Great cruising areas that we have found.
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We been cruising, and been around other cruisers, for a few years now and here is what we have learned about the different cruising areas around Florida, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico.
What constitutes great cruising areas for sailors depends on natural resources as well as personnel preferences. Great cruising areas must have good anchorages near interesting and/or beautiful locations. Some sailors like the comradery of large anchorages like Cane Garden Bay or Jost VanDyke’s Great Harbor, in the British Virgin Islands. Others like slightly less populated anchorages such as Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas at the end of the Florida Keys. Many solitary sailors think that the perfect anchorage is more isolated, with room for just a couple of boats to nestle securely. No matter what size anchorage you prefer, the attraction of the location is what distinguishes the great anchorages.
The Florida Keys
Although we have been through the Keys a number of times on our way to and from the Bahamas and while waiting for a weather window, we have not spent a lot of time exploring the Keys and its many possible anchorages. In 2003, the Florida Keys provided a perfect venue for our three month shake-down cruise on Tropic Daze, which was our newly acquired 42’ catamaran.
On land, the Keys offer a great kick-back life style in a beautiful setting with lush tropical vegetation, cultural diversity, great food, and a rich and colorful history. On the water, the Keys offer the best reefs in the continental US, great fishing, and hundreds of islands surrounded by intricate waterways.
Key West
Key West is a great anchorage. Key West provides adventure in a beautiful setting with lush tropical vegetation, cultural diversity, great food, and a rich and colorful past. Day after day, Key West will provide the visitor with varied and unending adventures. Exploring Key West by rental bike during the day and walking Duval Street at night can provide sensory overload. For a quick overview of what Key West has to offer, take the Conch Train. Yes, I know it looks like so many other tourist traps, but the live commentary about the diverse areas of Key West, provided by a very enthusiastic driver, is worth the price and gets you into every area of the city. There are too many great places to cover here, so do a little research and start exploring. Remember, Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson are just a day trip from here by high speed catamaran or float plane.
Marathon
Marathon is another great anchorage, if you like the kick-back life style of the Keys. Slower paced and without the glitz and glamour of Key West, Marathon is a cruising crossroads and hangout for hundreds of sailors. Here the individuality and independence of the Cruising lifestyle combines with sailing comradery to form a unique blend of characters. It isn’t the pretty water and lush Keys that make this a sailor’s Mecca, first it is the size and great protection of Boot Key Harbor, its crossroad location, and finally the large collection of diverse boats and sailors.. Our favorite place is Sombrero
Marina and Dockside Lounge known as “Dockside” by sailors and locals. Kick-back
and low key can’t describe this hidden treasure. Dockside has live music seven
nights a week, draft beer, nightly specials from the grill, and a parade of
characters that can’t be beat.
The Dry Tortugas and Fort
Jefferson
The Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, 70 miles west of Key West at the western tip of the Florida Keys, is an outstanding anchorage. Combining natural beauty both above and below water, and history of Fort Jefferson makes this a memorable place to visit. The Dry Tortugas were discovered by Ponce De Leon in 1513. Fort Jefferson is the largest and best preserved of the 19th century coastal forts. Started in 1846, it has served as a fort protecting the Gulf of Mexico shipping lanes, a military prison during the Civil War, a WWII coaling station, a National Monument, and finally a National Park. The 70 mile run from Key West out to the Dry Tortugas in open water with a typically easterly wind at your back, is not a problem for most cruisers. Cruising out, you pass over the area where Mel Fisher found the remains of a number of Spanish Galleons and their treasures of gold, silver and jewels. The return trip from the Dry Tortugas, 70 miles directly into the wind, can be a challenge for some cruisers. Depending on the conditions, there are a couple of marginal anchorages along the way, nearer to Key West. If conditions are right, dropping south of the straight line course, into the Gulf Stream may give you a boost of a knot or two. All in all, are the Dry Tortugas worth it? Absolutely!
Cruising the Keys
As far as cruising grounds go, other than the anchorages mentioned above, the Keys have very few memorable anchorages. Because the Keys are flat and open, few anchorages offer good protection, many are hard to get into, and most have poor holding. In fact, talking to the locals, they describe the bottom of most anchorages as a foot or so of sand and soft mud over hard coral. Dragging your anchor in the wind and driving rain from a surprise thunderstorm at 2 o’clock in the morning, in pitch darkness with no visible reference; aw, this is what memories are made of.
Looking at the charts of the Keys, with all the waterways and islands, it would seem to be a great area, and it is, but just not for a one week bareboat charter. Come for the sailboat races, fishing, snorkeling, and day trips to the Dry Tortugas, the parties and history of Key West, or the kick-back life style of the other Keys. For cruising, try the British Virgin Islands, the other Windward or Leeward Islands or the Abacos in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas
Many sailors who have sailed from Florida, to the Windward and Leeward Islands, then to South America and back; say that after sailing through the Bahamas on their way south, they kept comparing every new anchorage and every new island to the Bahamas. By far, their absolute favorite cruising grounds were the Bahamas. We love the BVI and many islands in the Windwards, but we have only found one place that we liked as well as the Bahamas, and that was the Tobago Cays in the Grenadines, north of Grenada.
The Exuma Island Chain
Our all-time favorite cruising area is the Exumas in the central and southern Bahamas, below Nassau. These islands are only accessible by private craft, as there are no bareboat charter operations in these islands. The area offers a wide range of great anchorages, from very private secluded anchorages, to the comradery of a large anchorage like Georgetown’s Elizabeth Harbor, which is the winter gathering spot for hundreds of cruisers.
I mentioned that there are no bareboat charter operations in the Exumas. This is due to the boating skills required in these islands. On the west side of the Exuma Island chain is the Great Bahama Bank and its numerous sandbars and shallows, which requires good navigational skills, including both technical and eye-ball navigation. Due to the twisted paths that you may have to follow to get to your next destination, means that pure sailing is very difficult; motoring or motorsailing is often required. To the east of the Exuma Island chain is Exuma Sound, which rapidly drops off to well over a mile deep. Transiting from the Banks to Exuma Sound through the narrow cut between the islands can be a challenge when the tidal flow is either flooding or draining the Banks. When the tide is draining the banks and the resulting 3 or 4 knot easterly tidal flow meets the west bound waves of Exuma Sound, expect a scary and challenging ride. Of course, if your timing is right, transiting at slack tide or through one of the few wide channels, it is a piece of cake. A number of the popular anchorages are found in these same channels between the islands, which mean that your anchoring skills have to be up to these shifting conditions. Lastly, the lack of facilities for the resupply of water, ice, fuel, or food is not a problem for most cruisers, but is a problem for many bareboaters who aren’t use to the lack of facilities. You can count the number of beach bars and restaurants in the Exumas between Nassau and Georgetown on one hand. The accompanying pictures don’t do the Exumas justice.
Abacos, the northern Bahamas
The northern rim of the Bahamas is known as the Abacos. The eastern Abacos has bareboat charters operating out of Marsh Harbor and the area reminds us a little of the BVI. There are great beach bars and restaurants on many of the islands, distances are short and navigation is easy, and anchorages are good. There are still a few areas to get away from the crowd, but in general it is a more social atmosphere. There are many unique loyalist villages to visit and explore. The loyalists were those individuals who during and after the American Civil War, remained loyal to the King of England. Many loyalists moved to the Bahamas, at that time a British colony, and settled many of the islands. A great book about the Bahamas through many generations, is “Wind from the Carolinas”. This is an excellent read and one of Jimmy Buffets 10 books to be stranded on a deserted island with.
The British Virgin Islands (BVI)
We cant think of a better place to introduce another couples or a close friend to cruising in the islands. Whether you choose bareboat or a Captained charter, the BVI offers a great mix of deep clear blue water, beautiful beaches, great beach bars, music, restaurants, spectacular anchorages, easy navigation, unique harbors and villages. What more can you ask for from a first exposure to cruising. It hooked us, and many others we know.
The southern Windward Islands
We took a bareboat charter from St. Lucia, through the Grenadines, to Grenada; and it was great. The area is definitely more challenging than sailing in the BVI. The distances are greater, navigation a little more challenging, anchoring a little more demanding; but a great adventure, never to be forgotten. The absolute best of the Grenadines is the Tobago Cays, with a serene anchorage surrounded by Horseshoe Reef and dotted with small coral gardens. At anchor, while protected by a Horseshoe Reef, you have an unobstructed view of the Atlantic and behind you are the rugged Tobago Cays, with their white sand beaches. A truly great spot!
There are a thousand great places yet to explore. So many islands, so little time. Set your priorities, make time. You only get to go around once, make it count. I’ll close this section with words to live by from Mark Twain.
“Years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
- Mark Twain
