Coming down, need advice please

[cobaltblue]

Hello,

My wife and I will be coming down to Florida in mid-Febuary. We will be bringing or boat down. We'll be there for about two weeks. We were just planning on boating and diving around. I'd like to put in fresh water so that means the lake and then out to either the gulf or ocean. What are the must do's? Where would be good to dive and boat? Anyone know of any marinas for us to stay while we cruise around? Any help would be great. Thanks in advance. We may also be open to having so of you all along for some of our dives. Boat we're bringing down is a 282 Grady Sailfish.

thanks

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Don't know marinas, but ooo ooo ooo bring me and I'll help you find some

 

[KeyLargoBrent]

Not many of the ramps around here are adequate for launching a 28 footer. Those at Pennekamp State Park are IMO the best in Key Largo, especially for larger boats, like yours. Once you're in, there are lots of good dive sites nearby. Enjoy!

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Yea Pennekamp wise you can't go wrong, beautiful diving, and fairly shallow too, so it makes for lots of time on the sites.

 

[Loneranger]

I think the Palm Beaches down to Miami Dade will be some of the best diving close to shore from your own boat. Most sites will be less than 2 miles from shore sand less than 8 miles from the inlet. There are areas North of the Palm Beach inlet where mooring is still permitted. The Lake Park Marina would rent slips by the day and is very close to the inlet. The bahamas is only 60 miles away and would be a once in a lifetime opportunity if you could put it together.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Ooooh, a Grady Sailfish, I loved mine but the ex- got it in the divorce (I got the house so I'm not whining.) We kept it in a dry barn about MM104 so I can't recommend any ramps, but you will really enjoy yourself. I did hear that the Pennekamp ramps were good. WATCH YOUR CHARTS because there are lots of shallow areas where you can hit coral or seagrass. If you have a GPS/Chartplotter you should be just fine. We used to like anchoring overnight on the bay side in back of the Key Largo Marriott.

 

[moneysavr]

A must chart plotter with charts for areas your in! A MUST!
if you plan to run the intercostal there are marinas and spots to rent from WPB to FLL. dive spots on the Atlantic side are many but are no anchor drift dives if you have not done this you need local help dont do it with out some one in the know,
inland fresh water dives not sure on that unless you like a gattor for a dive pal?
Bring a fresh water flush kit or boot and hose allong as most launches have fresh water but most no hose! and its winter in Florida so try to find a hose??
hey I am sure you will find a mess of locals to dive with but make siure sea safe
Have fun and drive safe,
Brad

 

[cobaltblue]

Charts and a chart plotter are a given. I am still in the process of equipping the boat but it will have two chart plotters with chips, a Ray and a Garmin, radar and multiple depth/fish finders. If Humminbird gets the new side scan out in time it will have one of those too!

Am I to understand that all the diving down there is drift diving? It really works better for us if we can find some anchor diving spots since there is only two of us. Yeah, I know we shouldn't leave the boat unattended but it hasn't left us yet, nor will it with proper anchoring.

Anyway, thanks for all the help so far and please feel free to keep the suggestions coming. As we get closer I'll try to be a little more scheduled so maybe some of you can join us. We do enjoy diving with new people so if schedules work, we'd be more than happy to have ya aboard.

 

[KeyLargoBrent]

All of the popular dive sites in the Keys have mooring balls with pickup lines. These are available (and free) to boaters on a first-come-first-served basis. I would rig a painter from your bow to clip-on or tie-to the pickup line, and carry a spare boat hook.