is to a large extent why I like it, because I really don’t get along with the Ny and Nj crowd.
The Mid West crowd on the West coast is a lot easier to take, simply put they aren’t so rude and don’t act as entitled.

If you don’t like Jim Bob, and Peggie Sue, and want to be able to buy a bagel with lox, don’t go to PC, and for sure stay out of Carrabelle.

Probably 20 years ago we were going down there because my Brother kept his boat at the Moorings Marina, his wife told mine that they would be the prettiest girls in Carrabelle, because they had all their teeth
Carrabelle used to be a big Commercial fishing village, many people walked around wearing white rubber boots, and every single truck had at least one pair upside down and stuffed between the bed and the cab of the truck.

[s/v Jedi]

I recommend the Space Coast, with Port Canaveral as the base for the boat. Here is why:

- Orlando is close with several very good International airports. This is very well done because of Disney World etc.
- It is far enough south so that you do not need to winterize the boat
- It is far enough north so that you save half your money compared to South Florida.
- Bahamas overnight sail. Same for the Keys, Cuba, Georgia
- No crab pots
- very active yacht club
- great daysails, easiest entrance. Can anchor off Cocoa Beach for a swim
- rocket launches almost weekly
- not as hot & humid as the gulf coast

If a hurricane comes, like Dorian last year, the port is evacuated and most move to one of the best hurricane holes of Florida (the best one according to Google) and that is the Canaveral Barge Canal. You go through the locks that stop the surge (where else you find that in Florida!) and have this mangrove lined canal to hide. Hurricanes ain’t fun but it’s better protected here than most places we’ve been.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by possum

there's nothing like the overlooked Georgia Coast! Start at Fernandina and go north, laid way back, inlets and rivers all the way up and down, and beautiful islands that belong to the State of Georgia and are kept pretty much as they've always been. Nothing like it. Parts of the lower SC coast pretty good too if you like spending money.

i agree totally. the low country marshes and islands are beautiful and the food and people are awesome. southern hospitality at its best. now the downside. biting bugs and intense heat and huge tidal variations. it is much better in the cooler months .. october thru april .. though last year there was a lot of wind and cold temperatures

[MistyCat]

Aah to be 33 again. I am twice that, and Canadian, and spent this past winter living aboard at Fishermen’s Village Marina in Punta Gorda, in Charlotte Harbor, South west coast of Florida. We enjoyed it. If they can tame the Virus there we’d go back. Good value, all the services and amenities you could want in this charming town. Relatively safe (we pack no guns). Lots of coastal cruising Opportunities for short junkets. We did some of that and have many more destinations in mind. And the whole Gulf and Caribbean is accessible when you have time. A shallow draft boat is preferred there. I understand, from Canadian friends who purchased canal side property there that there are very good values to be had, more so now since the pandemic.

[JanetGroene]

I lived 10 years on the go, no home base, keeping an RV in FL for going north during hurricane season and cruising Keys or Bahamas 7-8 months of the year. Florida's proximity to the Bahamas is the big draw for me. Having sailed many parts of the world I still think it's hard to beat the Bahamas. You also have the Keys and the entire Gulf coast including great ports in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. Finding dates shouldn't be a problem in any seaport.

[Tonali99]

Originally Posted by medevicerep

I live part time in New Smyrna Beach on the east coast. If you enjoy challenging seas and trips to the Caribbean, the east coast is nice. You have to go north a while from Miami to find reasonable prices. Merritt Island at Cape Canaveral has some nice marinas and access to the Atlantic through a lock. The west coast is very nice for calmer waters and trips down to the keys. Don’t forget no state income tax!

*
I agree with what you said. There is however a bit of a problem with that. Expansion of the space coast with the new companies has driven up the cost of slips, including live aboard fees. Housing developments sprout like mushrooms. There are no slips available at this time that I know of. The few here are leased to cruisers. Your stay there would be short indeed. Storage on the hard is worse (more) that in the water. Towards Sabastion there are a few decent marinas to keep the boat. But can't stay on it. Some resorts have slips available quite reasonably, but shallow and open to the elements.
Thought about South Carolina? Always that Bermuda run for excitement...

[Tonali99]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I recommend the Space Coast, with Port Canaveral as the base for the boat. Here is why:

- Orlando is close with several very good International airports. This is very well done because of Disney World etc.
- It is far enough south so that you do not need to winterize the boat
- It is far enough north so that you save half your money compared to South Florida.
- Bahamas overnight sail. Same for the Keys, Cuba, Georgia
- No crab pots
- very active yacht club
- great daysails, easiest entrance. Can anchor off Cocoa Beach for a swim
- rocket launches almost weekly
- not as hot & humid as the gulf coast


If a hurricane comes, like Dorian last year, the port is evacuated and most move to one of the best hurricane holes of Florida (the best one according to Google) and that is the Canaveral Barge Canal. You go through the locks that stop the surge (where else you find that in Florida!) and have this mangrove lined canal to hide. Hurricanes ain’t fun but it’s better protected here than most places we’ve been.

Been away for quite some time haven't you? Let me update you.
Crab pots, lots not 'em.
No way you can anchor off Cocoa Beach.
Any named storm mandates evacuation from marinas. All of them.
Unless you know there's plenty of shoals around the spoil islands, the daysail can get expensive. Any distance off the minimal channel shallows pretty quick too. Tacking can be a bitch,
Never saw a mangrove on the canal.
Can't anchor or tie off there either. Navigable waterway. (some do anyway like casino boats and fishermen)
Still haven't fixed the bridge after Matthew. Extra six miles to go around. Upside is I'm on a dead end road now and feel safer than ever.

[Jolly Roger]

Everyone is so keen to offer advice about their particular area. But don’t you thing we should get a bit more information?
I asked Schmidla if he, (or she), actually owned a boat, but no reply. That’s quite relevant in the shallow waters of Florida and the ICW.
Schmidla posted a very similar inquiry three years ago, with one post, then nothing. Replies came from many of the same members as today, with the same arguments.

I would have thought, if Schmidla was serious, he/she might be a bit more communicative. Perhaps it’s just a pipe-dream.