Fresh Winds on the Gulf of Mexico
Posted Nov 23, 2018, 11:40 PM UTC
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What kind of boat is she? Beautiful shot. I might guess Catalina due to the Ulman sails
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Yep. Catalina 350. This is actually not open waters but between Marco island and ft Myers beach. It’s a great boat for two people to live on for an extended period of time. Tons of space below and decent performance.
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We have a C36. Couldn’t agree more
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Real freedom. Awesome shot OP.
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Real freedom is having universal healthcare, this is just freedom.
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Damn dude. We're just trying to have fun. Stay in your lane.
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So he wasn’t serious, I get it now.
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The US is the only place that my wife can get the life saving drug that she needs. Canadians and europeans can have all the "free" healthcare they want, but good luck if you have any sort of exceptional healthcare need. Cheers!
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My wife and I are about to leave to KW from NOLA (December 9th!), what advice do you have around the Keys? We are going straight across the gulf and are confident we can handle the open seas, but I am nervous about the shallow areas down there. For reference our draft is just under 5ft.
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We stayed in the Conch Harbor Marina every night and didn’t really explore the skinny water. We did take an excursion out to the reef. As far as approaching KW goes, if you stick to the NW Channel you’ll be just fine draft wise. I wouldn’t attempt anything else. We had dolphins jumping out of the water behind us on our way in.
Regardless of your draft, watch out for crab traps. Starting about 10-12 miles north of KW in about 50’ of water they were BRUTAL. You will be approaching from further west, but I would keep a sharp lookout. We caught one on the rudder at around 3am leaving KW.
I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other more specific questions.
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That is just about what I was thinking. Thanks!
Do you have any places you would suggest? We have a few weeks there and want some good snorkeling/anchorages.
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We went to the SW corner of the east dry rocks and tied up to one of the NOAA mooring balls there. The seas were a bit rough so we didn’t get the best snorkeling in, but if you pick a calm day, I’m sure it would be excellent. We approached from further SW and had no draft issues. We moored in about 20’ of water, but the next row of balls closer looked like there was plenty of water to get closer in.
I would browse the NOAA site and see what other places there are too if you have that long.
One of the yacht crew members we were talking to also recommended the marquesa keys. I can’t give you any local knowledge, but he said it was a beautiful pace to anchor and dinghy too. Again, something I would do if I had as much time as it sounds like you’ll have. It’s a bit of a trip at 6 knots.
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This is a picture from our trip to FL recently. Thanks to everyone who provided advice back when I first asked for advice about our trip.
It was absolutely incredible, and we were able to make it to KW and back from Tampa.