On Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:34:26 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

At the end of March, I will be taking my 20' Tolman to the Keys for a
few days. Mostly this is because we will also visit the in-laws in Ft
Lauderdale and I insisted we go to the Keys too.
So, what to do and see? The Tolman is not a blue water boat and I do
not have enough experience to try to take her all the way to Dry
Tortugas (68 miles west of key West) although the Marquesas may be
reasonable (20 miles west of key West and near several other
islands). I'll prob take the kids snorkelling at Loue Key and others
but I keep putting off getting prescription goggles so I cannot see
under water. Can I rent a prescription mask to get some correction?
I once rented a prescription mask for a guided snorkel trip but the
rental was from the dive business.
I'll try fishing although I am a poor fisherman. Mostly, I like to
explore cool places. Suggestions?

Are you looking for suggestions for the cruise south, or for things to
do in the Keys? Either way, there are lots of things to do but
you'll have to prioritize based on how much time you've got.

At the very least you should get Claiborne Young's "Cruising Guide to
Western Florida" and the "Southern Waterway Guide".

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Cruising-Guide-Western-Florida-Seventh&x=14&y=22

The best way to get to the Dry Tortugas is to take the daily dive boat
tour from Key West. The Marquesas are doable on the right day but the
charts are worthless when you get there. Take a look with Google
Earth first.

Some of the best small boat cruising in Florida is in the vicinity of
Pine Island Sound: Sanibel, Captiva, Cayo Costa, Cabbage Key, Boca
Grande, Caloosahatchie River, etc. Further south you've got Fort
Myers Beach, Estero Bay, Estero River, Naples, Marco Island,
Everglades City, Little Shark River, Wilderness Waterway, etc. It
would take over a month to do it all and you still wouldn't have
arrived at the Keys yet.

On Mar 17, 3:53 pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:34:26 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch

wrote:
At the end of March, I will be taking my 20' Tolman to the Keys for a
few days. Mostly this is because we will also visit the in-laws in Ft
Lauderdale and I insisted we go to the Keys too.
So, what to do and see? The Tolman is not a blue water boat and I do
not have enough experience to try to take her all the way to Dry
Tortugas (68 miles west of key West) although the Marquesas may be
reasonable (20 miles west of key West and near several other
islands). I'll prob take the kids snorkelling at Loue Key and others
but I keep putting off getting prescription goggles so I cannot see
under water. Can I rent a prescription mask to get some correction?
I once rented a prescription mask for a guided snorkel trip but the
rental was from the dive business.
I'll try fishing although I am a poor fisherman. Mostly, I like to
explore cool places. Suggestions?

Are you looking for suggestions for the cruise south, or for things to
do in the Keys? Either way, there are lots of things to do but
you'll have to prioritize based on how much time you've got.

At the very least you should get Claiborne Young's "Cruising Guide to
Western Florida" and the "Southern Waterway Guide".

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-key...

The best way to get to the Dry Tortugas is to take the daily dive boat
tour from Key West. The Marquesas are doable on the right day but the
charts are worthless when you get there. Take a look with Google
Earth first.

Some of the best small boat cruising in Florida is in the vicinity of
Pine Island Sound: Sanibel, Captiva, Cayo Costa, Cabbage Key, Boca
Grande, Caloosahatchie River, etc. Further south you've got Fort
Myers Beach, Estero Bay, Estero River, Naples, Marco Island,
Everglades City, Little Shark River, Wilderness Waterway, etc. It
would take over a month to do it all and you still wouldn't have
arrived at the Keys yet.

Thanx, however, I am trailering her to the Keys. I do have the
cruising guide too.

On Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:59:32 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

Thanx, however, I am trailering her to the Keys. I do have the
cruising guide too.

OK, so it's just the Keys. There are probably people over on
"rec.boats.cruising" that know more about the Keys than I do but we
make the trip every year and have learned a few things along the way.
Some of the best small boat opportunities are up in the so called back
country north of the US 1 highway. There is good fishing up there,
mostly flat water and interesting scenery among the smaller islands.
One of the best spots I've found is Niles Channel east of Summerland
Key. A little further west is Kemp Channel east of Cudjoe Key.
Both of these channels take you all the way north to the Gulf and are
very protected and scenic. Navigation marks are few and far between
but the water is so clear that you can mostly eyeball it if you have
the chart, a depth sounder, good overhead sunlight and polarized sun
glasses. If you see white PVC pipes in the water they are usually
marking a shoal.

The best diving is south of Hawk Channel near Key Largo. This is
mostly big boat country on all but the calmest days. Your best bet
is to take one of the commercial dive boats out of John Pennekamp
Park.

http://www.pennekamppark.com/

There is a very cool waterfront restaurant called Snapper's near Key
Largo.

http://www.snapperskeylargo.com/

You can go there by boat and tie up at their dock if you choose but
the channel is shallow and difficult to find without local knowledge.
We took our dinghy in there by following some folks that we'd met
earlier in the day.