Seeking opinions on living and sailing around Clearwater

[Will Gilmore]

No one has discussed depth and air-draft issues yet in this area. Does six foot draft severely limit you? How about those short bridges?

There are good places and bad places for a boat of that size. The bay area is generally a good place, plenty of deepwater options. Fort Mayers Beach, PG/PC, Naples and Sanibel also are good. You have to pay attention and learn your area. Bottoms shift with every storm, but the bigger ports keep their channels dredged.
Winds are good and fairly consistent seasonally. Again, research and pay attention. We are sailors, that's what we do. The occasional anomaly doesn't usually sneak in without warning. However, it's sailing on the ocean, so prepare.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Roland5048]

They are in the left lane on the way to Denny's for dinner at 3:30

And if that isn't bad enough they're all back on the road in th e left lane going as slow as possible with their blinker still on right at the 5:00 rush hour. That used to be the running joke 40 years ago. Now, if you want to get anywhere quickly, you have to go between 10 pm and 5 am. But hey, I'm not really complaining, (OK, a little bit) but I've driven the I-95 corridor in the Mid Atlantic states. That's just gonna be a wash for you. Stay on the back roads.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

And if that isn't bad enough they're all back on the road in th e left lane going as slow as possible with their blinker still on right at the 5:00 rush hour. That used to be the running joke 40 years ago. Now, if you want to get anywhere quickly, you have to go between 10 pm and 5 am. But hey, I'm not really complaining, (OK, a little bit) but I've driven the I-95 corridor in the Mid Atlantic states. That's just gonna be a wash for you. Stay on the back roads.

That phenomenon miraculously seems to disappear around mid April only to emerge again in the Fall.

 

[Roland5048]

That phenomenon miraculously seems to disappear around mid April only to emerge again in the Fall.

So you're sayin' we only have four more days of this nonsense? Yahoo!

 

[BobbyFunn]

There are good places and bad places for a boat of that size. The bay area is generally a good place, plenty of deepwater options. Fort Mayers Beach, PG/PC, Naples and Sanibel also are good. You have to pay attention and learn your area. Bottoms shift with every storm, but the bigger ports keep their channels dredged.
Winds are good and fairly consistent seasonally. Again, research and pay attention. We are sailors, that's what we do. The occasional anomaly doesn't usually sneak in without warning. However, it's sailing on the ocean, so prepare.

-Will (Dragonfly)

Ill add that Google Maps is pretty good for researching depth. Visibility down is about 3-4 feet. If the Google map shows anything that looks like darkness or sand flows that is a diffetent color than a nearby known channel, Its probably ankle deep at low tide. Ive got a sample of Ft Desoto at the mouth of tampa bay. The circled area are wet...but only for Kayakers. Same applies to Clearwater.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

So you're sayin' we only have four more days of this nonsense? Yahoo!

The traffic on 75N is heavier than S. It’s already easier the find a space in the marina lot. It won’t be long before ‘they’ are gone.

 

[sailnoproblem]

My background and experience is in environmental science so take this for whatever value you place on it - We'll all be long gone before the horror stories ever come true, if ever. The boating population here continues to grow, seemingly exponentially, and everyone can't be wrong. We have and will continue to adapt to whatever the future brings.

 

[shemandr]

The traffic on 75N is heavier than S. It’s already easier the find a space in the marina lot. It won’t be long before ‘they’ are gone.

We say the same thing on Eastern LI. The tourists are annoying, make using restaurants nearly impossible, crowd up supermarkets, cause traffic, aggressively steal parking spots, pull out of intersections in a dangerous way because they are evidently more important than the year rounders, and on and on. The interesting thing is that many of the "They's" you have there are the same "They's" we have on the East End. We look forward to Labor Day and especially the day after known as "Tumble Weed Tuesday."
BTW, my wife and I are in the process of re-locating to Jensen Beach, FL. We sold our building in Greenport, closed our business, , and are living in Vero Beach waiting for our purchase closing. So I suppose I'll be complaining about the "They's" here pretty soon. Still a lot of them here as I got honked at yesterday for not changing lanes fast enough. Three lanes going 45 to 60 mph warrants checking the mirrors in my opinion.

 

[SFS]

There are.




They are in the left lane on the way to Denny's for dinner at 3:30

I wish I could give this 10 likes.

 

[Banooma]

My heart is really on your side, Don. I am concerned, however, that the "we all" in "we all can't be wrong" is not inclusive of the entire population. At the risk of sounding accusing -I'm not ( and as a Biostatistician by schooling, I'm really trying to be scientifically neutral here), "we all" does not include other relevant factors. In the years before and after Sandy, the Army Corp of Engineers and its contractors have rebuilt Long Beach Island NJ beaches (admittedly a barrier island, and possibly a different animal from mainland/coastal Florida) multiple times, They build the dunes up to protect houses, and storms have eroded them back to the dunes. This has recurred all over the NJ coast every year now. Frequently, scheduled projects are delayed because the crews and equipment are still completing work or traveling from other coastal communities from here to Florida. I have to believe this is happening with greater frequency than before, and costing more than it ever has. Before the past decade, there was no beach replenishment since the recovery from the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, and it really wasn't needed. Now it seems that every year with a couple of nor'easters compromises the dunes. I assume this is going on in other beach communities. For coastal homes not on a beach, some private owners and/or have elevated their homes or rebuilt higher lagoon bulkheads. We do see more inland flooding than we have in past year. I've read about the extreme cases of the same in Miami. My comments haven't even touched the fresh water supply system. I expect that for some time, the tax revenue generated by coastal communities will spur the funding necessary to keep our coastal communities going. I'm not sure we'll ever get technologically ahead of it. We seem to be in a continual cycle of repairing and hoping for the best - that it helps get us by for a few more years. I am worried that sooner or later, the non-coastal population of our country are going to vote to cut off Federal funding for the replenishment of shorelines for those of us who love it. Is real estate on coastal mainland Florida a safer option than my limited point of reference? Maybe.... maybe not.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

My heart is really on your side, Don. I am concerned, however, that the "we all" in "we all can't be wrong" is not inclusive of the entire population. At the risk of sounding accusing -I'm not ( and as a Biostatistician by schooling, I'm really trying to be scientifically neutral here), "we all" does not include other relevant factors.

I was being facetious with the "we all can't be wrong" line as I think this is just another academic argument over something we can neither control and therefore not worth worrying about.

We love living here and apparently thousands of others join us every month. There are 22 separate new developments being built in just this immediate area which will barely meet market demand for new housing. If you want to discuss over-development and over-crowding or urban sprawl, we are living it.

 

[Banooma]

Fair enough, Don. No matter what, I am looking forward to my next visit with a move in mind. After all life is short.

 

[Banooma]

For anyone tracking this discussion string, I haven't moved just yet. In the meantime, while working out some of the many other factors involved, I might as well ask a few more questions about the sailing area and start to establish realistic expectations about what the sailing part of life would/will be like, and how local factors could influence boat decisions. Assuming the furthest I would cruise would be the Keys, and most of my sailing would be short trips within a day's sail, how much do you concern yourself with depth and draft? Is it easy enough to anchor and dinghy or kayak from local anchorages?

 

[Kings Gambit]

Five ft should be the maximum draft some would argue; but, 4 ft is better. Otherwise, get a centerboard/retractable keel model. Yes, it’s easy to dink ashore.

 

[Parsons]

Five ft should be the maximum draft some would argue; but, 4 ft is better. Otherwise, get a centerboard/retractable keel model.

Confused on your recommendation for 4-5 foot draft. Looking at the locals: @seadaddler and @SFS 's Hunters both draw about 5 feet, and @Don S/V ILLusion 's Alden 50 draws 10 feet! Our cruising grounds are also considered thin water for the Great Lakes, but the water between 10 feet and 700 feet are not useful to me anyhow. There are some ports I can't go, but I still get around. I guess I could trade for a catamaran, but pictures of yacht clubs on-line seem to show a variety of larger monos. So will my Catalina 36 be usable down there with 6 foot of lead?

 

[seadaddler]

I am sorry to say 6’ draft is not good down here SE Fl. and my draft is 5’ and do need to be careful most times.
A friend with 6’ draft Catalina did convert his boat to 4.5 draft when he came out part of Fl.
Nick

 

[Will Gilmore]

King is right, but there are deeper boats that manage by knowing their ports and planning around them. It limits your choices. There are, however, still plenty of good destinations. Panama City, Cedar Key, Crystal River, Tarpon Springs, Clearwater, Tampa Bay, Venice Beach, Punta Gorda, Fort Mayers, Naples, the lower Keys should all have good deep water access.

Anchoring is mostly sand and use of kayaks or tenders is easy enough. Again, know before you go.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Confused on your recommendation for 4-5 foot draft. Looking at the locals: @seadaddler and @SFS 's Hunters both draw about 5 feet, and @Don S/V ILLusion 's Alden 50 draws 10 feet! Our cruising grounds are also considered thin water for the Great Lakes, but the water between 10 feet and 700 feet are not useful to me anyhow. There are some ports I can't go, but I still get around. I guess I could trade for a catamaran, but pictures of yacht clubs on-line seem to show a variety of larger monos. So will my Catalina 36 be usable down there with 6 foot of lead?

Our keel retracts, however, even when fully retracted, it still draws 5 feet. The only time in 9 years sailing around here we ever touched bottom was at a pump out. Having said that, there are lots of places near shore you can’t go with a 6 foot draft.

 

[SFS]

We had things a little easier with our shoal draft, drawing 4 feet. I would not want much more keel under me in SW Florida.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Confused on your recommendation for 4-5 foot draft. Looking at the locals: @seadaddler and @SFS 's Hunters both draw about 5 feet, and @Don S/V ILLusion 's Alden 50 draws 10 feet! Our cruising grounds are also considered thin water for the Great Lakes, but the water between 10 feet and 700 feet are not useful to me anyhow. There are some ports I can't go, but I still get around. I guess I could trade for a catamaran, but pictures of yacht clubs on-line seem to show a variety of larger monos. So will my Catalina 36 be usable down there with 6 foot of lead?

What folks may have for draft and what works well are not necessarily in total synchrony. Obviously, one can go anywhere where the water is deep enough; but where is that in SW Florida? NOT everywhere if you're over 5 ft. The last time I chartered in FL out of St. Petersburg, quite a few years ago after having moved to CA, I chartered the Catalina 380 w/ a 3 1/2 ft or so draft. That got us easily into Bimini Bay at Anna Maria Island. Very pretty, nice spot; but you simply cannot get in there w/ anything over about 4 ft, and that's pushing it. Try getting into 'Tween Waters through that shallow little ditch called a "channel" that runs in from the ICW in a 5 to 6 ft draft sailboat, and you're stuck on a bar b/f making it half way. Just a couple of examples; but I have many from 11 yr of cruising that area. The bottom of the keel of my P-30 with its 5-ft draft was nearly always missing paint!! I admit to being pulled off a sandbar or mud mound maybe half-a-dozen times. I recall climbing out to the end of my boom once near the bridge at New Pass (there's a little inlet there on the seaward side) to rock the Pearson off a bar while trying to get out on the ebbing tide.