Florida vacation. sail your cat off the beach, and stay?

Curious if there are any places in FL, where I could tow my
cat down to and spend a week sailing off the beach?
I am a cat sailor, so as expected, would have to be on the low cost side of things. Curious if there are any places like that.
or places where you would recommend to go to even if you have to rig and derig the cat each day.

Go to Perry's on Daytona Beach!

http://perrysoceanedge.com/

What time of year?

+1

Yeah Daytona and Volousia county in general are VERY friendly towards launching off the beach. Just do the lifeguard a favor and go up to him/her before launching and let them know what you're doing.

I would look at Dunedin Fl. Sail from the Causeway. You can sail inside or out in the Gulf. You sail south to Clearwater beach or north to Three Rooker sand bar or a bit further to Anclote Island.

You can purchase a overnight parking sticker for the boat.

If sailing is what you want to do this is the right place.

Sailing in the Atlantic gets boring after a half hour and then there's the surf to deal with.

Dunedin also has a nice little downtown and some very good restaurants and atmosphere.

Check it out. PM me with any questions.

Boring!? How so?

We rented a house near Gulf Shores Alabama and left our H16 on the beach the entire week and sailed all over with the dolphins

Yeah I'm curious as well.

Also, "dealing with the surf" is the most fun part of sailing off the beach for me.

Sailing in the Atlantic BORING, are you for real? I can sail from Delray to Ft Lauderdale, Palm Beach or even Miami in crystal clear water with a nice 12-15 knot breeze for lunch. Delray Beach allows 60 spots for boats with mast up storage for $250 a year, no residency requirements.Oh, and did I mention that the water is alot warmer. I really would like to know how you arrived at that conclusion.

I love the Atlantic! There are all kinds of little critters hanging out in sargassum weed, plus flying fish, and the turtles and dolphin we see in the gulf. But the biggest plus to sailing in the Atlantic, particularly from Singer Island south is the water. Absolutely gorgeous.

LOL, some of you are so sensitive.

Keeping in mind that "VACATION" is the keyword here and with some assumptions because of that....

Not looking to rent a spot on the beach for $250.00 per year,
refer to keyword.

Daytona, Tourist Trap, when on vacation for a week do you really, after bringing your boat along, want to sit in your room and watch a surf line that may be too much to pass through. Not to mention the greater chance of flipping in the surf and damaging your boat.

Once past the surf where do you go? My reference to boring. He has a boat and must sail where he lives so shouldn't a vacation with your boat be something a bit different? Can you sail to a large number of pristine islands and have lunch and explore? Will someone be there to guide you to the best spots and what to look out for?

There may be better places than Dunedin but in my opinion it's not Daytona.

From someone who sails off the beach in Daytona I think the surf the most fun and the lack of it the one thing that is missing from the west coast. Nothing beats double trapped surfing the swell in ocean ocean. Closest thing to flying without the parachute.
But the real question is the time of year and the sailing skills you have. If are going this time of year I reccommend the Keys. Great place called Rock Reef Resort on Key largo. Bay side so the wind is a little better behaved that the ocean this time of year. They have a small beach and are cat friendly. Great islands to sail around and bays to explore and some of the best water every. Another great place in the keys that is cat friendly is the Islander on Islamarada. Large setup area and sailing to the reefs offshore. But it is ocean side. If you are going in the summer I reccommend the east coast because there is no or little wind on the west coast. Fall and spring head for the west coast of south because the surf can be a little unpredictable north of West Palm Beach. Dunedin is a great place to sail but you may find it a little expensive around the easter break and there is no where to stay and park the boat at the hotel. They allow some overnight parking at the causeway but you need to check with the local on permits. Many of the beaches around Clearwater will not let you launch off the beach so be careful of where you stay. Same problem with Sannibel and Captiva. I will let the panhandle folks speak for themselves.

Dunedin has permits but only allows overnight parking for 2 nights per week. The only other place with mast up storage is the Clearwater Sailing Center but they require an annual membership

The Islander Resort in the FLorida Keys Ocean Side, In Islamorada, FL
Gilberts Resort in Key Largo

Thanks all for the advice. Appreciate it..

Don't forget about the Panhandle. Navarre Beach, I've left my boat at Juanna's while on vacation there. I was told I could even bring my Stiletto and anchor it off the beach too! GREAT place to hang out. I have also kept my boat at Kurt's place in Pensacola, another great place to hang out. Break your boat? Kurt probably has what you need to fix it too. Want to sail the gulf, I'm sure it can be arranged.

C

That whole stretch between Ft Walton and Pensacola is really nice!

MI Creek stays in Longboat Key and keeps his boat on the beach there for a few days. Can't remember the details, but it didn't sound expensive.

Nice sailing up to Egmont Key and the fort ruins, shark pass, stop by the city pier for a bite, run back...

As stated above. Singer Island is great sailing, can leave the boat on the beach, has ocean, inlet less than a mile from hotels, has intercostal, islands with free camping and Tiki Bars you can sail up to.

Contact me if interested. My boat lives on the beach but will be sailing down to Key West in April.

Anna Maria Island (one island north from Longboat Key) is a great place to go for a catamaran-sailing vacation. I know many beaches where you can keep your cat for free, and there are a lot of beach rentals that would allow you to keep the boat right out the back door!

If you want to stay at a Hotel, I know of one with a catamaran / watercraft rental operation on the beach across the street from it. You could rent those, or keep your own on that beach. You could also keep it on a beach a short drive from wherever you decide to stay.

There are many nice water-front restaurants that you can sail up to, or you could sail off to Egmont Key (no road access) and explore WWII ruins and brick roads winding aimlessly around what used to be a bustling military installation.