Florida Big Bend Local Knowledge?

[Mike Turner]

My wife and I are planning to move our Lazyjack 32 schooner from Hudson, FL to Mobile Bay. I'm looking for some local knowledge on the route, particularly Florida's Big Bend. We're planning to stick close to the coast in 30-40 mile legs per day - we don't want to do the direct sail to Carrabelle due to our limited overnighting experience.

I've got all the charts and Young's and Rhodes' cruising guides; what I'm most interested in are any locations to avoid do to hazards, particularly depths, rocks and currents. The boat draws 2'10" with the centerboard up so we've got some options that deeper draft boats might not have. I'll have the tide tables for locations along the route. We hope to do some nights on the hook and some at marinas.

The tentative route, with alternates in parentheses, is:

- Hudson to Withlacoochee (alternates Homosassa River, Crystal River)
- Withlacoochee to Cedar Keys
- Cedar Keys to Steinhatchee (alternate Suwannee River)
- Steinhatchee to St Marks
- St Marks to Carrabelle (alternate Dog Island)
- Carrabelle to Apalachicola

At Apalachicola we'll enter the ICW and go on to Panama City, Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola, Pirates Cove/Ingram Bayou and home.

Any suggestions for locations not mentioned are also appreciated. I want to be prepared with basic information for alternates all along the route in case of weather, mechanical or other problems. We have about 3 weeks available to make the trip which should be more than enough.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rick Webb]

That Looks Like a Good Plan to Me

Most of the marinas along there are a good distance up a channel or river don't plan on cutting yourself short on daylight getting into them. St Marks is a neat little town and would be worth spending an extra day to tour the fort, the food and service at the BBQ place was wonderful wish I could remember the name it was on the corner across the street from a bar on either side. You are not going to miss it if you walk down the street. If you anchor out at Dog Island be aware there is a pretty good current there I dove off the back of the boat and was not completly certain I was going to ba able to make it back to the boat it was flowing that fast. From St Marks I would go to Dog Island, Appalachicola, Panama City, etc.. St Marks to Carrabelle will be a very long day.

It can actually be a smoother ride staying out where it is deep on a line roughly from Tarpon Springs to Carrabelle. Further up into the Big Bend you will often get swells in two different directions and it can be an uncomfortable ride.

Rhodes book is a wonderful guide I could not fault any of the info I found in it.

 

[zeehag]

you will love appalachicola--is quaint and has excellent oysters LOL....there are a coupla few places with excellent eats and on the water----i really liked it there--we stayed in water street marina/hotel in the marina --there are bicycles(not in good repair when we were there, but available!) that we used for reprovisioning--is a bit sprawly but a reallly cool place to stop.nice folks!.....also liked port st joe marina in port st joe--14 mi away from appalachicola......havent been to panama city yer--we stopped in ingrams bayou--awesome at evening sunset..LOL......have fun!!! mebbe meet with you on our way out again!!

 

[Bill1565]

Re: That Looks Like a Good Plan to Me

we are discussing a trip nort to Pnama city/ Tyndall AFB. Can I have more info on "the Rhodes book"

 

[Rick Webb]

Here You Go

http://www.amazon.com/Cruising-Guid...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264978329&sr=1-1


Not Sure the marina at Tyndall will take a 37' boat

Good thing you identified which one is you in the picture I though you might have been the good looking one on the right.

 

[sailaway78]

Second thoughts

While there are some very nice places in your planned itinerary, I would think long and hard about doing it that way. Is going to be hard to make some of the hops in daylight. Particularly this time of year when days are much shorter. You DO NOT want to be trying to navigate some of these areas at night, particularly if you have not been there before. I would strongly recommend that if you do it in the shorter hops, to leave very early in the morning, as going out when you have already run through an inlet would be easier in the dark, than going in one you haven't been into. There are some long winding channels in some of these places, with very shallow water everywhere. Also keep in mind that the bars and shallows change regularly due to the tidal currents, and will be even more likely to do so with all the recent rains and high water. Charts are going to be iffy in these areas. Why don't you add to your overnight experience and do it in one hop. It is a pretty easy overnight run from Anclote Key, which is the northern end of the waterway on the west coast, up to Appalachicola or Carabelle. Prevailing winds should be in your favor, and not many afternoon or middle of the night thunderstorms this time of year. I have run that part of the coast numerous times, and I still avoid running most of the inlets in the dark if at all possible. My avatar is a bouy in the channel at Destin and gives a good idea of the currents when the tide is running. The tide will be ripping through some of these places, and is going to be particularly bad since all the rains lately.