Heading to Key West / Dry Torgugas from St. Pete in Feb 2014

I haven't done this trip before so if any of you have any pointers (Nav, anchorage, mooring, dockage, etc) please let me know. Thanks!

Chris
From Tampa Bay, for day hops you can do this:

1. Tampa to Sarasota Harbor, anchor
2. Sarasota ICW south to Venice inlet, out to sea back in at Boca Grande Inlet, anchor at Pelican Bay
3. Pelican back out the inlet and sail offshore to inside to Ft. Myers Beach, take a mooring ball
4. Ft. Myers Beach to Marco, anchor in Smokehouse bay
5. Marco offshore to Little Shark River, anchor in the Everglades
6. Offshore from Shark River to Key West or Marathon
7. Marathon or Key West downwind to Dry Tortugas, anchor
8. Dry Tortugas back north to Tampa Bay or Boca Grand inlet.

This would be the day hops except for the run to Dry Tortugas. If you have the weather, you can make a direct run from Tampa, or Boca Grand, or Marco or Little Shark River. That woudl be the optional plays.

We have not been out to the Dry Tortugas and we should. All others mentioned on this list we have been to.

If you zoom in on this 2011 map of ours you will see these west coast Florida pins.

maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=20556536460...04a&msa=0&dg=feature

We have more maps on our blog as well.
islandspirit35.blogspot.com/p/google-maps-where-we-are.html

Hayden, looking to share an anchorage with ZORYA

Okay great! Assuming the weather is good, we'll have to see about which day/option to make a direct run from one of the anchorages/moorings you mentioned. I just received my Fiorentino para-anchor and we're going to be testing it out along with some other goodies. I'd like to get away from light pollution on at least one of the nights so we may be making a passage during one of the nights. It will be a nice "shake-down" cruise. If you are bored when we actually get underway, perhaps you could meet us down there!

Our very first offshore (and overnight ) passage was from Tampa Bay direct to Key West in our IP-31. It took 33 hours. It was a great experience. I suggest you try this at least once. If you hop down on day trips it takes a week. Depends on the weather window. It's pretty easy to get a nice 48 hour period of favorable weather but hoping for a week straight of good sailing conditions is unlikely.
We will try to go to the Dry Tortugas this Winter from Key West. My concern is that there are only 10 hours if daylight to cover about 70 miles! Can do it from Key West if you leave in the dark but the return against the prevailing Easterly wind seems intimidating with no good anchorages enroute. We'll set aside a full week for the round trip. See you there?? Mike&Carol "Nomad"

thanks raceboat! I'm thinking we are going to make a direct go at it. Possibly divert to Key West instead in the event we change our mind enroute. Regardless of our destination, we are going to spend probably two days there and head back to Tampa Bay. Are you in Key West now?

We're on the road back to Anna Maria Is. After holidays with th family. Am installing solar next week, and will head to Key West when fitted out......probably last week of January. Stay in touch