St. Pete (FL) to Pass Christian, MS

[TCL]

I just purchased a Morgan 461 (6-foot draft) in St. Petersburg. Moved it last week the less than 2NM trip from St. Pete Municipal Marina to Salt Creek Marina, where in the next couple of weeks (hopefully) it'll be hauled out for bottom job and a few other things.

After that, I'll be taking it to Pass Christian, MS (just West of Gulfport/Biloxi, just east of Bay St. Louis). I'm inclined to jump the ~170NM from roughly St. Pete/Tarpon Springs to Carrabelle area, straight across, but it will be the shake out cruise, so I remain undecided. I know that my draft is limiting in much of the Big Bend area. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

But the primary reason for my post is to get recommendations for weather reporting services that folks use for this West Florida Coast/upper Gulf Coast region for purposes of planning the best travel window. Thoughts on reliability of Crown Weather Plus subscription service? Other services/tools that folks have found reliable for forward planning?

Thanks

[zeehag]

we did it both icw and open ocean. icw is tricky with mast height over 55 ft.
open ocean has fishies to catch. cobalt blue waters and peace. the sunsets and rises are magnificent.
so --go to lulus, across mobile bay and thru mississippi sound on icw--there are no short bridges to worry about--the one near lulus is tall.
OR just cut the corner. watch weather window for frontal systems and wind predictions.
happy sails.
the water color out there in middle gulf is awesome cobalt blue.

[svHyLyte]

Regarding weather, we have found PassageWeather.com very reliable for up to about 4 days. From the Egmont Sea buoy to the entrance at the north end of Marsh Island is about 165 miles which, on your boat, should be doable in less than 30 hours with anything other than northwesterly to northerly winds. Frankly, unless you have doubts about the boat, it might be little more difficult to sail direct for Pass Christian which should be doable in about 65 hours. At this time of year, either trip will be pretty chilly so pack your snuggies! Carry an EPIRB!

FWIW...

[iSaint]

Need crew? I'm in Ocean Springs, MS.

[sandy stone]

I'd be inclined to make the jump from Clearwater to Carrabelle. From there, you can go inside to Port St. Joe (very convenient for restocking groceries), then because of bridges you'll have to jump outside to Panama City, Destin, then Pensacola, where you can go inside again.
Passage Weather worked very well for us when we made the same trip a couple of years ago. If your bottom job goes fairly well, cold fronts will still be an issue for you when you leave. I can't stress enough that you don't want to be headed north in the Gulf and run into a cold front. Be conservative. Also, watch out for the crab traps leaving Clearwater. You'll be very surprised how far out they go. Have a good trip!

[the_alpine]

Saw your boat in the creek... she's a beaut!

[Hearts Content]

As was mentioned, you do not want to get caught out with s front coming through. Especially heading north north west.

I got bit trusting the weather services predicting a front. We laugh about it now but we didn't then.

[TCL]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Very helpful. I had looked at Passageweather a while back, but blanked on it when looking over my weather options.

[Silvio]

I sail those same waters, I use the NOAA marine forecasts, always ere on the cautious side with wind and wave predictions. The graphical map is super simple and reliable, IMO. When are you planning to cross? I will be going from St Pete to Panama City later in February (got to hit Key West first, my wife has questioned my navigation skill this time. It's been a hard sell convincing her Key West is between St Pete and PC !!!)

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by TCL

I just purchased a Morgan 461 (6-foot draft) in St. Petersburg. Moved it last week the less than 2NM trip from St. Pete Municipal Marina to Salt Creek Marina, where in the next couple of weeks (hopefully) it'll be hauled out for bottom job and a few other things.

After that, I'll be taking it to Pass Christian, MS (just West of Gulfport/Biloxi, just east of Bay St. Louis). I'm inclined to jump the ~170NM from roughly St. Pete/Tarpon Springs to Carrabelle area, straight across, but it will be the shake out cruise, so I remain undecided. I know that my draft is limiting in much of the Big Bend area. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

But the primary reason for my post is to get recommendations for weather reporting services that folks use for this West Florida Coast/upper Gulf Coast region for purposes of planning the best travel window. Thoughts on reliability of Crown Weather Plus subscription service? Other services/tools that folks have found reliable for forward planning?

Thanks

Hey TCL, congrats on the new Morgan! Which one did you end up buying?

I found a very nice sailing weather app, free download, called "SailFlow". Available for Apple and Android, plus a good website. I recommend it highly, I used it all the time, especially prior to crossing the Gulf Stream.

Regards,
David

[Group9]

We keep our boat in Bay Saint Louis and make this run. We use NWS, weather undergroung, and Windyts. Then i kind of base my plans on the worst report. I rarely get nailed. You almost have to do an overnighter in a sailboat. Clearwater to Pensacola is my preference with crew. Then it's protected waters and ICW the rest of the way.

Second the notion that you don't want to ride a front out in the gulf in February. Better to hang out in Clearwater and enjoy the town and wait.

[Tkeeth]

Originally Posted by Silvio

I sail those same waters, I use the NOAA marine forecasts, always ere on the cautious side with wind and wave predictions. The graphical map is super simple and reliable, IMO. When are you planning to cross? I will be going from St Pete to Panama City later in February (got to hit Key West first, my wife has questioned my navigation skill this time. It's been a hard sell convincing her Key West is between St Pete and PC !!!)

and windyty app. See you at the marina.

[tfrank]

I'd also like to crew for that trip. I said out of Gulfport but couldn't get away until late March or early April. Good sailing.

T Frank

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Group9

............We use NWS, weather underground, and Windyts. Then I kind of base my plans on the worst report.

Wise to use a variety of input. We use these plus Passage Weather.