For Those Living Or Cruising South West Florida And The Keys

[menzies]

Our Bahamas trip next year will probably be June through July for personal reasons (more later).
So we are thinking of perhaps crossing Lake O in February and cruising Tampa to Marathon and back through April.

What are the temps usually during that time and lake levels? Good time to cruise that area or not?

 

[JohnEasley]

Our Bahamas trip next year will probably be June through July for personal reasons (more later).
So we are thinking of perhaps crossing Lake O in February and cruising Tampa to Marathon and back through April.

What are the temps usually during that time and lake levels? Good time to cruise that area or not?

February will be cool but not as cool as Jacksonville. Mostly 60s and 70s during the day and down into the 50s at night with a possible cold snap into the 40s. Expect March to be cool and breezy but quite comfortable. Not much in the way of rain in Feb or March. April is beautiful. Temps typically run in the mid-70s to mid-80s during the day and down into the 60s at night. We think it's an excellent time to cruise the area.

Not sure about Lake O levels. The Corps of Engineers would have a better idea.

Let us know if you decide to go with that plan. This is our normal stomping grounds and we'd be glad to meet up with you.

John

 

[Bigsfish]

Menzies

Anytime is a good time to cruise. I don’t do much west coast cruising because I draw five feet but I do enjoy the Keys and Fort Jefferson. During that time of year you may get a front or two to move thru but it should be no problem for Sonas.

 

[menzies]

How does your draft limit you over there? (We also draw 5.)

 

[Bigsfish]

After the past hurricanes the water depth has changed and what was one depth has now been found less, this is the ICW not the Gulf. There are many places that can’t accommodate five feet. 4.5 seems OK still, four even better.