On 3 Apr 2005 10:13:07 -0700, wrote:
After most reluctantly surrendering to admonitions re a spring Long
Island Sound cruise (mainly crowdedness), I am now considering a
several weeks long cruise along west coast of Florida.

Anyone with local knowledge about (1) changes in charted channels and
depths after last year's hurricanes in any of ICW from Ft. Meyers north
to Clearwater and south from Ft. Meyers to Marathon (Vaca Key) and (2)
recommended (remote) anchorages?

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I live in the Cape Coral/Ft Myers area and have done some cruising
both north and south from here. These are the cruising guides that we
use, more or less in order of importance:

1. Claiborne Young - Cruising Guide to Western Florida - 6th Ed
Claiborne's prose is somtimes a bit muddy for my taste but the book is
full of useful information, most of it correct and up to date.

2. Tom Lenfestey - A Gunkholer's Cruising Guide to Florida's West
Coast

3. Waterway Guide Southern 2005: Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the
Bahamas

4. A Guide To Anchorages In Southwest Florida
http://nauticalcharts.com/cruisingguides.htm

If you draw 5 feet or less you will have very few problems, over 5
feet there are some shoaling issues, too many to really detail here.
When in doubt go slowly on a rising tide and/or scout in advance with
your dinghy. The ICW is OK for 6 feet or more in most places.