Routing St Pete - Abacos (repost)

[WBurgner]

Modified from original post on Cruising & Racing

Comments welcome from those that have transited the keys to the Bahamas.

Departing 6/1/10. I intend to go direct to Marathon, pick up a passenger at Key Largo, then cross at Bimini/Riding Rock, cross the bank to Hole on the Wall via Chub Cay, proceeding north through the Abacos.

I am most interested in info on routing/anchorages through the keys and the best place to hold up for the weather window to cross.

 

[WBurgner]

Underway

Did not receive any responses, but thought I weould post progress.

Currently laying Man of War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas.

Routing was:

Tampa Bay to Key West, FL
Key West to Boot Harbor in Marathon, FL
Boot Harbor to Key Largo
Key Largo to Nassau
Nassau to Green Cay
Green Cay to Royal Island, Eleuthra
Royal Island to Little Harbor, Abaco
Little Harbor to Tiloo Cay, Abaco
Tilloo Cay to Man of War

Little or no wind and when there was any it was on the nose. We motored or motor sailed the entire trip. Hope to start working our way home Wednesday if Alex continues westward. We look forward to better sailing conditions on the way home as well as shorter legs. The Tampa-Key West and Key Largo-Nassau legs were tiring.

 

[Matey]

Bill,

Enjoy your trip back. That's sure to be beautiful sailing out there. Hope the breeze & weather is favorable. Some water I could swim in sounds really inviting right now.

Regards, Greg

* pictures .. or it did'nt happen

 

[WBurgner]

Pictures

Pictures are on the iPhone and the computer is a PC so it might have to wait until we get home for sharing what photos we have taken.

You are right, the water has been terrific.

 

[WBurgner]

Back in St Pete

The return trip was much like the outbound portion in that there was either too little wind to sail or it was hard on the nose. We actually motored or motor-sailed the entire journey to the Abacos and back. If we were not time compressed we might have taken some shorter legs and been able to make the distances with less engine use.

Return routing was:

Man of War Cay, Abaco to Little Harbour, Abaco
Little Harbour to Sandy Point, Abaco
Sandy Point to Fraziers Hog, Berry Islands
Fraziers Hog to South Riding Rock, Grand Bahama Bank
South Riding Rock to Key Largo, Florida
Key Largo to Marathon, FL
Marathon to Key West, FL
Key West to Egmont Key at mouth of Tampa Bay, FL
Egmont Key to Gulfport, FL

The gulf stream crossing back to Key Largo was nothing like the calm crossing going over. We were hit with squalls that left us in gale force winds for nearly two hours and winds just under 30 knots for several more hours.
Boat handled it very well, but we were unable to keep the pace up to complete the crossing and get to Key Largo before dark. We were unable to identify the entrance channel to the Pilot House Marina in the dark and drizzle so just anchored out until morning.

The rest of the trip was long but uneventful.

 

[Morgan Stinemetz]

Coming home

Good headwork for not trying for a Pilot House Marina when you could not see. That takes some guts and some clever thinking.

Morgan Stinemetz

 

[WBurgner]

Pilothouse Marina at Key Largo

Hi Morgan,
Have you ever been to this marina? In daylight you can barely see the narrow canal between homes along the seawall. Turns out we would have grounded midway if we attempted the entry that night. The following morning with a bit more tide help we still struck but managed to get off under our own resources. Friendly folks at the marina, but it is tricky to get too.

Did you ever make the move to Las Vegas?

 

[Morgan Stinemetz]

Pilot House Marina

Yes, Tom. It's reviewed in the book CRUISING THE FLORIDA KEYS. When we researched the book the channel was okay, but the slips had some shallow spots. It is, however, one very protected spot. You sure used your head.

Morgan Stinemetz

 

[nazdravi]

Great posts re; Abaco trip

Morgan,
Thanks for sharing the great posts.
I thought I would reach out to you since we are local and it would be fun to plan an Ericson gathering between Tampa and Sarasota, in the future.
We have an E35-2 and look forward to cruising south from St. Pete Beach some day. We keep her in St. Pete Beach across the street from The Don Cesar.
Cheers,
Dave & Laddy
NaZdravi
E25-2 #164
Sheetwize@mac.com

 

[Desiderata]

Hi Dave and Laddy, Last we knew, Morgan was on the hard up the Mantee River. However we are floating around down here in Sarsota on our 27 and we have a new member at our club who has an E-32. There is a Pig Roast @SSS Aug. 21st. You are welcome to be our guest.

 

[nazdravi]

Dave & Laddy & Pigs

'Sounds great. We will be back from Prague on 8/14 so we will certainly plan on meeting you at the pig roast. I have heard good things and read about the SSS in Southwinds with the write up by Steve Morrell re; the mooring field.
Thank you for the generous invitation. This may just motivate me to get the last of the re-commissioning details in order; GPS, paper charts, some new instruments & engine service.

I have not sailed in the shallow waters between Sarasota & St. Pete yet. Maybe you can tell me the best route to SSS by sea, from Pass-A-Grille. Should we plan to sail to Long Boat Pass and come down through SS Bay? Or is there enough water (5'-6') to get through New Pass these days? we would prefer to sail as much as possible to avoid motoring inside in the ditch from Egmont / Ana Maria area.
Or, is it better to go all the down, on the outside to Sarasota pass, where there appears to be more water?

Thanks for your local knowledge in advance and we look forward to meeting you and the Klan.

Dave & Laddy

 

[Desiderata]

Hi Dave & Laddy,
Sorry for the delayed response. We've been debating on advice for clearing the local passes. We regard Longboat Pass, New Pass and Big Pass all to be formidable, largely because of their continual shifts in depths. The marks cannot always be reliable, but we see them as good references. Our 27 only draws 4 ft. and we've never had occasion to use Longboat Pass and have cleared both New Pass and Big Pass handily, but not without feeling apprehensive. While New Pass is literally feet from our club and mooring , we'd suggest Big Pass (just south of New Pass) to be the easiest to navigate. That said, we'd still suggest coming down the ICW thru Sarasota Bay. We've done most of our sailing in the bay and are comfortable there. One spot to point out would be just south of Cortez Bridge, (maybe a mile) near the southern tip of Jewfish Key, 2 nuns, red & green, gateway a narrow headed south. Its very narrow thru these nuns and it shoals up on the red side, so favor the green and you'll be fine. You're welcome to call us anytime. (941) 365-1626 hm or Mike's cell (941) 315-0189 Looking forward to meeting you and Laddy.