newer sj sailor thinking about 5 day cruising around Tarpon.

[bernardi]

I grew up on FL west coast and always dreamed of sailing. I didn't get my first sailboat till summer 2013. Now Im thinking about camp cruising around west central florida, I grew up living on the salt marshes. I have radio ,fire extigjishers,dry gear from years of whitewater kayaking, some backcountry backpacking experience in very rough conditions. Im thinking about starting near anclote island camping sailing fishing. I may try to cruise north towards some spring fed rivers or maybe towards fort desoto. Any body have any experience camp cruising this area, I know it is supe shallow as you get firther north ubove Tarpon springs.

[kuriti]

Go for it. I ran a 26' Shamrock sports fisher up that coast this year with a buddy and I have been out of Chassahowitzka when I lived in Orlando. It is definitely skinny water. We ran aground in the Shamrock at 20 kts up near Cedar Key and slept on the hard that night (we were drunk as hell, had started the day at 8am and it was 9pm). Get some printable charts from NOAA and download a chart program for your phone/tablet. I used an android tablet that had a GPS and a chart program for our recent trip and it worked out great, but have the paper as a backup. The gulf is a big lake barring squalls, so just check the weather and don't go out if there is a chance of foul weather. Don't pin the keel in small water so if you run aground it is no big deal. The only danger I find is if the wind is really up, you should pin the keel in case you get knocked down, and that is the priority over running aground. When in doubt, pin the keel and put in a companionway board. I was able to stream music up that whole coast so cell coverage is good.

have fun!