My wife and I are looking to "hop" up and down the east coast of Florida, looking for spots to hang on the hook mostly but could dingy in to small towns to sightsee and get supplies and such. In my short research it seems like most opportunities will be marinas for $100 a night, not interested in that. Is there a group, or web site that talk about the small out of the way treasure spots that others have tried and found to be a surprise find?
East coast Florida cruising spots
- Thread starter Andiamo 34
- Start date
New Smyrna Beach (Central Florida) has several lovely anchorages. The main one is hard by the downtown business district which has been 'updated' to look like a 1960's old Florida town.
Many restaurants and shops within dinghy rowing distance.
No mooring buoys, no anchoring restrictions, no hassles.
Ponce Inlet is nearby as well.
Also, it's near enough to Kennedy Space Center to vividly see rocket launches and hear the roar of the engines..
Many restaurants and shops within dinghy rowing distance.
No mooring buoys, no anchoring restrictions, no hassles.
Ponce Inlet is nearby as well.
Also, it's near enough to Kennedy Space Center to vividly see rocket launches and hear the roar of the engines..
This could turn into a really great thread. Maybe we create a map and drop pins once it is run its course.
Active Captain is my go to source for anchorages. Garmin bought the rights to Active Captain but has allowed it to remain open and free to non-Garmin users.
The Jensen Beach bridge to Hutchinson Island has an anchorage to it's North (In the lee from the prevailing SE sea breeze),
with restaurants within rowing distance. Conchy Joe's and Hoffman's. But if there's a Norther you'll want to pick up a mooring South of the Bridge (And causeway).
Either way there are facilities there (For the Mooring field, but we all know ...). Also restaurants in walking distance, supermarket, cleaners, liquor stores, (There's about anything you'd need.)
In Ft. Pierce there is the same plus museums, art galleries, and a Manatee exhibit. I've seen anchored boats while crossing the two bridges.
Stuart has municipal marina. I'm not sure sure over night is permitted but they have power poles so... It is right in downtown Stuart with the restaurants, galleries, Lyric theater, and a great secret, Terra Fermatta -where live music is played. I'm not sure about anchoring in the St. Lucie River. It is shallow except in the channel, where you can't anchor. There is a mooring field West of the Roosevelt Bridge. I think I've see sailboats anchored off Britt Point (Northwest of the Roosevelt Bridge). That is nearly an hour travel from the ICW.
Going South there is Port Salierno, with it's restaurants. I'm not sure about anchorages there.
More South is Jupitor.
with restaurants within rowing distance. Conchy Joe's and Hoffman's. But if there's a Norther you'll want to pick up a mooring South of the Bridge (And causeway).
Either way there are facilities there (For the Mooring field, but we all know ...). Also restaurants in walking distance, supermarket, cleaners, liquor stores, (There's about anything you'd need.)
In Ft. Pierce there is the same plus museums, art galleries, and a Manatee exhibit. I've seen anchored boats while crossing the two bridges.
Stuart has municipal marina. I'm not sure sure over night is permitted but they have power poles so... It is right in downtown Stuart with the restaurants, galleries, Lyric theater, and a great secret, Terra Fermatta -where live music is played. I'm not sure about anchoring in the St. Lucie River. It is shallow except in the channel, where you can't anchor. There is a mooring field West of the Roosevelt Bridge. I think I've see sailboats anchored off Britt Point (Northwest of the Roosevelt Bridge). That is nearly an hour travel from the ICW.
Going South there is Port Salierno, with it's restaurants. I'm not sure about anchorages there.
More South is Jupitor.
Dude, there's LOADS of places. Where on the east coast? Will you be in the ICW? Keys? I pretty much stay out of marinas although I might pick up a mooring ball if unavoidable, much prefer to be on my own hook though. We're heading south out of Hilton Head in early Nov for the Keys, we'll use marinas for fuel/water/pump out, but other than a night here and there will try to be on the hook as much as possible.
There are a lot of derelict boats clogging some of the more popular anchorages, but I think I've seen them starting to get thinned out. Certainly the group by the Harris-Saxon bridge seemed much smaller in April than last November. I have a bigger problem with private mooring balls taking up anchorage space. To me that's like going to a national park and carving out a plot of land just for yourself.
Near St. Auggies is ok, but lots of traffic, overly touristy imho, but a good stop for a couple nights. Aligator or Harrison Creek south of Fernandina is very secluded and peaceful, just north of Fernandina is nice and you can dink in and pay to use the facilities, go into town for some craft beer or ride horses on the beach, Titusville is a good spot to watch launches from, park access. Ft. Pierce has a couple good ones, but I'd recommend staying away from the R18 spot under the bridge unless its just a one or two night stay. Some good spots in the south of Lake Worth past Rybovitch, I stay away from Marine Stadium but some might like it, but there loads of places in the sounds back of Largo. Getting further down in the keys the long term anchorages get thinner on the ground and we'll for sure be watching the wind and moving when we need to for protection. This year we're going to try some places in backcountry as well.
Active Captain also integrates with the MX Mariner navigation app. The most recent active captain data can be downloaded while in a cell service area and the can be used on your boat when out of cell service areas. Adds more info to decision making while cruising.
I ran across this today regarding Martin County:
www.waterwayguide.com
Browse Anchorages & Free Docks in Stuart, FL | Find Marinas | Waterway Guide
Waterway Guide Navaid Directory
www.waterwayguide.com
Integrates pretty well with Navionics too. Navionics has its own directory of marinas and anchorages too, so sometimes you have to zoom in a little more and pay attention to the icons to get the AC entries instead of Navionics, but it’s all there.
Thank you for your response. We will mostly be on the ICW, the keys late this year or early next. We have never done this so I knew I could learn allot from the group of sailors that have done this for years. Ia appreciate all the responses.
We were a little nervous 2 years ago our first time. We're heading south from hilton head mid-november. hope to travel on the outside as much as possible, but I'm sure we'll do some ICW transits. In SC and GA if you're just doing day hops outside you have to go so far out to get to safe water its almost not worth it.
Pick up a waterway guide and the accompanying chart book for FL east coast, and a Skipper Bob's Anchorages in the AICW.
