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.