# Bareboat in St Petersberg, FL



## peterennis (Jun 27, 2012)

I'm considering a 4 -5 day bareboat charter in St Petersberg, FL in late March with my 15 y.o. daughter. We have the skills and Sailing Florida Charters seems to have a couple of small cruisers that we could safely handle. We have cruised the Virgin Islands twice and the Chesapeake bay twice. My questions are:

Is this a nice area to cruise in general?
Any experience with this company?
Suggested itineraries/must sees/must stays?
Weather/sailing conditions this time of year?
Good snorkeling in the area (I suppose there are no reefs)?
Any effects from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?
Good cruising guide to the area?

Thanks for any input!


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## nolesailor (Oct 29, 2009)

We've chartered with them on several occasions over the years, all under 40', and have nothing but good things to say about them. The location is great - at the Vinoy in downtown St. Pete...lots of restaurants within walking distance..and the Vinoy is a beautiful hotel. From my experience, the boats were pretty new, well maintained, and reasonably priced. 

Someone who lives in the area would be best to describe weather conditions in late March...up here in the pandhandle we can still get cold fronts moving through at the time of year with increased winds...but I don't think they are as common the farther south in FL you go. As for oil spill effects...I don't really believe there was much of anything that far south...hardly any effect here at all in the panhandle that you would be able to see. They oyster industry up here has tanked...but that is also due to water rights and the Appalachicoloa river. Again, someone from the area would be able to comment better in that regard...


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