If you are willing to enjoy the ride across Lake O, we and our neighbors charge $50 a week for the boat to sit .
2 days over , 2 days back, but the savings might be huge!
And the lake adventure is great for birders.
That is some awesome deal. I'd love to take advantage of it some day....
Think we will stay in the Keys. Seems to be the smartest thing to do. We will then start the trip North by the Middle of March. Another question: Does anyone have from experience the distance that can be covered in a day heading North. I know this is an unanswerable question due to many variables. One issue is not extremely variable and is what I will call the "Slow down factor". It would appear to me that issues like "no wake zones" and bridge waits would slow a vessel down by a specific %. This slow down factor could be by geographic area. As an example it looks like Southern Florida, Miami, Ft Lauderdale would be much slower than areas North. Yes I also understand that for some vessels the difference between no wake and cruise is large while a trawler like mine it is not as great. Still some sort of constant could be used. Or maybe best is what do others plan for time / distance in various sections of the ICW with a 6 knot cruise speed
IMO it's a good idea to stay in the Keys. But, if you wish to change the scenery moving a bit north within FL would be on my radar. I don't think you can beat FF's deal.
In regards to cruising distance I think the main question is what's your limit factor. What I mean is that are you only considering to cruise during the daylight or you feel comfortable enough to cruise after sunset?
As you know, in the winter season we get around 10hrs of a daylight. This is the rough number I was using when planning my trip to Charleston. To keep things simple, I like to round numbers. So, you mentioned 6kts speed, this would translate into approx. 50-55NM (I'm referring to congested leg of the ICW with bridges or other reasons for slowing you down), which is in line with what others have posted from their experience.
However, if you don't mind cruising few hours after dark, obviously your cruising distance will be greatly improved. Since I don't know your level of experience this is something only you shall decide for yourself. I'm just going to share my experience and say that cruising in the new waters it's wise to cruise during daylight. But, for an experienced captain it's not that big of a deal (after all the homework is done) to cruise after dark. After cruising for few days on AICW south of Norfolk I got pretty good idea what I'm up against. I've studied the charts, marked the trouble spots, and had a pretty good idea what area would be easier (e.g. wider sections that are well marked with no or minimum number of bridges) to run after dark and which areas is best to avoid (narrow and shallow, perhaps too many dog legs sharp turns, few bridges, etc.).
As others have mentioned open ocean is a great option, especially after dark, of course providing that conditions are acceptable for your experience.
As you can see, this is one of those "it all depends" questions, but I'm sure that now you have a good idea and a benchmark to go by.
Hope this helps a little.