Keys vs. West Coast Florida vs. Bahamas

[WindsAloft2010]

Currently living aboard with hubby on Hunter 35 with 4 1/2 draft in Marathon.
Question is after adding some solar---for the months of March-May----what would be the best cruising experience to anchoring, mooring and occasional marinas---is it best to stay in the keys or is there substantial gains/advantages to doing the West Coast of Florida or sailing to the Bahamas??
Plan is to put the boat on the Hard with electrical if possible somewhere in Florida (up to including West Palm on the East Coast and Tampa on the West Coast) the end of May---until December---any suggestions for price efficient places that are also safe and secure?
THANKS EVERYONE IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS HERE!!!!!

[djmarchand]

The Keys, SW Florida or the Bahamas? Well all are different and all are worth visiting. You are in Marathon now, so I won't comment on the Keys. But SW Florida is an interesting place to cruise. Two of my favorite places- Boca Grande anchorage and Cayo Costa State Park (Pelican Bay). But the Bahamas give you a feeling of being away from it all and the cruiser comraderie can't be beat.

In so far as hauling out for the summer, southern Florida is expensive- both yard costs and insurance. A couple of nice but expensive yards are in Charlotte Harbor: All American Boat Storage and Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage. They are next to each other and both have travelift haulout capabilities and on the hard storage.

You would probably have to go up to Stuart on the east coast to find something reasonable.

David

[Kettlewell]

I think the Bahamas would be most interesting, but it does cost $300 to check in, so that might be a consideration. There are a couple of relatively inexpensive storage facilities in the Okeechobee Waterway: Glades Boat Storage and Indiantown. There's also a good one up at Green Cove Springs on the St. Johns River. You could easily spend three months in the Bahamas while I think that much time between the Keys and Tampa would be a lot unless you like settling down in one spot for long periods of time.

[swabbmob]

We kept our boat on the hard in Ft.Pierce. We paid about $420/mo for a 46 ft boat. Haulout charges and tie down charges weren't cheap! Ft. Pierce is easy to get to though.

[WindsAloft2010]

Thanks David for all of your very valuable info and will look into further---Happy Adventures!!!!

[WindsAloft2010]

Dear Kettlewell,

THANKS for the helpful leads and will definitely look into these places--happy adventures!!!

[WindsAloft2010]

dear Swabbmob,

THANKS a bunch and truly very helpful----happy adventures to you!!!!!