Tombigbee River, AL vs Suwannee River, FL to hide from hurricanes

[carl_dzinh]

I'm debating between staying in St. Petersburg, FL vs Mobile, AL area for hurricane season, because either place isn't too far from my current location in the Panhandle and I'm still learning my boat so don't want to take it on a long passage yet.

Currently working with delivery captains that have more experience in the Mobile area, and they're saying that if a hurricane were to approach then the Tombigbee River is a very viable place to hide, and one could be in a safe spot upriver within a day, assuming I'm living in one of the marinas along the Dog River.

The captains also have some experience with Suwannee River, FL (but not the Tampa Bay generally) and they thought it might be possible to hide there, but does anyone here have experience with running to Suwannee River from the Tampa bay for hurricane protection? My boat is 5' draft so I wonder if that's a limitation.

I'm curious about where Tampa Bay sailors think about hiding when there is a hurricane threat because options seem to be slim. If I choose Tampa then I'll most likely stay on a mooring ball in Gulfport, which seems to be vulnerable during tropical storms (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1_O_MxNMR8

). A guy I spoke to over the phone from the marina said you might be able to tie up to some mangroves nearby but I haven't been able to visit to see for myself.