SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Sailing from Tampa to the Dry Tortugas

16K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  ianjoub 
#1 · (Edited)
I've got some time off in March, and was thinking about making a run from Sarasota down to the Dry Tortugas. I'm pretty set on the destination, and don't really want to hit Key West or anything on this trip. I've read through some of the older threads on the trip, but they all seem to recommend stopping in Port Charlotte.

Let's say I wasn't interested in making any stops along the way. Is there anything along the route I need to be concerned about (crab traps in the middle of nowhere, unusually shallow areas, etc)? Given a Catalina 36, are the conditions in mid to late March suitable for the trip?

I'm also thinking of bringing a few tanks along to do some diving. I hear there are plenty of wrecks out there, are there any worth diving? Notwithstanding the information about the achorages, and the fort itself that are in the other threads; are there any other considerations I should be thinking about?
 
#2 ·
I went from Key west.

Spring can be stormy on the gulf, and there is the Gulf current, you will be going esentially upstream.

Beautiful place to dive or snorkal, the kids can walk along Fort Jefferson and see reef fish within touching distance.
 
#3 ·
A couple questions come immediately to mind:

1. Are you sailing with a crew or are you sailing single handed?
If you are sailing with a crew, and thinking about sailing straight through, you'll have to give the Marquesses Keys and Rebecca Shoals a wide berth to avoid coral heads and shoals. Pots are usually not a problem, but there can be some derelicts floating around waiting to snag your prop or rudder.

If you intend to sail single-handed then you'll obviously be making some stops along the way. Once you get beyond Key West you can find an anchorage in Mule Key Basin, and another at the west end of the Lakes Passage at the west side o0f Crawfish Key. Beyond that you'll find a couple entrances into Mooney Harbor in the Marquesses Keys. The deepest ones are on the south side, where six feet of water can be found at high tide. Once inside the anchorage is a bit tight, but there is 8 to 12 feet of water available. I wouldn't chance the west entrance to Mooney Harbor unless you have been there before. The entrance is constantly shifting and silting in, and the last time I was there depths were down to just 4-feet until you got inside.

Beyond the Marquesses there is no sheltered anchorage until you reach the Dry Tortugas. I've only been there once by powerboat, it was an incredible trip and the water clarity was beyond description.

Good Luck,

Gary :cool:
 
#6 ·
If you wanted to sail tandem down there, I'd be down for that. I'm also going to be hitting up Egmont Key and a few other places around Tampa Bay in March. I don't know anyone remotely close to my age who's into sailing, so if you feel like sailing on the bay, hit me up.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. I'm going to make the run down without stopping so I'll check the charts around the Marquesses Keys and Rebecca Shoals.

I'm going to have a few days on either side to wait out a good window, so maybe with a little luck I'll be able to miss any nasty weather.

The shallow approach is good to know. That might be a factor with a 5'10" draft. Something else to look into.

Thanks again guys.

UPDATE: Checked the charts, and because I am coming from the north, the Marguesses and Rebecca Shoals won't be a factor as they are well to the east of my course. The approach into the anchorage from the north, if I pass the yellow "I" marker is charted at 25-50 foot so it looks like' I'll be good there as well. Still appreciate the input!
 
#9 ·
Nothing at all against the older crowd, I'm more than happy to hang out with sailors of any age; but I haven't met anyone within striking distance of 30 at any of the marinas I've had boats in (especially true in Florida).

I work overseas, but I'm back in March. If you feel like heading out, by all means shoot me a PM.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Found the page, thanks. They talk about diving a wreck in 200-300' of water at the DTs! Had no idea the diving got that serious around there. Looks like there is a LOT more diving around there than people give it credit for. Think I'm going to want to track down a few more tanks.

That's a pretty huge head boat. Looks like they could crowd up a reef/wreck pretty quickly. Here's to hoping I miss them during my trip.
 
#12 ·
I've got some time off in March, and was thinking about making a run from Sarasota down to the Dry Tortugas. I'm pretty set on the destination, and don't really want to hit Key West or anything on this trip. I've read through some of the older threads on the trip, but they all seem to recommend stopping in Port Charlotte.

Let's say I wasn't interested in making any stops along the way. Is there anything along the route I need to be concerned about (crab traps in the middle of nowhere, unusually shallow areas, etc)? Given a Catalina 36, are the conditions in mid to late March suitable for the trip?

I'm also thinking of bringing a few tanks along to do some diving. I hear there are plenty of wrecks out there, are there any worth diving? Notwithstanding the information about the achorages, and the fort itself that are in the other threads; are there any other considerations I should be thinking about?
The run from Sarasota to Ft. Jefferson is quite straight forward and the entrance from the north pretty easy. Time your arrival so that you will have good light to see the bottom as you get into Garden Key. There is a deep channel but shallows are nearby and the water shoals very quickly. On the direct trip down the only fixed obstructions are a couple of old radio towers but they make good reference points. For some reason, south of Cape Romano a few squalls always seem to develop in the early evening and persist until about 0100 or so. If you have radar, they are easy to track and avoid. Never the less, ensure your reefing gear is in good order and prepare to reef the minute you begin to feel a cool/cold breeze from the east. Some times the shrimpers/fishing boats can be a pain in the neck, especially at night. Acquaint yourself with the lights used by fishing boats and avoid them, particularly if they've got a trawl out.

The holding around Garden Key isn't the greatest--sand over marle--so ensure you have good ground tackle for that. Use Passageweather.com for weather forecasts before you leave. Unfortunately, Northwesterlys can be a bit much in March. The predictions are pretty good for 4-5 daze out. Take plenty of food, fuel and water as none is available on the Key.

FWIW...
 
#13 ·
Not only can Northwesterly's be a problem, I went from Destin to Tampa during April and only had 3 hours of wind in 3 full days (we hit Egmont at midnight). So make sure you have sufficient fuel.
 
#14 ·
Hey Hylite, thanks for chiming in. I forgot you've got a lot of local knowledge in the bay area. Glad you mentioned the radio towers, I hadn't seen those on the charts.

I've got a few fuel cans to strap to the deck so I'll probably fill those up before heading out as well. With luck I'll have a some good pictures to post in a few weeks.
 
#15 ·
hey credence

I'm Andrew, I'm living in clearwater fl at the moment. I'm right on the water near tampa international airport. We have a guest dock here too.

I would LOVE to come out sailing sometime. I am free everyday for now. Just got back from Cozumel did some sailing on "the stars and stripes tour" using the americas cups boats. (I am not a sailer)

I have my good friend and his girl from demark visiting. It would be a dream to have you meet us at our dock and take us out for a little while. Beers and food on me of course!

let me know
 
#17 ·
Hey Andrew, I'll be back in the States in March. If your friends are still around then, I'm more than happy to meet up. I'll shoot you a PM as it gets closer.

As for the weather, I think I'm going to have to accept the chance of getting hit with something along the way. I don't know why, but for some reason I always thought passageweather.com was a pay service. Happy to learn it's free, and pretty impressed with the amount of information. It sort of puts sailflow to shame. I've got 9 days to do this, so that should give me a little wiggle room on either end to take advantage of a good weather window. The good news is, I have a new Harken MKIV furler, and a brand new custom mainsail getting put on this week with 3 reefing points, so it wouldn't be terrible putting the new toys to good use. :cool:

The only thing that concerns me is fetching I've heard about in the Gulf. We'll see how it goes.
 
#16 ·
What no one has mentioned is coming back. The weather can be such that coming back east can be a real problem = very high and choppy waves. Plan at least a week in case you get "stuck" or take the fast cat back to Key West (it will be the vomit comet instead of the "fast cat" on the trip), then return to claim your boat and sail back if you run out of time.
 
#19 ·
I've talked my wife into coming along on this trip so she's going to end up being my crew (though she doesn't know that yet). I may regret that if the weather turns on us, but I'm taking my chances.

If this trip works out well, I might make a habbit of running down there, and to the Keys. If I do, I'd gladly take anyone who feels like coming along in exchange for a few beers/ good company. In the mean time, same offer stands, if you feel like sailing around Tampa Bay, shoot me a PM.
 
#24 ·
Andrew, I got you on chat, we'll work something out.

Incidentally, that plan just got changed. Looks like I'll be singlehanding to Key West now rather than the DT's. A little bummed because I've been to the Keys a hundred times (by car), but at least I'm still doing a trip somewhere. I'm still figuring about 35 hours, so the sailing part should be just as good.
 
#25 ·
Made the trip, and had a great time. Thanks to everybody who offered advice.

I ended up sailing down and back with my wife on board. She even pulled a night watch so I could get an hour's sleep. The crab traps are REDICULOUS. Even after my years in the Chesepeake, I'd never seen anything like that.

The weather was okay. We did get some stormy weather at night (of course it came while we were in the middle of crab trap alley), and the wind eventually clocked around from the south-southwest which was pretty annoying. Beyond that, everything went smoothly, and we had no issues with the boat, depth, sea state, etc. Had a great time, and made it in 35 hours from the mouth of Tampa Bay.

Again, thanks for all the advice.


Additionally, I'm back in the Bay so if anyone wants to get together for a beer and or some sailing, shoot me a PM!!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top