On Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:03:10 -0500, Larry wrote:

Put in Marathon, FL and take a
look at it. What a TERRIBLE place to go sailing! This area would be
awful in a flats boat! Running aground with a 6' keel is inevitable, not
just a chance. Google Earth is free from http://earth.google.com/ Look
at the bottom where YOU sail.

It's not quite that bad. We've run both north and south from Marathon
never seeing less than 7 feet or so. You do have to be careful
however and stay very close to your route. Sailing it would not be
advisable except in ideal conditions.

If there is one single lesson to be learned from this, I think it is
to be *very* wary of becoming fatigued, particularly in bad conditions
and close quarters. I've had some personal experience with this and
it is all to easy to find yourself making questionable decisions after
you've been on the go for a day or two. I don't want to sound like
I'm second guessing, but there are any number of good places to seek
shelter from an easterly coming south along Florida's west coast.

There was a case in the northeast a number of years ago where a woman
was sailing transatlantic from England to Newport, Rhode Island.
After several days of fog and rough weather she made a navigational
error, mistaking Pt Judith Light for Brenton Tower. After
successfully sailing over 3,000 miles, she parked the boat on the
rocks at Pt Judith.