Ft Lauderdale to the Keys and maybe bahamas on way back?

seadaddler · Sep 5, 2011

More Info

What navigation skills do you have and what navigation equipment do you have to use on your boat for this trip like GPS and charts.
Weather will be your the big thing with Oct and Nov still hurricane season but it is a great place to sail to KW and Dry Tortugas,you will get plenty of helpful info here shortly.
Nick

Stu Jackson · Sep 5, 2011

http://home.comcast.net/~saildan/Menu/index_of_weal_sea.htm

Look at the Bahamas trip, nice stories

bobtigar · Sep 5, 2011

Re: Ft Lauderdale to the Keys and Dry Tortugas

Sailing the keys is a not difficult Hawk channel is clearly marked with R & G bouys all the way to Key West. Anchorages chosen depend on the direction of the wind. From Mia, after Noname Harbor is Rodreguez Key. After that is Tavenier Key, then channel 5, (either outside or slightly inside, Marathon (Boot Key), Bahia Honda, Hawk Cay Marina, New Found harbor and then Key West. Some of these are good anchorags and some just Ok. One annoying problem are the vast numbers of crab pots you will have to watch for. If your raft is 5' or less you can traverse the inside, but that is by engine, as the channels are narrow. The inside is more interesting as most ofthe resturants, grocery stores and marinas are on the inside.

You will find nice sailing in Biscayne Bay and could sail down to almost Pumpkin Key and then pass thru Anglefish Creek to Hawks channel and on to Key West.
Bob

Buck420 · Sep 5, 2011

Ft Lauderdale to the Keys and Dry Tortugas

Redunc,

Having made this run many times, you might want to consider ...

Wait for a nice weather window and run Ft Lauderdale to Rodriguez Key.
Anchor in behind Rodriguez Key and dingy into the tiki bar (if it's still there).
Then (staying in Hawk Channel), Rod. Key to Marathon. Take a mooring in Boot Key (inexpensive), or tie up if you like (much more expensive). Stay at last a few days... you'll like the comradery at the VFW, etc. Get local knowledge from local cruisers.
Next, Marathon to KW... if you are retired, reserves, or active duty, call Boca Chica NAS Marina... Boca Chica is 8 miles from KW and would be, by far, the least expensive place to tie up (or get a mooring)... other wise go to the anchorage immediately West of Flemming Key in KW. Get local knowledge about conditions out in the Dry Tortugas...
Wait for weather window and sail out to Marquesas Key, anchoring in it's lee (either N or S) for the night.
The next day sail out to the fort... plan to stay a few days
For the trip back to KW, if possible, wait of a frontal passage to shift winds (for a day or so) to the ~West and make the entire run back in one (long) day.
By this time you will have gotten plenty of experience, and a lot of knowledge from locals re Bahamas if you want to go there also.
Oct and Nov are wonderful months to cruise the Keys. Yes, hurricanes are possible, but you should have plenty of warning time and advice on what to do.
You WILL meet some great (and some strange) people and have a great time.

Stu Jackson · Sep 5, 2011

redunculous said:
Frontal passage to shift winds <-- not that advanced yet, could you explain that?

It's Basic Weather 101. As bad weather (usually a low) moves in the wind comes from one direction, and as it moves out and gets replaced by good weather (high) the wind direction changes.

This is critical to crossing to the Bahamas, because of the Gulf Stream, which runs from S to N. With a N wind, it can become treacherous, with the N wind opposing the current setting up steep nasty waves.

Since you have some time, read up on weather and the Gulf Stream. There's some great Gulf Stream info on line.

Thanks for your service.

Buck420 · Sep 5, 2011

redunculous said:
Buck

I am one of the strange ones

The fact that you mentioned Tiki bar before pretty much anything else had me hooked straight away

I'm kinda active duty so will definitely give them a call - thank you for the heads up.

Frontal passage to shift winds <-- not that advanced yet, could you explain that?

Again, thanks for all the info, especially anchorages.

To amplify on Stu's comments...
The Keys lie within to the northern limits of the trade wind belt; as such, the prevailing winds from Miami south are from the E/NE.
So, you will, generally, have nice downwind sailing conditions as you go from Miami, SW around Key Biscayne, then more and more W, all the way out to the Dry Tortugas.
But going back East can often be a motoring slog into 20kt winds... not fun. So, ... especially on your run out to the Dry Tortugas, look for a cold front coming across the US that will get down to the Keys. Plan your trip out so that by the time you've been out at the Fort for 2 to 3 days, that front gets down to you and (briefly) switch the winds around to a western quadrant that you can ride back to Boca Chica. Be ready to handle thunder storms as the front passes thru ( things can get "fun"); then leave right behind them. Listen to Alan Archer, if he's still the weather guy on Keys Radio ( 104.1, I think).
And, as I said earlier, talk to the local cruisers. By the time you have been in the Keys for a few weeks, you will have a much greater understanding.
Oh, BTW, try (very hard) to be in KW by Halloween weekend for Fantasy Fest..... if you believe " life is short and is meant to be enjoyed", Fantasy Fest IS the essence of that phrase... google it for details.

Sailm8 · Sep 12, 2011

++1 on Fantasy Fest last week of October. All marinas are booked a year in advance but anchoring is possible. Make sure your dinghy is legal with lights, registration, life jackets etc. Water police are very active looking to write citations. KW is the only place I use my dinghy carrying my registration papers. Make sure you have a good lock for the outboard.

Kings Gambit · Sep 12, 2011

redunculous said:
Buck Frontal passage to shift winds <-- not that advanced yet, could you explain that?

Personally, I think that if you haven't sailed enough, especially in the SE, to know what this fellow is talking about here, I wouldn't go out there, to the Dry Tortugas. Also, it's not exactly a "connect the dots" kind of situation after reading a couple of weather books.

Just my opinion, having lived and sailed along the west coast of FL for 11 yr.

seadaddler · Sep 12, 2011

Dry Tortugas

I know of a few very good experienced sailors and with real good sailboats 40 plus who were stuck in the Dry Tortugas because of very bad weather and if you are stuck you are really stuck because you can not buy supplies or anything at all no stores.
Nick

Stu Jackson · Sep 12, 2011

Darn, ya got a 40 foot boat and ya don't have room for a few more days of food and grog? Whazzamatta wit ya?

MrBill_FLL · Sep 12, 2011

Columbus day regatta wild party raftup... you should really go, If you,ve never been ..

Elliot key Biscayne bay

And key west makes pretty much all of Oct fantasy fest
_need crew?

seadaddler · Sep 12, 2011

Be Prepared

30 or 40 the idea is make sure you have plenty extra not just when you think only a few days,when I went last april we had plenty extra food and rum.
Most I know that go are ready with extra and most going know that too
Nick

Kings Gambit · Sep 13, 2011

FYI-- Here's a picture I took as we and our companion boat (the one in the pic) were leaving the Dry Tortugas park boundary in early June of this year. Once outside the park boundary, one is outside the protection of the reefs. The wind had been blowing from the E and NE for the entire 5 days of our stay there @ between 15 and 25 kt. There was an unusual high-pressure system sitting over Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina that was driving the easterly winds. It's true, these are not extreme conditions, the seas being only 6 to 7 ft if I remember. However, for most boats there would be no going east (or at least wishing to) for more than 70 or so miles back to Key West, especially if single handing. You'd be making 2-3 kt VMG (velocity made good) if motoring, and maybe the same if beating back (or trying to) under sail. That would be tough in a 40' boat with a draft less than 5'. The boat in the picture is on a north-northwesterly course, but with an eventual destination of Pine Island Sound at Ft. Meyers. The boat is an Island Packet 37. It's a full keel, obviously cutter-rigged, yacht and is reefed down mostly for comfort. Yes, it was fun and thrilling, as you say.

With an approaching cold front, the wind first gets up out of the SW and then eventually comes round (i.e., veers) to the NW. In the fall, when these things start coming, there's still a lot of moisture in the air over the GOM, so there is much rain and thunder as the cold front moves in. As the front is passing, you get a NW wind in the > 25 knot range (at least around St. Petersburg, FL). This can go on for a while, and if you get going when that wind is blowing then you'll at least be going off the wind toward KW. However, the wind is typically COLD and very gusty. A few hours (it's variable) after the cold front passes, high pressure begins to form over the Atlantic off GA, which then drives a northeasterly wind in the 25 kt range that slowly diminish over the ensuing several hours to few days, depending on the strength of the cold front that passed. Eventually, all things being normal, the wind will settle back to its "default" direction out of the SE at anywhere from 5 to 10 kt most of the time. So, if you delay long after the NW wind starts coming in, you could be facing a strong NE wind until the milder SE wind returns. Oh, for some reason, the cold fronts always seem to pass through in the middle of the night. They tend to get on a 7-10 day cycle in the fall.

Also, FYI, the anchorage at Ft. Jefferson is pretty open to west. So, you do not get the protection from wind-driven seas coming from that direction that you do get from easterly wind and sea.

I can also tell you that we were unable to get NOAA weather reports on the VHF weather channels while we were out there. The park service does, however, post the reports. Of course, if you have a satellite web-link to a computer on board, you could get them that way.

Ft Lauderdale to the Keys and maybe bahamas on way back?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Attachments