Hello, rec.boats.cruising !

My wife and I will be joining another couple on their sailing
catamaran for an 8-day trip starting in Key Largo, Florida with Key
West as a destination. This sailing catamaran has been known to
achieve 10 knots or more in the right conditions and can motor at 6
knots, so we should have no problem getting to our goal of spending a
couple of days in Key West.

This sailing catamaran needs just over 4 foot of water depth and is 47
foot long by 24 foot wide. So shallow water and small spaces will be
limited to explorations from the 10 foot long on-board 6-passenger
dinghy which only needs 1 foot or so of water depth.

We've heard that there is a very nice resort/spa Hawks Cay in Duck
Cay, so we'll try to spend a day there.

Please suggest other nearby destinations!

We'd love to hear about some great snorkeling destinations.

Is there someplace nearby where we can see manatees in the wild?
Dolphins? Sea Turtles? Flamingos? (Please don't say "Sea World" LOL)

Are there any other uniquely "Floridian" sights that are nearby and
easily reached by a boat?

All suggestions are greatly appreciated!

***thanks***
Rich