SOUTH FLORDIA BACK COUNTRYSAILING

[G. LEWIS]

FRIENDS,WE ARE PLANNING TO MOVE OUR CATILINA 25 TO FT. MYERSBEACH FLA. SOON. WE ARE SOME WHAT FAMILIAR WITH THE KEYS BACK COUNTRY WATERS BUT WOULD WELCOMEANY FEED BACK ON WHAT TO EXPECT ON A SHORT TRIPDOWN TO THE UPPER AND MIDDLE KEYSTHANKSREED

 

[Denny P.]

Outta the "rat race"

If you are moving your boat to Ft. Myers Beach you will need to get further south to get outta the rat race. The Ft. Myers area is getting very un sailor friendly especially on the weekends. The best part of the trip to the Keys is stoppin by the ten thousand islands and unloading the dinghy on an unnamed key and having a picnic and exploring, possibly where no man has gone before. From there I usually go to the area of Lower Matacumbe where life is a little slower than Key Largo or Marathon, but, again I try to plan my trip during the week, as the Keys are THE playground for those people from the East Coast who wish to get away from it all!! Make sure that you bring your GPS and charts and watch your depth finder cause cruising is the ten thousand islands and the keys are filled with numerous bars and shoals where you will get stopped in a hurry even in seemingly deep water. A fishin rod is a must!!Go and enjoy!!! All the best......Denny P.

 

[steven f.]

careful which island

The Ten Thousand islands are great but most of them are in the Everglades National park and landing on any of them is prohibited. Than again, park rangers are few and far between, do with that information what you will.... To get away from it all take your boat down to Little Shark River and take it all the way up to Oyster bay to the Chikee huts in the bay. There you are allowed to stop and camp. They even have toilets (outhouse). These are truly way out of the rat race.