Yes, that's a reasonable draft for this area.
Heck, you can run aground with
any draft. It's like my brother says about four-wheel-drive trucks. "Yeah, they get stuck too. Just WAY further in the woods."
Yes, there's some shoals in the bay but 98% of it is probably eight to twelve feet (except for the channels.) The entire West coast of Florida is very well charted, easy to navigate and with the exception of a hand-full of inlets, slow to change. Heck, grab some free online charts and check it out for yourself.
Your Hunter 30 will be fine for trips to the Keys and even the Bahamas if you wish.
Enjoy.
Oh, I found this bit of a post from 2005. It's mostly still accurate. Kinda. Sorta.
Points further north and a South Sea comment
We used to go to South Seas frequently and pretend we had money (we still don't.) Captiva certainly has it's charms and we love the island but be aware that the resort was ground zero for Hurricane Charley and had it's clock cleaned. They've been frantically rebuilding and a friend just e-mailed me from there 2 days ago says that while it's open for business there's still much construction underway and you'll pay $3.50/ft. for the privilege of enduring it.
You've gotten some good advice on Cabbage, Useppa and Cayo Costa. They're all favorite stops of ours and worth a look. See if you can find someone in the anchorage to lead you through the 'tunnel-of-love.'
If you're in the area, dinghy in to Barnacle Phils's on the northern tip of North Captiva Island. There's no bridge to the island and Phil's sits on a charming lagoon hidden within the Northeast corner of the island. Oh yeah, don't miss the ice cream shop up stairs.
We always stop at the Crow's Nest Marina just inside the Venice Inlet. It's a small, friendly, easy to access facility that has a pretty damn good restaurant upstairs. Be sure to try the Guenther-Gebel Williams filet mignon. Oh my god, it's unbelievable. You can enjoy your meal with a fine wine while watching the sunset behind your boat. The loaner bikes will allow you to pedal into town to sightsee.
The anchorage adjacent to the Marina Jack's complex in downtown Sarasota is worth considering. Just don't come in Big Sarasota pass. It's marked but WAY too treacherous for deeper draft vessels. You'll see locals use it but usually only in settled conditions. Anyway, you can land a dinghy at the upper eastern shore of the anchorage basin where you can lock it up and head into town. Downtown Sarasota has undergone something of a renaissance in the past several years and theres many nice bistros and shops to visit. On a nice day you can visit the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
Covered in the Claiborne Young guide you mentioned is the Longboat Key anchorage on the extreme northern end of Longboat Key. It's small and overly popular on weekends but for good reason. We try to visit on weekdays. Tuck in close to shore as the current reverses in the outer parts of the anchorage pretty hard. There’s two excellent seafood eateries on the shore (Mar Vista and Moore's) and beautiful beaches a short dinghy ride away. Follow the first meandering canal into the Key that begins immediately south of the anchorage. At it's terminus is Isabel's, a fabulous breakfast hole-in-the-wall. There's even a short seawall where you can tie up the dink. If you like huevos rancheros done right or maybe chocolate chip and banana pancakes then you can't miss it. A few steps from Isabel's is an upscale grocery store for mid-trip provisioning and a liquor store for mid-trip prov..., well, you get the idea. (UPDATE: Most of these places are now gone. Moore’s is still there and Mar Vista is now a bit , ahem, foo-foo.)
The Longboat Key pass is okay for sailboats but be aware that the current can run briskly and that it's a single-lift bascule.
Inside the mouth of the Manatee River you'll find acres of anchorage on either the north or south side of the river. There's not much in the immediate vicinity (which isn't always a bad thing) but there are county parks on either shore to explore.
You might head to St. Pete to anchor in the Vinoy (hotel) basin. On the south shore there's a small watercraft concession and dock run by a lady who would let us keep the dink there securely for a few bucks while we traipsed through downtown. Don't miss Moon Under Water restaurant which borders the basin. It's a converted old rambling house that features an unusual British colonial cuisine and lots of favorite draft beers. There's plenty more stops to be found on foot but you'll just have to discover those on your own.
If you head north of St. Pete I'd recommend the Greek enclave of Tarpon Springs. Mmmmm, I can taste the saganaki now...
As you can tell, a good deal of our cruising revolves around food. That's not abnormal is it?
Hope this helps.
