Live Aboard Marinas in St. Petersburg or Western Florida?

[jeremiason]

Lori and I are thinking about spending the summer in Western Florida, probably St. Peterburg.

Can anyone tell me if there are available live board slips in St. Pete or along western Florida?

Is it difficult to find them?

Thanks in Advance!

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by jeremiason

Lori and I are thinking about spending the summer in Western Florida, probably St. Peterburg.

Can anyone tell me if there are available live board slips in St. Pete or along western Florida?

Is it difficult to find them?

Thanks in Advance!

Tom--

There are several marinas in south St. Pete that permit live aboard and do have slips. One of the nicest is the Harborage where we have friends. There are also a couple of good marinas on the Manatee River in Bradenton that do also. If you click over to Activecaptain.com and register (free) you'll be able to see all of what's availalbe and read the reviews contributed by ohter cruisers, which are very worth while. It's a lovely area with good local cruising. Youll enjoy it.

svHyLyte

[the_alpine]

The Harborage is definitely nice with pool and dining on site. The Municipal Marina is also very good. These will all have spaces for you.

Are you set on St Petersburg proper? Its a great place, and thats where I live (not aboard). But the beaches... The BEACHES... If you want to get out and explore all of the awesome islands on the Gulf Coast here, downtown St Pete is slightly inconvenient. Have you considered somewhere closer to the gulf, off the ICW?

[Gary H]

I have friends who live aboard at Demon's Landing in downtown St. Petersburg. The rates are reasonable (for Florida) but I don't remember the exact fee. They managed to talk the manager into paying the non-liveaboard rate since they're not there every night. For downtown St. Pete, it's an excellent location.

+1 on the beaches! They're about a 15 minute drive from downtown and there are a couple of marinas on the ICW and Boca Ciega Bay close to the beach. For example, Blind Pass Marina is a 5 minute walk to Sunset Beach.

It's a trade off. Downtown, you're right on the bay with great sailing just outside the breakwater plus nightlife. The beaches are more quiet (except during spring break) and you might need to pass through 2 draw bridges to get from a marina to the Gulf.

Either way, St. Pete is a great place to spend some sailboat time! Best of luck.