FL East Coast Vs West Coast
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
OldDan1943
Guru
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2017
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- 10,663
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Kinja
- Vessel Make
- American Tug 34 #116 2008
Historically, they used to say Tampa/St Pete was God's waiting room.
Visit Stuart, Fl Lauderdale, Miami or south of Miami.
caltexflanc
Guru
Far better options anywhere in the Keys (staring at Key Biscayne, then around the peninsula up to Cayo Costa), and better yet the Bahamas than in Tampa proper.
O C Diver
Guru
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
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- 13,334
- Location
- Fort Myers, Florida
- Vessel Name
- End Of The Line
- Vessel Make
- Trinka 10 Dinghy
I prefer the West coast with good GICW cruising between Tarpon Springs and Fort Myers. Also good cruising across the Okeechobee waterway.
Ted
Ted
FF
Guru
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- Oct 12, 2007
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- 22,552
South of Daytona there are few spots to anchor out till south of Miami.
Donsan
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- Jul 6, 2014
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- No Mo Trawla
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- Hurricane SS188
Have you explored the St Johns yet?
I have cruised the east coat of Florida on the ICW just to get through it going north or south, but have never looked for nice anchorages to hang out for a while. I now live in SW Florida in Punta Gorda so I have some perspective on the differences.
SW Florida and particularly the area I know well from Venice to Ft Myers has lots of nice hang out anchorages. Roughly every 5 miles in that stretch of coastline there is a quiet anchorage, some of which have easy beach access to the Gulf. That sort of thing is rare on the east coast of Florida.
Then there are the cultural and demographic differences between the two coasts that I won't go into.
David
SW Florida and particularly the area I know well from Venice to Ft Myers has lots of nice hang out anchorages. Roughly every 5 miles in that stretch of coastline there is a quiet anchorage, some of which have easy beach access to the Gulf. That sort of thing is rare on the east coast of Florida.
Then there are the cultural and demographic differences between the two coasts that I won't go into.
David
micksbuddy
Veteran Member
I think there's vastly more gunk-holing opportunities on Florida's west coast than the east coast. I don't know about Tampa Bay proper, but there's lots along the ICW from Bradenton all the way down to the Keys.
Blissboat
Guru
Both coasts have their good and not-so-great aspects. Having lived in the Tampa Bay area for thirty+ years, and regularly boated the entire west coast of Florida (Alabama state line to the Keys and Dry Tortugas), I can say that it never gets old and there are lots of cool places to visit. My favorite pages in the west coast Chart Kit are those covering Charlotte Harbor to the Caloosahatchee River, but there are so many other must-see places.
That said, both afloat and ashore, the west coast has become depressingly crowded. The last fourteen years of living and boating in NE Florida have won me over. This part of the coast remains less crowded and more diverse, in several ways. Jacksonville is a Navy town, a major seaport, has a great symphony and live music scene, and an amazing history. It's true that east coast inlets are less user friendly than any place along the west coast of the state, what with greater tidal ranges and more dynamic ocean swells, especially when the breezes get sporty. Still, the ICW and St. Johns River offer a lot of interesting and beautiful cruising. Few places in Florida can equal the incredible Guana-Tolomato Rreserve (Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve), or the Timucuan Ecologic and Historic Preserve. Both have mile after mile of incredibly beautiful, unspoiled wetlands and waterways. Likewise, nearby St. Augustine and Cumberland Island are always interesting stops along the ICW.
That said, both afloat and ashore, the west coast has become depressingly crowded. The last fourteen years of living and boating in NE Florida have won me over. This part of the coast remains less crowded and more diverse, in several ways. Jacksonville is a Navy town, a major seaport, has a great symphony and live music scene, and an amazing history. It's true that east coast inlets are less user friendly than any place along the west coast of the state, what with greater tidal ranges and more dynamic ocean swells, especially when the breezes get sporty. Still, the ICW and St. Johns River offer a lot of interesting and beautiful cruising. Few places in Florida can equal the incredible Guana-Tolomato Rreserve (Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve), or the Timucuan Ecologic and Historic Preserve. Both have mile after mile of incredibly beautiful, unspoiled wetlands and waterways. Likewise, nearby St. Augustine and Cumberland Island are always interesting stops along the ICW.
StarChaser
Veteran Member
I lived in Bradenton for about 18 months. Stay In the Channel! The Bradenton River is mostly mud but....
caltexflanc
Guru
For us, on the FL west coast it's from Boca Grande south to Cape Sable. The 10,000 Islands are a gunkholer's dream. We would charter boats out of Sarasota for a week or 10 days explicitly to go down there , stopping off at Cayo Costa, the bight off Ding Darling, Hurricane Pass maybe then on down to the 10,000. It was subsequently wonderful to go there in our own boat with no schedule to meet. Especially since we had our Whaler to explore it all, so much more fun than the little tiller steered dinghys on the charter boats.
Somewhere in the greater Ft. Myers area, including Sanibel or even down to Naples would be a fun place to be based for awhile. Can't tell you about marinas because the only ones we've been to as transient boaters were Crow's Nest in Venice and the Naples City Dock.
Somewhere in the greater Ft. Myers area, including Sanibel or even down to Naples would be a fun place to be based for awhile. Can't tell you about marinas because the only ones we've been to as transient boaters were Crow's Nest in Venice and the Naples City Dock.
