Cruise from Panama City Fl to Brunswick Ga this summer

[bawlmer]

I can't say I have ever heard of it. I will definitely have to get it. It is a very interesting area and somehow wound up frozen in time. It even managed to get through the "land bubble" preceding hurricane Dennis in 2005. I am sure it will be good reading.

 

[bawlmer]

Recess. One other thing. Make sure you tune your FM radio to 100.5 as you approach the ST Joe Peninsula. Oyster Radio is one of the few truly independent radio stations left. Great sailing music and lots of Jimmy Buffett.

 

[RECESS]

You may be interested in my blog. All places on fl west coast you can anchor & dinghy to grocery store.
http://dinghytogrocerystorewestfl.blogspot.com/?m=1

Thank you I am going to have to spend some time reading.

In Ft Myers Bch, from the mooring balls you can dinghy to a small cove (lots of dingies tied up there) right behind the grocery store. Maybe a 200 yd walk.. No need for the trolley.

I am going to need to print this thread for these details. Thank you.

Kingsley Plantation just north of the St Johns is a real nice anchorage. You can ding to their dock and tour the old plantation. If you like out of the way historical stuff it is worth a stop.

I am going to need to make a stop here so I know it for when I am out and about after I am living in the area. Awesome!

 

[RECESS]

Don't know much about Florida's West Coast but seems like previous posters have provided good info. Have done the east Coast route from Key West to St.Augustine many times, both inside and outside. Several marinas in KW. All fairly expensive. We always stay at the Galleon, inside the Bight and close to restaurants. Groceries in KW are not close. Nice run and when conditions are right (can't do it if a North wind is blowing) it's a great sailing day in the Hawk Channel from KW to Marathon where you can anchor or stay at the very good Marathon Marina. From there, again great sailing opportunity going towards Miami. You'll need to check info from others on anchoring possibilities or marinas up that leg as we always go straight through.

Approaching Miami, you might have to go outside if you mast is higher than the 56 feet posted clearance of Tuttle bridge. We stay outside to Fort Lauderdale. Lots of marinas to choose from there. South of Lauderdale in the ICW you can anchor in Hollywood Lake. North of Sunrise bridge in Lauderdale is the small Sunrise lake where you can anchor overnight.

If you stay inside the ICW there are a few places to anchor along the way. The bridges will slow you down but it's a nice motor trip that will show you lots of beautiful nature scenes. Sailing outside along the coast from Port Everglades (Lauderdale), the inlet at Lake Worth provides a good access 24 hours a day and there are 2 places for anchoring + marinas. From Lake Worth, for a sail boat, the next 24 hours inlet is Fort Pierce. Again marinas and anchorage near the inlet. FYI it's 84 miles from Port Everglades to Fort Pierce with Lake Worth about half way.

From Fort Pierce going north, Port Canaveral is your next inlet (good marinas, no anchorage unless you go up the Barge Canal towards the Indian river), followed by Ponce Inlet, then St.Augustine, St.John River (Jacksonville is about 18 miles up river), and St-Mary's.

Inside you'll find Vero Beach, with good marina and excellent free bus service for provisioning, then good anchoring near marker 21, next going towards Melbourne and Cocoa there are lots of places for anchoring. Cocoa provides free internet, charming old town next to the anchorage and good bus service to shopping mall, Walmart and West Marine. North of that is Titusville with good marinas, anchoring and mooring facilities.

If you stay inside, New Smyrna has marinas, of course Daytona offers all kinds of docking space as well as some anchoring. Someone already told you about St. Augustine. Plenty of mooring and marinas. Great restaurants.

From there, because of the meanderingand shoaling of the ICW we always run outside to St.Mary's.

If you do plan that trip allowing enough time so as to not to rush & giving yourself the time to maybe wait for the favorible weather window, you should have a great and very enjoyable trip. Good luck and be safe ! Claude

That is a great list of info. Thank you for taking the time to type all of that out. I will be using it on this trip.

 

[RECESS]

St Marks and the rest of the area down to almost Tarpon Springs are all pretty much the same. One of the issues that makes this an uncomfortable trip is it is shallow. That leaves little room under your boat in many areas but it also makes for a choppy and confused surface. You also significantly increase your travel distance. As an alternative I'd suggest Port St Joe to Clearwater. If the weather is not right to cross move on down to Apalachicola or to Carrabelle and then cross. Another issue with many of the marinas in the Big Bend is the distance you must travel from the coast up the river or channel to the marina that adds further to the time and distance. I understand the allure of the new and unexplored if that is the motivation there are some truly lovely places and people to visit along the way that will make the trip worthwhile but the challenges are quite different than along the panhandle or west coast.

Pick up the "Cruising Guide to Florida's Big Bend" by Captain Rick Rhodes (ISBN 1-58980-072-9) it is loaded with tips and information. If you'd like information on particular spots I can relay the info from my copy to you.

I really appreciate that. My wife is set on jumping the coastal towns on this trip. We have cruised for years from Pensacola to Carrabelle and she is correct that we may not have our boat in these waters again and really wants to experience the Big Bend.

 

[RECESS]

Hello recess, we are currently sitting at anchor just east of Cumberland Island on a beautiful clear day. This is a must see for sure. My wife just brought in a little baitfish on the cast net and we are currently hoping to catch our supper. The island is beautiful, the anchorage is, scenic, quiet, excellent holding, and well protected, (not a hurricane hole) and the island is beautiful. Of course I know all about Brunswick so as you head this way we will keep in touch.
You will find that Brunswick is beautiful and scenic. Very much like a small Savannah. It is a great hurricane hole. The local islands are nice and so are the people. The food is top notch.
The water, because of the beautiful saltmarsh, is murky. Not clear like we gulf coasters are used to. But very nice anyway.
Brunswick Landing Marina is an excellent Marina. It has all the basic services, a very nice clubhouse and decent showers. The laundry is free. Current costs are $12 per foot per month plus electric.
There are no great do-it-yourself boatyards in the immediate area. But you can do any work you want in the water at Brunswick Marina. There are not great services for major extensive refits here, but I do not have money for that anyway ha ha I do all my homework of course.
I will try to load a couple of pictures I took this morning while paddling my dinghy around at sunrise. But for some reason photos from my iPad always load sideways on this site. The iPad is the only connection we have out here. We use the 4G network, no Wi-Fi at Cumberland but there is Wi-Fi at Brunswick Landing Marina.
Correction, the picture is from sunset yesterday, the sunrise photos are on my camera so cannot load them from here.

Are you going to be around on April 30th? I am coming over for a curriculum meeting from 8am to 2ish. If you are at the marina I will stop by and chat for a little bit.

 

[RECESS]

You are making me wax nostalgic. I used to sail out of Shell Point, between St marks and panacea. I am sure you will have an awesome time. Great cruising area. Seek lots of local knowledge in the big bend area. The inlets are tricky. Best of Luck and fair winds!!

We kept our boat for a couple years at The Moorings in Carrabelle. We are really looking forward to cruising the Big Bend. I think the area is so pristine and a glimpse into the way Florida was hundreds of years ago.

Recess, I can recommend Cocoa (FL) Village Marina. See attached:
http://www.cocoavillagemarina.com/

Further, I can offer you two nights free and a car at Bouchelle Island Marina which sits on the ICW at New Smyrna Beach FL.
Send me a PM if you'd like more info.
G.

That is very generous and I will send you a PM. Thank you very much.

Recess. One other thing. Make sure you tune your FM radio to 100.5 as you approach the ST Joe Peninsula. Oyster Radio is one of the few truly independent radio stations left. Great sailing music and lots of Jimmy Buffett.

All the years we kept our boat at Carrabelle we were tuned to Oyster Radio. I still stream it online.

http://www.oysterradio.com/

 

[CaptDon01]

I was in Brunswick 42 years ago in the Navy attending air traffic control school there at the old NAS Glynco. Never been back, but it's on my bucket list when I retire from the FAA next year. Loved the fresh shrimp and ice tea at a little cafe downtown called Cody's if I remember right.

Don

 

[emergpa1]

Are you going to be around on April 30th? I am coming over for a curriculum meeting from 8am to 2ish. If you are at the marina I will stop by and chat for a little bit.

Dang it! No. I am working a few E.R shifts last week of April , first week of May on Rome, ga.

 

[emergpa1]

I was in Brunswick 42 years ago in the Navy attending air traffic control school there at the old NAS Glynco. Never been back, but it's on my bucket list when I retire from the FAA next year. Loved the fresh shrimp and ice tea at a little cafe downtown called Cody's if I remember right.

Don

Let me know when you get ready to come this way!

 

[BigEasy]

Thanks for the link to Oyster Radio. Great Music, like FM used to be in the 60's & 70's. Will definitely save it to favorites!

 

[emergpa1]

I have accepted a teaching position in Camden county for next year. I will shorten the commute to my boat from 3 hours down to 20 minutes and live near the coast again. We are planning the cruise from Panama City to White City, dock overnight. White City to Dog Island near Carrabelle, anchor overnight. Dog Island to St. Marks River, anchor overnight. St.Marks River to Steinhatchee marina overnight. Steinhatchee to Cedar Key, anchor overnight. Cedar Key to Tarpon Springs, marina overnight. We have done the jump across the Gulf from Dog island and this time my wife really wants to do the coastal route as we may not be back this way for a while in our sailboat. We are planning to go to the Keys and then up the Atlantic ICW and outside to Brunswick. Any places that are a must see? We want to anchor at least 4 days to everyday we marina. We have 80 gallons of freshwater and a shower on the boat.

Time for you to post an update!
Also, we are interested in spending some time, maybe a lot of time in the punta gorda area. Have you spent much time on those cruising grounds? What have you experienced or heard?

 

[Bill1565]

Emergpa checkout Punta Gorda Sailing club web site at Pgscweb.com. Lots of local info and links. PM me if you have specific questions. I have lived in Punta Gorda for 15 years and hit many of the local shoals.

 

[RECESS]

Time for you to post an update!
Also, we are interested in spending some time, maybe a lot of time in the punta gorda area. Have you spent much time on those cruising grounds? What have you experienced or heard?

We took advantage of the down economy and put a contract on a house in Woodbine.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/30-Hickory-Ridge-Ct-E-Woodbine-GA-31569/76376181_zpid/

So now we are doing everything to get the closing done in July. I am hopeful to bring the boat around this summer. Spent all day today working on our current home to get it ready to rent. There are too many things to get done and not enough time to get it all done.

So you are looking to sail south this summer instead of the trip north? The only cruising we have done is in the Panhandle.

 

[emergpa1]

Emergpa checkout Punta Gorda Sailing club web site at Pgscweb.com. Lots of local info and links. PM me if you have specific questions. I have lived in Punta Gorda for 15 years and hit many of the local shoals.

thanks, just getting in from another trip to Cumberland and fernandina. This time with our adult kids. Learned some stuff and broke some stuff but had a great time. Now we are busy settling into Brunswick. Will spend summer here fixing weaknesses in boat, crew, and cruising kitty. No trip north this year. The Punta Gorda area may become our home grounds (Recess) after the winter tour of Abacos area.

 

[RECESS]

That sounds nice, very nice.

 

[emergpa1]

That sounds nice, very nice.

well it is in the hands of Mother Nature, fate, or God. Choose your power.

 

[The Garbone]

Check for ticks if you do the nature walk on Cumberland island. Our poor dog was loaded with them after a day ashore.

 

[sailaway78]

Skinny water

Some real skinny water around Steinhatchee. I have never tried to get in there, for that reason. If you go into Clearwater, try to get through Hurricane Pass on high tide. I have bumped in there twice on mid tide. Nice anchorage about a mile up the Manatee River just when you get inside Tampa Bay.

 

[emergpa1]

Check for ticks if you do the nature walk on Cumberland island. Our poor dog was loaded with them after a day ashore.

we usually remember to apply off liberally! Thanks