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Greetings From sunny Tampa! I've had my Catalina 30 for a few months now and I've become very comfortable sailing it. With the beautiful winter weather on the horizon, I'm starting to plan a 7 day cruise. I would like to make a run down to the keys, possibly the Dry Tortugas. I'm not sure if this is an audacious trip in a C30? Any opinions will be greatly appreciated! Also, has anyone made this trip from Tampa to the Keys. I've heard it's a 48 hour sail down there. Did you stop overnight in Venice or Ft. Myers; or sail right through? Any tips would help.
Making the run in a 30ft sloop you should be fine. Just make sure you mind your charts and weather alerts.
I have a friend who sails out of the Tampa Sailing Squadron down to Rya Key on a regular basis in a 24ft ketch. In fact the Saint Pete Yacht Club (spyc.org) has an annual regatta/race from Tampa Bay to Key West. I have heard of one person making the run from Pensacola, FL to the Keys and then on to Miami..... in a 16ft sloop.
If you want something a bit more adventurous after your run to the Keys, you might want to look into the SPYC's annual 500mi regatta to Mexico: The Regatta Del Sol al Sol.
The time it takes to sail from Tampa to the Dry Totugas is the time it takes. With all due respect to your timetable, sailing with a schedule in mind is asking for trouble. On the bright side, your boat is more than adequate for the journey and you should have a blast. Just don't rush it.
As a guide to time, it took me 2 day sails and one overnight to go from John's Pass Inlet to Indian Key. You're basically looking at 3 days of straight through sailing/motoring each direction, barring any inclement weather.
May I suggest hopping down to Ft.Myers and waiting for weather to Key West. This time of year you can have fronts blowing down making for a really cold, wet and uncomfortable passage. You can jump in 24 hours from Ft. Myers on a good forecast which gives you more control of the situation.
Thank you all for the input. I'm still doing some much needed research before the trip.
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