Florida: Stuart or Jupiter

[CaptainForce]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

................This is not to put down Florida, just to say,......... That's FloriDUH. Can't make that stuff up.

'sounds like a contradiction to me, but then if I were in Chicago or Seattle I wouldn't know how to stay in the most pleasant surroundings either.

I left Ft. Pierce off my list and, as PBeezer claims, the inlet is excellent; however, like Daytona, St. Augustine and Lauderdale the only sailing is offshore and the currents can be troublesome. You'll find the same pros and cons of big city and rural choices that are made everywhere. Take care and joy, Aythya crew

[Boatsmith]

It would depend upon your work situation and what you mean by saling. There is very little racing in either location. If you want to race then almost any other location in FL has more than Palm Beach county. Jupiter is the northern edge of Palm beach county. There is a little green space(20miles) and then Stuart to the north. There is dinghy racing in both areas. If you wantto day sail a small cruiser there is moresailing water in Stuart due to the river and the ICW. Shallow draft is relly helpful. The sailingcommunity is healthier in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and the Tampa Bay area. From Palm Beach (Lake Worth) Abacos are a scant 50 miles away.

[jzk]

I happen to really enjoy the Jupiter/Palm Beach area. The sailing is offshore. However, there are many really cool places to drop the hook like peanut island, etc. Many many sailors just keep their boats at anchor in these areas. It is also a great place to go about in your dinghy. From Jupiter you can go west a bit and travel up the Loxahatche which is an unbelievable place where you are certain to see gators.
Fort Lauderdale does have a great sailing community. If you visit there, you can anchor in Lake Sylvia.

[Amazing Grace]

Thanks all; I really appreciate all of your feedback. Gives me lots to think about. Carl Hiassen; love his books. I'm sure I've read them all. Such a hoot!

All this feedback has given me lots of material to do some more research.

No doubt more questions thereafter. :-)

Many thanks again.

[ppiccolo1]

Amazing Grace, I've spent the last 3 "summers" in the Bay of Islands and have lived in Florida for a couple of years and travel there extensively. I'm going to speak in regards to cost of living and work situation, since I'm new to sailing (although we won the rum race at Opua last week, wooohooo!) Employment opportunities are going to be best in the major metropolitan areas. Being from Auckland, that shouldn't matter too much.? Cost of living is substantially cheaper in FL than NZ in every regard. You can find high rent areas anywhere, but your options will be far more varied. I would recommend Tampa-Clearwater or Ft. Lauderdale-Miami. That of course depends on what you do? If you are a restaurant manager, there isn't a town in FL that you won't find work (the Keys?). Moorings, however aren't $20 a week, but everything else certainly is cheaper. BTW I just paid $20 for a 12 pack of MGD and it was $10 off guys... Knowing your career will definitely lead to better advice though

[smurphny]

Ft. Pierce Inlet is a class A inlet. I would not plan on using any of the other local inlets around the Stuart area except in flat conditions. Even Ft. Pierce can get nasty when wind and tide oppose.

[wduncan50]

Amazing Grace, as stated before the Coccoa Beach, Cape Canaveral area is nice. I keep my boat here at the Port Canaveal Yacht Club a great club and much more affrdable than most yacht clubs.

For sailing it take me around 10 minutes to get into the Atlantic, but if the weather is bad it can take around a hour or so to get into the ICW due to one lock and two draw bridges.

Housing in this area is most affordable due to the economy and the shut down of the space program.

[Amazing Grace]

Hello! I work in the corporate world now. Sounds like not much of that where I may be looking. I've also worked on luxury yachts and charter yachts as mate and chef. So I imagine Ft. Lauderdale may have some of those opportunities.

I've not sailed inlets before (long rivers in Australia and NZ do oot count) and it sounds a bit daunting to me. I prefer the ocean and gulf sailing.

ppiccolo1: Not a great summer this year was it? And autumn came in with a blast with the gale last night. Skydiving - very cool. I enjoy that more than bungy, that's for sure!

smurphny: Thanks again for the info. I need to investigate more on inlet sailing.

Will: I'll surf the net and check out the places you've mentioned.

Thanks again all. Really appreciate the info. I'm thinking I need to do more research on the gulf side too. perhaps more of the type of sailing I'm looking for? Cheers.

[hellosailor]

Grace, you may find sailing out of Florida's coasts problematic. If you're not a US citizen, every time you wander offshore, ther you go, may need to formally re-enter again. You might want to make sure about that before you make plans. Sometimes border policies (anywhere) can get messy.

[smurphny]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Grace, you may find sailing out of Florida's coasts problematic. If you're not a US citizen, every time you wander offshore, ther you go, may need to formally re-enter again. You might want to make sure about that before you make plans. Sometimes border policies (anywhere) can get messy.

That's something to think about for sure. I don't know whether Grace can get a "local boater" option from Homeland Security. Probably the folks to check with are DTOPS. Florida also has its own set of registration rules. They don't allow documented vessels without state registrations. I don't know how the rules apply to foreign registered boats but you'll need to check with Florida DMV. Florida also has a proficiency requirement now which can be obtained online.