Florida - Where are best sailing grounds?

[jeff criswell]

I've been sailing in the St Pete area for 5 yrs now. As mentioned in earlier post's, there are plenty of shallow areas to cruise up to and anchor out in. John's pass is very popular, some inter coastal sailing as well

[svJasmine]

the problem with St Pete is its HOURS from Orlando even if traffic isn't bad. And its often bad.

[Seighlor]

I've live in the Daytona area for sixty years and have sailed Florida's east, west and Gulf coasts many times. Ponce Inlet has a bad reputation but it's not really that bad. But Florida's east coast, after the first time or two, get's pretty boring. The Biscayne Bay and upper keys would be my first recommendation if you have time to travel that far. Second suggestion, as others have made, would be to work out of the Tampa Bay area. Not really too great a drive from Orlando. The bay area and west coast are not as nice as the keys but much-much better than Florida's east coast.

Hope you find a spot you can enjoy.

[gonesail]

if you like a steady 10 to 12 knots then Clearwater or St. Petersburg. St. Augustine on the East coast is nice but the inlet is tough in most weather. Also Charlotte Harbor in SW Florida.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Spring-Fever

Okay. So I am going to be working in Orlando during the week, commuting from up north. So that really opens the door for me to put a sailboat down in Florida for some weekend getaways.

But where? Which coast?

Initially I was thinking CLOSEST port - but then realized why not drive a few hours if the sailing is substantially better?!?!?

I'd love your ideas on where I should dock the boat? Closest is Cape Canaveral area, or Daytona, but the inland waters look very shallow. Should I look elsewhere on the EAST coast? Or head WEST? Tampa? Port Charlotte? etc?

True adventure spirit!

[Spring-Fever]

I don't know about you guys -- but I am enjoying this post a great deal! Many thanks to all for the amazing input and detail (Hopefully, some future readers can also get value out of this string of responses. You guys have really outlined the ins/outs of some of the better sailing grounds throughout the Florida peninsula. I'm sure I'll look back at this string over time - looking for new places to explore!)