Dave, there is also a great sailing club with dry storage space you can join for about $350/yr. and leave the boat set up, ready to go. It is called the Sarasota Sailing Squadron and you could then sail it to the keys down the back side, in the nice, warm, protected waters of the Gulf vs. the east coast, stopping at Sanibel/Captiva and Naples on the way.
http://www.sarasotasailingsquad.com/ http://www.sarasotasailingsquad.com/about/membership/rates.pdf That's where they run the Sitletto Nationals out of.
