Some friends and I are planning going to the keys for spring break with a H16 and Prindle 18. We have made the trip from Clemson the last couple years and sailed in the seven mile bridge area and off of smather's beach in KW. This year we are planning on sailing from the Seven Mile bridge to Key West in a day with a road crew so we can properly finish our spring break in KW.
Does anyone have any experience, or advice for us? I think this is a manageable daysail. Are there any difficulties we should know about? We will have GPS, VHF, etc. Any comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Big Easy
Jon Boy
Wilbur
Tornado
John Worce Martin IV

When is your spring break?

And why haven't you guys been attending Lake Keowee regattas!? We are sailing/racing all the time. I don't recall seeing a Prindle out there in a long while.

Do you have a place to pull out from in Key West? That could be a little difficult to find unless you plan on using a marina. What kind of distance are you talking about covering?

clemsoncat:

Get up with Chris Mullen at the NCSU Sailing Team.

We've been taking trips down to the Keys for a couple years now. I think they've finalized everything for this year, but if the spring breaks coincide, you guys could hookup together.

If our website wasn't in limbo right now I'd link you to it.

I assume you will be sailing on the Atlantic side, since the islands extent quite a bit farther on the Florida Bay side. On my software, it looks to be just under 40 miles, somewhat following the general shoreline. Just don't try to beach on the Navy base, I'm sure you would be less than welcome there.
Jack

March 19-27

We will be taking the atlantic side. We will probably take out at that sandy landing on the west end of smathers beach in key west. It isn't a great ramp, but we managed it last year. The hobie rental guys in key west were great, as they let us keep our boats on the beach with theirs all week and use their dollys to get the boats down to the water.

Jake, I haven't up to keowee. I keep my boat on shore at the Clemson Sailing Club on Hartwell, and I guess I am too lazy to step the mast and trailer it up unless I am going some place salty. I have never raced my Hobie, and the Prindle is the sailing club's, but I will see if anyone is interested in Keowee regattas once the weather warms up.

We do a couple of regattas on Hartwell too - Spring Fever (one of the largest catamaran regattas in the US) takes place only about 4 miles up the lake from where you are. The Western Carolina Yacht club does not have a very active catamaran fleet. The Keowee Sailing Club does have some very active catamaran sailors and you are welcome to join us. Even if you don't bring your boat, someone is always looking for crew. I'll send you some contact information if you guys are ever interested.

Nice to hear that there are cats at Keowee SC. I was a member in, oh, 1985 or so. Sailed a Windmill. Also a Contender and a very strange windsurfer-hulled catamaran. Left the area to teach for Offshore and then run the St. Pete YC program.
Incidently, we sail a Hunter 47 from Duck Cay, about 7 miles east of Marathon to Key West for Live-aboard class at Offshore Sailing School. Total sailing time is about 10 hours in a floating palace. If the breeze is the usual broad reach for you from Marathon to Key West you may not have to pack much of a lunch!

Please renew your Tow Boat USA card, carry a cell phone, and a GPS. Trust me, you just never know what could happen.

That is the very route we use in the Hogsbreath-Keys 100 Race every April.
Great sail, deep water, no reefs to worry about and you will probably have easterly winds around 15 knots (normal) pushing you all the way.
I believe some of the racers have made it in under 2 hours.
You can probably launch at Sombrero Beach (on the east end.., but need to get permission) and pull out at Smathers Beach. I know that Sombrero Beach has gone through some changes, so it might not be available anymore.
If not, you can probably launch at Buccaneer Lodge. after you pull in the parking lot, there is a little dirt road to the left that goes down to a launching ramp. It is on the Bay Side, but an easy sail through the 7-Mile Bridge to the Ocean Side.
Have fun,
Rick

When we were on Fiesta Key in late December, a small fishing boat that launched from the marina there had motor trouble less than 3 miles away. Since it was windy and he didn't want to beach, he had to call Sea Tow. They came out from Islamadora in a nice Baha and helped him back home for $275.00. The guy said he was definitely buying tow insurance the next day.
Jack

Rick,
That is what I was hoping to hear from someone who has made the sail before. I just hope that the wind is right. Every year I go for spring break and the wind is different every time. Always from the east or southeast, but it has varied from 5 to 25 knots. We are camping at Knight's Key in Marathon for a couple nights before the trip so we will put in there. Plan on taking out at smathers.

Thanks to everyone for the advice, we will have proper safety equip and also have a chase boat going along with us.

Our predominant wind is from the eastern quadrant and averages 10-15.
When a front comes through the wind will begin to switch SE and continue to clock around until the passage of the front. After that it will settle in from the NE and fluctuate between NE and SE from then on until the next front.
Usually in the spring the fronts do not make it this far and sort of settle over Georgia. That leaves pretty steady winds from the eastern quadrant.
Good luck,
Rick