Florida transits

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Ken Cobb

What is the recommended way to get from the west coast of Florida to the east? Through the Florida Bay, north of the keys? Around the keys to the south? or through the St. Lucy Canal? By the way, where is the St. Lucy Canal? I can't find it on my Florida map.
 
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Jim Ewing

Depends on mast height and keel depth.

The St Lucie Canal runs from Stuart on the East to Lake O at Port Mayaca. Limiting factor is a 49' lift bridge just before the lake. Indiantown Marina will come to your boat and tip it over and get get up to 53' under the bridge. All the remaining bridges are 55'. Transit the lake or go around the rim canal to the Caloosahatchee River which enters the gulf at Ft Meyers. Florida Bay is very shallow, you'll probably want to draw in the 2' range to cut across. I think most probably would head for Marathon and the 7 mile bridge and cross to Hawk Channel there. Any routes on the gulf side of the Keys will have thin water to consider. Jim h37.5 Prospect
 
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Jon Bastien / H25 'Adagio'

Okeechobee waterway

If time is a concern, the Okeechobee Waterway may be the way to go... The St Lucie Canal stretches from Stuart (on the east coast) to Port Mayaca (Lake Okeechobee); The Caloosahatchee river stretches from Clewiston (Lake Okeechobee) to Ft. Myers. Combined, these make up the Okeechobee Waterway, and I hear it's a great way to travel from coast to coast in Florida... As long as you meet the mast height restriction (49 feet), the draft restriction (currently 6 feet, I think- Depends on lake level), and don't mind passing through a few locks and waiting for bridges to open. If you search for Okeechobee Waterway using your favorite web search engine, you should find plenty of information. --JDB
 
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steven f.

lots of variables here

We've crossed the lake on our H33 with a 4' draft, no problems as long as it has been raining. The lake has a tendency to get very thin in the dry months and the summer storms make crossing quite a challenging sail (the lake is bigger than many realize). That canal runs from Ft. Myers east to St. Lucie. As for the keys run, dont even try the beer can channel that cuts just under Flamingo to the upper keys (Key Largo) unless you are very familiar with those channels in upper Florida bay and/or have a boat with a shallow draft (less than 3' and easy to get off a sand bar). Probably our favorite way to cross is from Naples to Shark River in the Everglades for the night or two. The fishing in there is just amazing, 50lb. test might not come close to holding some of those critters that lurk in the Glades after sunset along the coast. From there we day-sail to marathon and set up shop in Boot Key Harbor. There you can re-provision, rest, drink, shower or whatever. West Marine has a dingy dock you can use to replace what you lost on the way down. At this point use the Gulf Stream to boomerang you to the western Bahamas with an overnight sail. The only two words of cautions are the crab pots in Florida bay, they are thick. If you overnight it down there watch carefully. They have wrapped many-a-shafts. We've wrapped so many times that we installed "Strippers" on our shaft, so far so good. The other warning is the Gulf Stream in winter, watch it, she gets ugly if the wind is from any northern direction.
 
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