My wife and I are planning a two week cruise from Cape Haze Florida (Near
Venice) to Key West. We plan to do it towards the end of next March (2007).
We will be taking annother couple and sharing costs.

Our boat is a 1987 Carver Montego 3257 that we repowered last year. It is an
Express Cuiser (L 32' Beam 12'7" Draft 32" with twin 454ci V-8s with
V-drives.

We have been New Englaqnd Boaters for 34 years and things are certainly
different down in Florida.

We have the C.F. Young - "Cruising Guide to Western Florida"
And the latest MapTech Chart Kit (some of the charts included are not to
recent)
As well as a GPS Combo (Depth finder/fish finder), chart plotter, VHF, and
Radar,

Has anyone made this trip?
Any Advice, cautions or useful thoughts?

Dell,
To many options to sum up in a brief reply -- it really depends on how much
time you want to spend doing what. Lot's of local attractions and protected
anchorages and marinas between Sarasota-Venice-Charlotte Harbor-Pine
Island-Cayo Costa and Ft. Myers Beach. One major decision would be whether
to head straight for Key West or else meander down by way of Everglades
City, Shark River and the Ten Thousand Islands area before cutting over to
Key West. Or even on out to the Dry Tortugas. Key West is an interesting
place to spend some time and less crowded after the high Winter season.

We had an easy overnight run from Ft. Myers Beach to Key West last April in
a Bristol Channel Cutter going at about 5.5 knots, so running time is not a
big factor - the distances are not all that great.
By late March you'll have less likelihood of those cold windy Northers that
tend to come through every few days in the late winter-early spring, but
they can still be a factor.. When running along the SW Florida coast after
dark, watch out for crab pot buoys if you have a hull form and prop location
that tends to attract them! With your shallow draft you'll have many more
options than we did with the BCC's 4'10"+.
Scott


"Dell" wrote in message
. ..
My wife and I are planning a two week cruise from Cape Haze Florida (Near
Venice) to Key West. We plan to do it towards the end of next March
(2007).
We will be taking annother couple and sharing costs.

Our boat is a 1987 Carver Montego 3257 that we repowered last year. It is
an
Express Cuiser (L 32' Beam 12'7" Draft 32" with twin 454ci V-8s with
V-drives.

We have been New Englaqnd Boaters for 34 years and things are certainly
different down in Florida.

We have the C.F. Young - "Cruising Guide to Western Florida"
And the latest MapTech Chart Kit (some of the charts included are not to
recent)
As well as a GPS Combo (Depth finder/fish finder), chart plotter, VHF, and
Radar,

Has anyone made this trip?
Any Advice, cautions or useful thoughts?

On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:57:44 -0500, "Dell" wrote:

We have the C.F. Young - "Cruising Guide to Western Florida"
And the latest MapTech Chart Kit (some of the charts included are not to
recent)
As well as a GPS Combo (Depth finder/fish finder), chart plotter, VHF, and
Radar,

Has anyone made this trip?
Any Advice, cautions or useful thoughts?

I'm sure you already know something about SWFLs skinny water so I
won't belabor that. Cayo Costa/Pelican Bay, Cabbage Key/Useppa, Pine
Island sound, Sanibel/Captiva, and Ft Myers Beach are all popular
destinations around here. Further south you've got Naples and Marco
Island. Shark River and the Everglades are fun during the winter but
will probably be too buggy by March. We were there last February and
it was fine at that time.

For a little side trip consider a run up the Caloosahatchee River to
at least the first or second lock. It will give you a taste of old
central Florida which is quite different from the coastal regions.
For a real adventure go all the way east to Clewiston and spend a
night at Roland Martin's marina just south of Lake Okeechobee.

Thanks for the good advise, I hadn't considered the bugs. Contrary to what I
had heard before I moved to FL I have seen (felt) almost no mosquitoes where
I live in the Venice Englewood area. It stands to reason that the glades
might be buggy by March
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:57:44 -0500, "Dell" wrote:

We have the C.F. Young - "Cruising Guide to Western Florida"
And the latest MapTech Chart Kit (some of the charts included are not to
recent)
As well as a GPS Combo (Depth finder/fish finder), chart plotter, VHF,
and
Radar,

Has anyone made this trip?
Any Advice, cautions or useful thoughts?

I'm sure you already know something about SWFLs skinny water so I
won't belabor that. Cayo Costa/Pelican Bay, Cabbage Key/Useppa, Pine
Island sound, Sanibel/Captiva, and Ft Myers Beach are all popular
destinations around here. Further south you've got Naples and Marco
Island. Shark River and the Everglades are fun during the winter but
will probably be too buggy by March. We were there last February and
it was fine at that time.

For a little side trip consider a run up the Caloosahatchee River to
at least the first or second lock. It will give you a taste of old
central Florida which is quite different from the coastal regions.
For a real adventure go all the way east to Clewiston and spend a
night at Roland Martin's marina just south of Lake Okeechobee.