Moorings and Marinas in the FL Keys

[Nick & LA]

Cat Cruising the Keys...
Our new Leopard 44' is being delivered to Ft Lauderdale at the end of August and we need to sail her home to St. Petersburg.
One difficulty is our 70' mast, which means we cannot get under ANY bridges or cables... relegated to 'outside'
Got a few reasonable anchorage options (Sand Key, Pumpkin Key, Sombrero Reef, Boot Key, etc.). But I'm not sure where I can dive into a marina...(advice welcome)
No idea where to moor or dock around Key West (advice welcome).

But the big question, is Key West to Tampa bay... should I do it in a straight shot? That's like 27hrs. Or should I cut east and anchor at Sannibel Island?

Best

[J Clark H356]

In Key West go to Conch Harbor next to the Bight. It is an excellent Marina, right next to good restaurants and if you want to take a tour, you can catch the tour train from there. From Key West, a good overnight stop would be Sanibel, anchor at Ft Myers, or go into Charlotte Harbor, take a right and go south to Pelican Bay for a good anchorage or three miles further south is Cabbage Key. They have a dock, cool restaurant accessible by boat only and dinner at the restaurant. It's usually 24 hours for me from Key West to Cabbage Key via Boca Grand Pass and then south in a monohull. I've done it several times in IP38 and 40. Not used to cruising speeds that could get you to Tampa Bay from Key West in 27 hours. That's booking it!


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[Captain Bill]

Do you want to go all the way to key west or do you think you have to? you should be able to go through snake creek to the gulf side. The chart says the cables are at 76 ft. It will take a lot of time off of your trip.

[DotDun]

Depends on your schedule.

Daylight cruising might be:
Marine Stadium - Pumpkin Key - Rodriquez Key - Boot Key - Key West

Beware at Boot Key, you have to enter thru Sister Creek and it's shallow so you may want to wait for high tide.

Key West your options are plenty, anchor, mooring ball, or marina. IIRC, Key West Bight Marina is $2/ft/night in the summer. They have 3 catamaran slips or parallel on the A dock (don't accept the end of D dock), make an advanced reservation.

Key West to St. Pete direct is your call. Long passages are no problem with enough crew, but can be downright dangerous sleep deprived. Again, this depends on your schedule.

A daylight only enjoy-the-sights passage might be:
Key West - Marco Island - Ft. Myers Beach (Moss Marina or Diversified or anchor outside or at Punta Rassa) - inside to Useppa or Pelican Bay - inside or outside to Sarasota - outside to St. Pete (you can't make it under the bridge at Sarasota).

[ub1]

You can cut through at snake creak, isla morada good city marina. Plantation something I believe. cross florida bay to anchor in shark river easily done in daylight.

[Nick & LA]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

Do you want to go all the way to key west or do you think you have to? you should be able to go through snake creek to the gulf side. The chart says the cables are at 76 ft. It will take a lot of time off of your trip.

Wow! That's outstanding help Bill! I will investigate the Snake River option. Thank you much.
Nick


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[Nick & LA]

Very good stuff all! Thank you


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[Nick & LA]

It looks like you're correct. If I am careful about the tides and can thread the needle during daylight - It appears I can cross through Snake River!
But then what? Looks like very shallow waters all around the Florida Bay and Everglades area. (I have a 4' draft).
No even seeing a good route out of there. Can I head back North to Cowpens cut and then West?
Or can I get through Ironwood channel at high tide?
Has anyone done this? As a (certified but) very new sailor, I want to take the safest route... I'd hate to run aground on our inaugural trip!

[Dave852]

Once through snake creek you can turn NE to plantation yacht harbor marina or SW down the channel until you reach the channel towards cape sable. We see boats passing every day with 4' draft, just stay in the channel through the shallow parts. You will be fine, the charts are very accurate.


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[ub1]

I made the trip through snake creek with 4.6 draft. 72' mast. Enter snake creek at rising or high tide. It is narrow. There is a shoal by the entrance on east coast, isla morada. There is a telephone wire by the bridge, it was close but made it under. Strong current. Stayed at plantation marina. Left on a rising tide, made it across florida bay by the marked channel. Anchored in shark river by dark. Channel was well marked and did not touch bottom.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Nick & LA

It looks like you're correct. If I am careful about the tides and can thread the needle during daylight - It appears I can cross through Snake River!
But then what? Looks like very shallow waters all around the Florida Bay and Everglades area. (I have a 4' draft).
No even seeing a good route out of there. Can I head back North to Cowpens cut and then West?
Or can I get through Ironwood channel at high tide?
Has anyone done this? As a (certified but) very new sailor, I want to take the safest route... I'd hate to run aground on our inaugural trip!

IMO, once thru Snake Creek, stay in the ICW heading west until just past Bamboo Banks, then turn north towards the cape and Little Shark River (if that's your destination). I wouldn't take the Yacht Channel toward Flamingo, it's a long boring and shallow motor. If you wait until Bamboo Banks, you can sail to Little Shark.

If Key West is a destination, stay in the Hawk Channel on the south side.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by DotDun

IMO, once thru Snake Creek, stay in the ICW heading west until just past Bamboo Banks, then turn north towards the cape and Little Shark River (if that's your destination). I wouldn't take the Yacht Channel toward Flamingo, it's a long boring and shallow motor. If you wait until Bamboo Banks, you can sail to Little Shark.

If Key West is a destination, stay in the Hawk Channel on the south side.

I agree with Dotdun. I have sailed all the way from Marco Island to just west of the Bamboo banks with no trouble at all with a 4 ft draft. Your biggest problem will be dodging lobster/crab pot floats. I highly recommend that you do this route in daylight because of them. They're almost as bad as in Maine.

When you round Cape Romano be sure to stay clear of the shoals. You can't take the Gulf ICW to Marco Island because of a 65 ft fixed bridge. It took me approximately 13 hours to get from Marco Island to the North end of Vaca Key holding 6-7 knots.

Good luck and have fun.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

I agree with Dotdun. I have sailed all the way from Marco Island to just west of the Bamboo banks with no trouble at all with a 4 ft draft. Your biggest problem will be dodging lobster/crab pot floats. I highly recommend that you do this route in daylight because of them. They're almost as bad as in Maine.

When you round Cape Romano be sure to stay clear of the shoals. You can't take the Gulf ICW to Marco Island because of a 65 ft fixed bridge. It took me approximately 13 hours to get from Marco Island to the North end of Vaca Key holding 6-7 knots.

Good luck and have fun.

That's actually two 55' bridges.


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