To Cruisers Members from Florida

[Blue Crab]

And can you say pythons? They swim, climb, and eat ... lots. Wait til they hit the keys: goodbye fauna.

[Steve W]

Another native Floridian here: A lot of great advice has been offered, though I would add that while July and August are the worst months for heat and humidity, June and September can be steamy, too. Enjoyed the bug, lizards, snakes and gator comments, but don't forget the no see-um's and mosquitos. Suggest you spend a week down here in late July or August and do a little preliminary boat shopping. Always fun to tour boats on a hot and humid summer day, especailly with the Admiral in tow.

[waywardsuun]

I lived in Naples for four years. Nice place. It did seem like the rich lived closer to the beach and the farther away you went the poorer people were. Don't expect to make much money in florida, the pay scale is not that good. I actually lived closer to everglades city just south of Marco Island. Down there the mesquitos were bad. I remember the convenience store in Everglades city had a hot dog machine with the little rollers that rolled the dogs and each dog would have one or two mesquitos rolled into the hot dog. The good thing, the mesquitos and noseems didn't come out much til dusk. Not sure how living aboard is, always wanted to but never had the chance. All that said, I plan to go back in a few years on my boat and I spend a week or two every year down there.

[hellosailor]

Apparently there's a new scheme afoot as reported on cruisersnet. Palm Beach has very quietly and suddenly gotten the Corps of Engineers to propose filling in most of Lake Worth with fill and topping it off with sea grass (no anchoring allowed) and that includes the next village over, which claims they had NO advance notice. Depths should be 2-6' over the sea grass, depending on who is asked.

From what's been said, it was "Here's the 30 day comment period, hope y'all like the view from under the steamroller" and they've figured out a way to get rid of all those pesky folks who want to anchor and spoil the view of the lake.

I give 'em points for clever and sneaky, one a those rich folk musta found a good lawyer.

[pete33458]

I have lived in 9 cities on 2 continents. Nothing is like FL. It is paradise, for sailing and everything else (ignoring the urban sprawl, which tends not to extend onto the water, except on certain holiday weekends...). pete

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by gpdno

We move to Venice, just south of Sarasota. Just love it. Easy access to the gulf. Lots of overnight and weekend cruise location. Warm weather and warm water. Just like paradise

Ah yes...is the "Crow's Nest" still there? Used to be one of my favorite stops...nice little pub down stairs, great restaurant upstairs, well stocked humidor...

[gpdno]

Yup. Crows Nest is still here. Was in for a beer about a month ago. Nice place and judging from the VHF traffic it a busy place.

[blueyama]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

I would also second the notion of looking for shallow draft in the boat you choose, and if possible keeping the masthead clearance under 55 feet. The southwest coast bridge max. is 55 feet. You need to be able to clear a 49-foot lift bridge at Indiantown in order to do the whole Okeechobee Waterway across the state, and it is very shallow in places too.

From what I understand the okeechobee waterway has a channel going threw it that is deeper than the rest of the area, I'm not sure if this is true, but I have also heard barges go through this waterway so it seems to have some merit.

I like the idea of going into shallow areas with a shorter draft but I do plan on sailing offshore after a few years so ill need a deeper draft and using that time to get familiar w my boat. Good advice however if I was stay for a prolonged period