Venice Florida Marina

[nybor]

Hi. My 360 is currently in Harbortown Marina, Merritt Island. I bought a condo in Venice and need to get my boat over there. I visited the Fisherman's Wharf Marina (Marker 4) and saw a 350 in a slip. Is the owner on this site? The slip that is open is next to the 350! I thought for a moment someone had moved my boat over there for me! (no such luck). Anyway, I would like to talk to the owner to see about the accommodations there.

Thanks

dave
ps. also STILL thinking about the Okeechobee passage idea. Sure would save time getting to the west coast of Florida!

[wcconway]

Although we are not the 350 at Fishermans, we've stayed there many times. Great marina. Easy access to downtown, laundry and grocery stores. Very helpful Dockmaster, George. Will be back there in February hopefully.

[wolfe10]

Have done the Okeechobee several times with our Catalina 350.

Contact "Billy the boat tipper". Cash only!

Indian Town Marina has his contact information.

Yup, a couple of hundred miles shorter. Current navigable depth for the lake= 8.7'. Current Bridge Clearance = 48.93'

http://w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/reports/r-oke.html

Brett

[Karla]

Welcome to Venice! We keep Carpe Diem our Catalina 350 at the Venice Yacht Club. I highly recommend our location for many reasons including our great marina and beautiful clubhouse and Tiki Bar. If you would like more information, or in town we can give you a tour of the Club and facilities. For the same monthly fee for docking at Marker 4 you can have a private club membership with all the amenities. Florida Council of Yacht Clubs offer the first night slip fee free to member clubs. So you can sail up from Marathon and stay at all the clubs along the way. Check out veniceyachtclub.com.

[nybor]

Thanks to all for responding. Still vacillating about Billy and the Okeechobee Limbo.
I did check out the Venice Yacht Club. Very impressive. The person I talked to won't give me info on slip rates, only the membership costs. I will definitely stop by there when I get down there to check it out. I think my primary objective is to find a home that doesn't take a day meandering through canals and locks to get to the Gulf!

thanks

dave

NYBOR #411 (Robyn spelled backwards FYI), Not a nordic God.... although......

[JohnForr]

Hi, we also crossed Ochochobee 2 years ago in September. We stayed at Indiantown Marina and then met Billy about 10:00 am. Also, as I recall our antennae almost touched the western most beam of the route 95 bridge. And we went under the Cape Coral Bridge at Low tide. Captain Bruce Whyte was with me.

[nybor]

Hi All. I have made my decision. I found a sucker, I mean crew mate to go with me the long way around the Florida Peninsula. So, the plan is to leave Merritt Island, go down the IWC until Ft. Pierce, then out and around the Keys (taking the outside path), over to the Dry Tortugas and then up to Venice. By the way, I have a slip at Fisherman's Warf!!!

So, my question is, has anyone done this trip? Is the IWC to Ft. Pierce a good idea? Other ideas? Maybe without the Tortugas detour? If so, how long did it take? Of course it is predicated on wind and weather, but assuming reasonable conditions, any ideas?

thanks

dave
NYBOR

[Aussie Mate]

As John Forr mentioned, we did the trip in his 350 Forr Fun. Crossed the Lake with no problems at all. Also done it outside, so here are some timings for you:
1. Lake Worth to No Name Harbor 13 hrs off shore, to Duck Key 8 hrs Hawke Channel, to Key West 8 hrs in Hawke Channel, Key West to St Pete off shore 30 hrs direct: total of 59 hours
2. Daytona to Stuart about 24 hrs (3 days ICW), to Indiantown 8 hrs, crossed Lake Okeechobee to Belle Glade 9 hrs, to Fort Myers 8 hrs: total of 49 hrs.

Billy charged $100 cash, does not take AMEX, or any other card for that matter. The tipping of the boat took about an hour from start to finish. Did not touch any bridge (Stuart, Fort Myer both about 56 feet).

Fair sailing mate whichever route you take

[SeaBreeze]

Dave
My wife and I have done the trip you intend to take minus the leg to Dry T. a couple of times and some segments a few more times. Some outside and some ICW. On the lower east coast ICW the number of bridges and their opening schedules can be so frustrating it makes you want to buy an RV and move to Montana. The stretch from Hobe Sound south of St Lucie to Miami is just awful. Go outside unless the WX stinks. Once you get to Key Biscayne you have a choice of Hawk Channel or Florida Bay route depending on weather. So WX doesn't need to slow you down much. Avoid Miami area on weekends. Crazy traffic. If you skip Key Wst & Dry T and opt for a route from Channel 5 bridge area to SW FL be aware of numerous crab trap floats. So a night crossing can get you in trouble. We noticed that the floats are on long line and your keel can hook one even though you miss the float by several feet. Anchoring in Little Shark R. Is about as remote as you can get in FL but flying insects can drive you mad on a calm night. A wonderful anchorage if you are bug free. Use Active Captain for anchorage selection all along your route. Have a great trip.
Rick Parish
Sea Breeze

[gordon]

done it.
good decision to avoid all the bridges of south florida but you will be doing several all night passages when you go 'outside'. if the weather and wind aren't cooperating, you can do the icw from miami to the keys, very scenic and protected. the passage from key west to dry tortuga is longer than you think, and be sure to reach the dt in daylight, there's a lot of skinny water thru out the keys. and then to go straight to venice is several 24 hour days of sailing. another option would be to head north at the channel 5 bridge and scoot along the coast and the edge of the everglades. little shark river is very cool to investigate but make sure the weather is coldish, or you have plenty of insect repellant-mosquitoes, if you do go that way leave plenty of room around cape romano.
merritt island to dt and then venice-10-12 days w good weather. if you skip key west and dt 6-8 days. those figures are for straight sailing with good weather and wind and no sightseeing.
hope this help, good luck.