Sailed to and from DT just before the shut down. It took me six weeks to get from Boot Key to DT and back. Never sailed at night, and had the hook down by 4:30. Best
advice I can give is make friends with the capt of the fast
boat from
Key West. You can buy ice,
water, and
food. The fast
boat will also buy items on request from
Key West.
The key to a successful trip is no time table. Another boat went to DT on the same time frame as I did but had to leave due to time constraints and ran into very bad weather and wound up calling Sea Tow. I spoke to the capt of the fast boat almost daily and on his
advice returned with a West wind and 1-2 foot swells.
Anchoring is problematic. I spent most of the time West of the fort when the wind was out of the East. Moved North of the spit when the wind came out of the South. Probably the best holding is around Bird Key, but there is no protection from the wind in any direction.
On leaving (and on the way there) I stopped at the
Marquesas first and spent several nights there. About 12 miles East of the
Marquesas is Boca Grande (there are probably a dozen Boca Grandes in Florida) and I spent several nights there to. I really enjoyed the
fishing and
diving in both places and they are a lot less crowded than DT.
It bears repeating if you pick your weather window (the rangers post the NOAA weather report in the chart room at the
dock daily and the fast boat
captain is also a good source) this is an easy trip. If you have a time table and leave at the wrong time you may run into real trouble.