# Flordia Bound



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Well _*'Gypsy Soul'*_ is going in the water near the end of Febuary. I will be single sailing form Corpus Christi, Texas to Jacksonville, Fla. via the Lake Okeechobee route form Fort Myers to the Atlantic if it high enough, other wise I'll take the Keys route. My question is to all you great sailors, as what charts should I use, 411# of the gulf is the largest, but What other charts should I take. I have thought about useing the ICC but The number of charts is gona be EXPENSIVE  . I know I saw a Chart that showed the open water shiping lanes, that clear the oil rigs. The rigs are one of my most fears  do so many at are not lite and sailing alone So Any help or suggestion would be great. You can address your answers to me at [email protected] if you not want to use the list. Thanks ahead of time for you inputs.

Richard Retired USN OSMC


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

I may be mistaking but the lake Okeechobee route doesn't have enough water. Have you looked closely at this ?


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Fla Bounf*

My draft is only 5 ft and all reports say I can, but I will be checking just before I make the trip.


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Febuary is not the greatest time of year to cross the Gulf. There tends to be quite a few North'ers blow through, often one after another. So you should be aware of that. You might want to think about heading down to the tip of the Yucatan, then coming up to the Keys. Then you can go either way heading north. I draw 4 1/2 and was not able to go through the Okeechobee last May. And winter is the dry season here.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Florida Bound*

Sorry I guess I got my dates messed up I do not plan to leave til late April or may. But that Idea to go to tip of the Yucatan, then coming up to the Keys might be best. any suggestions on the route and stops


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Are you going solo, or will you have crew? Also, what is your mast height?


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I second PBzeer's suggestion. Okeechobee still is reporting low water depths. Even parts of the ICW can be a challenge at low tide with a 5' draft in the Daytona - Palm Coast area.

Kevin


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

last report I saw, last week, was Okechobie was at 4.5'. Dry season is here so it won't get any better for a while. Need a few hurricanes.


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## NOLAsailing (Sep 10, 2006)

You can also stay inside until you get to New Orleans and then take advantage of the MS sound islands and then the many dockage options along the Florida coast, if you want to avoid long distance solo sailing.


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## PorFin (Sep 10, 2007)

PBzeer said:


> Are you going solo, or will you have crew? Also, what is your mast height?


Master Chief,

Know that you've probably already seen this, but the Port Mayaca railroad bridge only lifts up to 49 feet --

Fair winds & following seas,
PF


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thanks for all the input and suggestions they really mean a lot.

To answer some of your questions, I called the Corp of Engeering and they said not to try it, as one of the locks is going to have some work done on it while the water is so low. So ..... Its straight across to the keys, or go the coastal route 
Really don't want to do this cause of the many Oil Rigs lighted and unlighted. (coast route) The straight route is shorter in sail time, but a long haul solo. There are three boats leaving the middle of Feb but I can not be ready by then.

My mast height is 31 feet from the deck and total height from the water is about 7 ft. got to check this when she gets back in the water.

As to single ..... Yes this will be solo trip so got to have a loud 30 min alarm to be sure I am up and ready for 30 min checks. The other alt is to go the CCW but god the cost of all the charts is un godly. So I am still checking my stats and options. 

Thanks a lot for all the input


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

If you're going to try the Gulf, I'd try to find some crew at least to the Keys. There is a lot of stuff out there, and not all of it's lit.

What I ended up doing, heading east from Galveston, was ended up going up to the ICW at the Calciesu River in LA, then stayed on the ditch until passing New Orleans, then Offshore to Pensacola, inside to Destin, then 3 full days and nights to Tampa, offshore. Down the west coast of FL to the Channel 5 bridge at Long Key, then overnight hops up from there. Had to go inside from Fort Lauderdale to Fort Pierce though, due to weather.

Look into the Maptech chartbooks rather than individual charts. Should be cheaper overall.


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## Ramjet222 (Jun 20, 2004)

Sorry...not gonna happen with the Lake. I draw 4.6 and was stuck at IndianTown all last summer as I was gone. U can to to the Army Corp of Eng. site...saj.usace.army.mil and check the Jacksonville dist. They won't let me post the entire link. I check it weekly and it is now 4.22. Check the navigation depths. This summer it was at 2.0. If I can't get thru in 6 weeks will also go thru Marathon. Additional 10 days just to get to Ft Myers. good luck.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Well I will not be taking the cross trip of Fla but going the gulf Route well order the charts for the west qnd east coast of Fla next week and look in to charts for tx to panama fla looks to be sbout 12 to 15 charts. Most likely will order charts on demane, At least they will be up to date. Found out that west marine on hand or whse ordered charts for quite out dated.

If I can find someone who would like to go the trip across the Gulf I might make that route. I am no rush so the CCW or the gulf is open to me. Just got to make my mine up but looking heavy to the CCW. Have found severalv sites on saltysailors com (can't put the whole address down) that has a lot of info.

Before I forget HAPPY NEW YEAR to all

Richard


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

This is a test to see if my Pic and sig appear


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## retclt (Nov 7, 2006)

Hey Richard,

I would definitely have a Gulf Coast Waterway Guide on board. It’ has a lot of handy info in it.

Pbzeer is right about the stuff in the Gulf. 7 to 10 miles out cruising along Texas is really kind of cool at night with all the lit rigs. It’s like being the ball in a beautifully lit pinball machine. I wouldn’t want to sail it alone because I like my sleep and out there you can’t or you’ll run into something. There’s also a lot of crew Boat traffic that can be hard to spot. 

I would also recommend a good Chart plotter. I was on a boat with a 12 inch Garmin a couple of months ago on a foggy moonless night coming out of the ICW North into Galveston Bay back to Kemah. The Garmin has the channels in dark blue and it was dead on accurate! We kept the little boat icon centered in the blue and it was smooth sailing (motoring sailing actually) all the way home. I loved that thing. I’m getting the smaller (low amp draw) Garmin 545 for my boat soon.


Oh yeh,
Google around for peoples Ships Logs before you leave. I have found priceless information there. I've read through Cam,s on the east coast and filed them for future reference.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Well as I said the Lake Okeechobee route is out ( water 4.6 oe less) . I also have picked eight charts for Aransas Pass to New orleans and the Maptech chart kit for the east and west coast of Fla. Just got find the New Orleans to Panama City chart kit which I am told is out of print.

I have a Garmin chart ploter with all charts of the us coast line and a Furuno radar. plus I hope to have a ssb or ham radio installed before I go. I do have a vhf fixed an portable.

I have googled and gotten several really good sites with lost of info. Several from the saltysailor.coms site. Also a great site for other info. Gulf coast waterway guide is on the list also.

After pbzeer and other comments and plus that of Handsome.sailor.com (who sails this gulf area a lot) the open gulf route is mostly out. 

SO........ Any other information from you great guys woul be great.

also the SW stands for Special Warfare and the MTS is for Master Training Specialist. There are a couple other but I did not want to go over board.

You know the saying Once a SEAL always a Seal nuf said.


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## flyinghuntster (Sep 10, 2006)

Master Chief, 
 If you make the trip and end up passing through the Pensacola area I'd be glad to meet you on a Wednesday for a beer at the Chiefs Club. 

How is your planning coming along so far? 

Dave
AOC(AW/SW/PJ/MTS)


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