At the south point of Florida, there’s a chain of islands 170 miles long that’s inserted in turquoise water. This is the Keys, bordered by the unique living coral reef in the US. The subtropical climate and the astonishing sweetness of the Atlantic have made this ecological wonder one of the most cherished destinations for sailors. Sailboat Chartering without or with a Captain. You can select from 4 sorts of sailboat holiday.
Leasing the sailboat without a captain or “Bareboat Chartering” – The sea has no systems for you or your crew and you are capable of bringing the sailboat back to port even if a hitch occurs during your trip. Chartering a sailboat with a captain – You wish to have a captain on board to help with the bowline knot. Sailboat coaching – you would like to learn how to navigate or you want to boost your understanding.
Charter corporations offer courses at each level, for groups, couples, for a weekend or for the entire week. Cruising with a captain and cook – You watch them raise the sails and manipulate the sauce pans, while you take it nice and easy. The marinas can’t always accommodate boats that are too large. Also the draft of your boat shouldn’t surpass 4.5 to five feet and the beam 13.5 feet to fourteen feet.
We like mono hulls from forty to 43 feet long. They mix space and comfort and typically find a spot in the tiny marinas of the Keys. These boats are also better equipped than the smaller sailboats. The boats are hired for a day, a weekend or for a week. The Keys benefit from a subtropical climate. You can sail throughout the year like everywhere else, there’s this superb time of the year and less favorable periods. The best periods are: March, Apr, May, end of Nov and start of December. The times of tourism affluence are Thanksgiving, Xmas, and New Year.
Hurricane, humidity and mosquitoes’ months are June to Nov, with a top in Aug Sep, and October. Cruising Guide to the Florida Keys, by Captain Frank Papy. Good basic info about places to go to, marinas, underwater activity, and so on. Fantastic maps describing the entrances to ports and marinas, customarily tricky in access due to shallow waters.
Diving and Snorkeling guide to The Florida Keys, by Halas and Kincaid. Sign of depth and the level of difficulty of the different sites.