Florida Or Bust

[Gazmn]

Alright, if I say it here, I have to do it:

This winter I'm driving down to Florida with boat in tow.
I am not really prepared and only have 3 weeks to come up with a plan which is where you guys come in. I need ideas and leads as I don't know Florida and what this trip will entail at all

I'm giving myself upto 3 weeks down for travel & vacation with the admiral flying down to meet me for a week. I'm young but recently retired and my wife is an angry schoolteacher. [B/c I'm retred and she's not ]

I'm looking for a location with good boating, weather and airport access. On the Gulf side I'm considering Tampa and Fort Meyers for the airports. And Miami on the Gold Coast for the airport and the Boat Show .

Being plugged in at a marina with great facilities is a must while with She Who Must Be Obeyed, or I have to consider a boat friendly hotel/motel.


I'm looking to leave NY by Feb. 5th depending on weather. I'm open to any and all reccomendations re: what, where & why. I'll be traveling solo so wish me well

[Gazmn]

P.S.

I have all of the gear needed minus an enclosure. I do have a Bimini and dodger. I'm hoping to connect no-see-um netting around entire cockpit and other openings.

I've read extensively Divecoz and CMikey's recent posts and am equiped similarly, plus it's Florida - There have to be Marine stores all over

[Chinook]

I'm sure no expert on Florida, but for what it's worth, I'd recommend considering Flamingo in the Everglades as a start point. It's within reasonable driving distance from Miami's airport. They have a nice little marina and launch ramp there. Boat and trailer parking was free in 2004, and I don't recall a launch charge. Good security there with the National Park Service, and a long, one way road for access. The shallow waters just outside are made to order for the Mac. You can head out around the Florida Penninsula and up the Gulf side, with Everglades spots like Little Shark River and Broad River being excellent places to explore. We visited Everglades City, and some of the keys at the south end of the Thousand Island area. You can also cross Florida Bay to the Florida Keys. We visited Marathon and really enjoyed Bahia Honda State Park. This time of year, being that far south gives you just that much more of an edge in finding warm weather. Good luck. I'll be eager to see postings on your trip.

[James V]

Do you have a price range for dock and hotel?

There is some good deals in Key West and Fl keys now.

[Gazmn]

Re:

Mike - Flamingo is a place I wouldn't have known about without your input. Thank you. I like that it's not too far from Miami airport for the bride and the boat show for me. It's protected waters and parking and I'll be bringing my world with me between truck, trailer and boat. & now, a question based on my ignorance: Is this not Gator country? Does this nix Kayaking and challenge gunkholing

James - $ wise I'm charging and worrying about it later. While I was in Key West once and loved it, I'm wondering how much more expensive that would be in Key We$t. If I could pull this Huck Finn fantasy off for under 3 grand I'd consider it good. But don't let that stop you from telling me what a good deal is in KW, Cuantos?
BtB, was it you that mentioned somewhere you had your boat shipped/trucked ? If so, how do I look into that?

Thanks again for your input guys

[DaveB]

Gazmn, you can do E. Coast and Gulf in 3 weeks.
We just came back from a 5 day cruise in Biscane Bay with the WCTSS. We launched at Bayfront Marina Park in Homestead (cost $12 a day weekdays and $15 Sat. & Sun.) very nice Park ,stay at their marina if you want and you can cruise over to Elliot key Marina ($20 night, free during day) a 7 mile crossing) and than cruise N. to Boca Chita or S. to Alabama jacks in Cristal Clear water.
After a week there you can take US1 to Cape Coral and Launch at Cape Coral Yacht Club for $5 a day and visit Fort Myers Beach or Head up the Intercoastal waterway. Plan week to 10 days.
Here is cruises we have done with WCTSS so ck out the write ups.
http://members.ij.net/wctss/wctss/reports.htm
International airports are close by in both locations.
Dave

[Paul W]

Gaz
I Know just the spot , Bahia honda state park, I know because I make the trip with my wife and my x every year
(my 26x). stay at the marina for $2.00 a foot a night. some of the best beaches in the keys and the warmest temps in fla. sail out to sombrero key or looe key reef diving area and tie up to a mooring ball for great diving or snorkle. The park is locked at night and patroled, very safe. your wife could fly into marathon, or there is a shuttle from miami airport. Bahia is about 30 miles from key west, agood place to explore when the weather is too
ruff for sailing. The marina is small and the slips are on a seawall right at the beach and parking for you truck and trailer is right there, ramp included.
Paul W

[Chinook]

Regarding gators and such, one of our goals was finding them, not avoiding them, and we were successful. One thing to remember is that, this time of year, water temp is on the chilly side, which makes them quite sluggish. They seem to prefer hauling out on mud banks to sun. We were lucky enough to spot an American crocodile, which is a rather scarce critter in the US. He likes to hand out just above the tidewater locks at Flamingo. Ask around, and if he's still around, folks there can tell you when and where to watch for him. We didn't see any gators in the Little Shark River, but were told that Broad River was a good place to spot them. We motored about 10 miles upriver in our Portabote dinghy, since the river shoals too much for even the Mac to go very far, and saw close to 20, mostly on the muddy tidal river banks. A couple slid into the water, but we never felt like we were on the menu, Tarzan movies to the contrary.

[James V]

3 g's and a Tarzan adventure. (the B&W Tarzan movies was made in Florida) Key West is not quite what you might want.

Airport and transportation. 2 good and cheeper airports is Ft Myers and Miami. Different coast. To get the Tarzan adventure from Ft Myers you will need to do the 40+ mile hop across the open Gulf of Mexico. It can get a bit rough to get to the Everglades. Miami Airport you can get to Homesteed and then into the bay. Easy enough. Anywhere in the Everglades is great for a Mac but as said the river is the best as you can get inside and into the lagoon's. You are by yourself at night. Take great care, it can get quite lonely if in danger. Inside the boat is not really a problem.

However, if your wife likes to drive and you have the time to watch the weather - go from Ft Myers to Everglades City. Nice place.

The Keys are great place to stop. I am in Marathon now and heading to Key West soon. Marathon is cheep enough. $ 50 per week for dinghy dock, showers and pump out. Public transport to Key West and close shopping. The best harbor I have been in. Losts of boat and a few to many cruisers. Lots of shallow anchorages for Mac's. We have several here, One just left to cross the Gulf Stream and Bahama bound.

Get the cuising guides that have free anchorages. These will tell you what you can expect.

You could also just spend your time in Ft Myers area. Cayo Costa state park is great and close enough to everything.

Have a great trip.

[Gazmn]

Thanks guys for all your help and ideas.

I couldn't respond because I was on two phones trying to make "it" happen.

Here goes:
I'm one month in Key Largo. It ended up satisfying a combination of needs.

1. I had committed to Fort Lauderdale Airport to fly my wife in. I saved hundreds of dollars with Spirit Air

2. I wanted to go to The Boat Show... Why? I don't fully know - I'm not buying a boat

3. The hotels and rates I wanted were filled for the Boat Show.

4. I somehow fell onto Craigslist and realized, with what I would spend in Miami for a few days in a hotel to appease my wife, I could rent an apt with dockage for a month... Lucky Me -- I Lucked into meeting some great people and made a great deal

I guess this ended up being a spin off of James' first idea

5. I despertately needed a space to work on my boat before I put her in the water. & I might need as much as a week or two. It's snowing in NY, the boat is covered which is not conducive to making that no-see-um enclosure I have to whip up

If the netting works and I can connect it to my old dodger and nonmatching bimini, then I won't have to find another 5 grand and make a trip to Canada to get the Genco enclosure I lined up...

Details...

So the plan is to cruise in and around the Keys once the boat's in order.
We have a place to stay if the weather turns and a place to keep the truck and trailer

Oh, I almost forgot,
6. No Gators

[Loefflerh]

Marathon is cheep enough. $ 50 per week for dinghy dock, showers and pump out. Public transport to Key West and close shopping

James, where exactly is that - can you give us an address, coordinates or even a phone# ? that is incredible cheap, esp. on the Keys!

Hans

[James V]

James, where exactly is that - can you give us an address, coordinates or even a phone# ? that is incredible cheap, esp. on the Keys!
Hans

This is Marathon City Marina, Boot Key Harbor. 305-289-8877
24-42.33 N 81-5.29 W http://www.cityofmarathonmarina.com

Hail on 16 to get info on anchorage or stop by. Highly recommended.

Please take note that there is a Creek going into the harbor, Sisters Creek. Radio interference will cause your GPS and other things to go wild.

Gazmn - check out Homestead area. You may be able to RV camp and work on the boat IF you say you will not use the sink or head. No overboard drainage in RV Parks!!!

[phillycheese]

Hey Gaz, sounds like a great trip! I wish I was going. This is the exact trip I want to make someday. My wife and I are teachers in upstate NY and yes we have a ton of snow, I was just looking at my Mac 25 today and brushing some snow off. Hey if your 26 has a pop up like the 25 I made a cover that has a screen window in it, you can borrow it if you want. It is an old pop up tent that I trimmed and put some snaps on the edges. It's not the prettiest thing to look at but it keeps the rain and bugs out. Let me know if you want to use it and we'll get it to ya. Good luck, Jerry Mac

[Gazmn]

Thanks a lot Jerry.

The 26 's top is a slider not a pop up. I have a dodger the PO installed and what I'm going to do is have sides and a declining top that will be connected to the Bimini made up. I"ve ordered a Sailrite LSZ sewing machine and plan to get to it while working on my tan

I too had dreamed of doing this for years. I threatened to do it last year but with only an 8 day window, it proved to be too much work for too little gain. Since being retired I was able to clear my calendar and make the logistics work for my wife to fly down and join me for 9 days.

I'm very excited and completely unprepared in terms of being packed. My plan is to throw all my stuff in the truck and boat and take my time over 2 - 3 days traveling - hopefully without incident.

I promise to post pictures. Keep your faith in "The Dream"

[jcasale]

Gazman
You are making quite a few of us jealous with this trip. I, like many others, will be watching and listening very closely for any tips/info that can be learned. I also hope that your drive down is uneventful but if anything should happen (knocking on wood) I am in the Jacksonville, Fl area (you will likely cruise by here on the way) so if you need any logistical support just pm me and I'll send you my contact information. I am also curious about your 90 hp motor, it's mounting and control set up and the performance but I'll address those in a different forum. After riding with C130King it is apparent I am only scratching the surface of this boats potential with my tiny 30. Good Luck

John
Atlantic Beach, Fl
2000 , Honda 30hp