Key West-Concerns & Advise

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Supsan

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The admiral and I were thinking of going to Key West the first week of July. We would be leaving out of Delray in a 26 foot cruiser, the trip distance is just under 200 NM. We have never been south of No Name Harbor (SFBC get together) so this is what I'm figuring we would do, of course we are open for any advise and suggestions.
I figured depending on the weather we would run the outside to Miami and then head in at Stilsville. From there we would head to Key largo for the night (recommendations are appreciated) I figured it would take approximately five hours (cruise speed 26 MPH). The next day we would set off to Key west not sure of the best route. Should we take Hawks Channel can we stay inside is it more scenic? How long would it take? Can we switch for the return trip? Since this just came up last night I had no chance to look at the charts (they are on the boat).
My main concerns are the weather specifically thunder storms (I am a big wimp when It come to lighting). I figured that if we left early in the morning and was at a marina by the early afternoon we would be O.K. the way we do most of our summertime boating. After reading missnmountians post I know we have to be flexible on time in case the weather turns nasty.
If this doesn't work out then we could always hop on a plane or the car and head some where cooler.
Thanks for the advise.
Sandy
 
stick to the inside at least till marathon. it's well marked and plenty deep up, not a concern up to a 5' draft. Much more scenic and smoother.

Key Largo is about 40NM from miami, or about 2 hours with your boat. KL is ok but I would rather stop in Islamorada which just another 20 miles down. If you cna find a slip at Plantation Yacht HArbor, on the bay side, it's the best stop. Big Park, pool, little beach, great staff!

From PHY, continue inside to marathon and Bahia Honda, shoudl be a 2 to 3 hours run. Inside will keep you in protected waters unless the wind is from the North (rare in july). Cross under the bridge at Bahia Honda and stop at the park for a while, nice beach.

after that, run outside, another 2 hours or so, to Key West.

Marathon usually has cheap fuel so you may want to stop there to refuel.

weather shouldn't be a problem to come back, the only iffy section would be the run from KW to Bahia Honda but only if you get strong winds from the south, unlikely.

check out the Google Earth file i put in a sticky in the SFBC forum, it has some info on the keys and bisc. bay
 
Sandy,

Lisa and I have made the trip both on the inside and outside. PYH, as Pascal mentioned, is our favorite once you get into Islamorada. Not a lot close by (only Chilly Willy's is in walking distance) so plan on calling a cab if you need to run to a grocery store or other restaurant. We've also stayed at Hawk's Cay, which we really love and is no open again, but I've heard that after their renovations, they are now quite pricey. To enter there, you'll need to duck outside at Channel 5 for a few miles to the entrance to Duck Key. If you keep going to Marathon, we've stayed at Faro Blanco, but not sure of their current status due to new owners/renovation issues.

From Marathon, the outside is the easiest route, but check the weather for your size boat. If it's really choppy outside, you'll prefer the inside and you won't have any draft issues, just make sure to closely watch your charts/GPS as there are definitely some spots where you'll pay for missing the channel. Also, running on the inside does have a drawback when you arrive in Key West and loop around the north, you'll be joining the approach into KW from a bit open water subject to the same chop you may have tried to avoid if you would have run the outside route.

Hope that helps, and let me know if you have any other questions! We normally go for our anniversary every year (July 4th) but have to skip it this year...head over to Louie's Backyard on the 4th to watch the fireworks...best spot to do so on the island...get there by about 6:30 to get a seat out on the deck...
 
If you take Big Spanish Channel, make sure you don't shortcut the 'seabouy' on the Key West approach.
image068.jpg
 
Hawk's Cay is a nice resort but $5 a foot... it's nice if you plan on arriving early in the day and leave mid day the next day to use the resort facilities (great pool and lagoon), otherwise it's not worth it.

despite the prices the docks aren't that great and some of the marina staff could use some "how to be nice with customers" training...
 
Thanks guys I appreciate all the feedback so far, can you recommend a marina on key west?

Sandy
 
We have stayed several times at Conch Harbor $3.75 per foot. They have a pool and a bar. Check out their website. Last time we stayed at A&B in May only $3.25 per foot. Great Restaurants and closer to Duval. Both are in the West Bight.
 
We liked The Galleon Marina which is near A&B.

Nice floating docks.

RWS
 
I second the Galleon Marina. A & B has no finger piers and the only access to dock is straight off the back of your swim platform.

Also, I had called ahead and made a reservation at A&B, but when I got there they said they never heard of me. Had no record of my call.

They are both side by side and close to downtown Key West.
 
We've always stayed at A&B and loved it, but talked to many who recommend Galleon, as well.
 
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