While waiting for the snow to melt in Minnesota, I've been looking at an old Rand-McNally map of Florida. The population and development seems very skimpy along the Gulf Coast of Taylor, Dixie, and Levy Counties. There are a few small places, including Dekle Beach, Keaton Beach, Steinhatchee, Jena, Horseshoe Beach, and Suwannee. There are not many roads diagrammed on the map.
-What is this part of the Florida Gulf Coast like???
-Do the tourists not go here?
-Do sailors go here?

(Employees of British Petroleum, their relatives, or their friends are not eligible to answer this question. Any entries by such persons will be disqualified as marketing and self-promoting drool.)

http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS501US501&q=map+of+florida&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x88c1766591562abf:0xf72e13d35bc74ed0,Florida&gl=us&sa=X&ei=QcRgUcK1EIie8gS_8ICgCw&ved=0CDAQ8gEwAA

I rarely get there myself. Probably the least populated part of the state. Very pretty in a sub-tropical way, lots of forests and marshes. Nuclear power plant at Crystal River.

http://www.floridabigbendscenicbyway.com/

It's been quite a number of years since I traveled on HWY 98 along that stretch. At that time, much of the land was devoted to timber mining for paper mills. The state of Florida also established much of that territory as public domain, conserving the natural wildlife and habitat. The Wakulla area is fascinating.

Fishing is a major enterprise in addition to the wood for paper industry.

Organized sailing ends around Dunedin and picks back up at St Andrews Bay Yacht Club in Panama City on along the coast. The catamaran scene extends from there to Ocean Springs Yacht Club on Biloxi Bay.

Cruising that coastline along the ICWW or along shore in the Gulf is awesome. Tarpon Springs was the home of the sponge diving industry. There are many passes between Gulfport, MS and there as well that offer sailors a fine time at sea in pleasant or angry weather. I have seen it also written that hurricanes are rare, due to the many Native American sacred grounds which extend west to Fort Walton Beach. West of there is where the hurricanes tend to strike with heavy targeting.

Like the Everglades Challenge - a lot, in that a bunch permitting and logistics would be required for a similar event, but it would be doable by the new mini - tris.

Sorry about the dreaming... The scissors boat is right down the highway in the back yard of a friend.

I sailed at Ceder Key last may during the small boat fest. it was very beautiful there. Extremely dark waters (the Suwanee river's black waters flows into the gulf there.)

Relativity shallow around the entire area.
Tons of little islands to explore.

Relativity quiet (less boats) waters com paired to the Clearwater area

PS the gulf coast is on the north-west coast, not the north east

I've flow over that area many times, from up high it looks like it's mostly mangroves with lots of little places you could really get lost in there. Not many sandy beaches or roads up in that corner. Looks like it would be great place to go fishing, but not much access or beach area for small cats.

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Here's a quick look at the area from above.

And no I wasn't flying it, but I would LOVE to have been!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Rrb8-1zPQ

while i was in Cedar Key last may, there they had a historic low tide. It was not that bad. I did not hit bottom unless i was exploring too close to islands. It was not hard to stay near the channels, and again ... there was very little power boat traffic.. it was very beautiful and i would even recommend it as a nice place to see old florida and sail in some unique areas.

There was a TON of parking and ramps available (both at the marina and along the entire waterfront near our hotels "the far awway inn"


Small boats gathering on an island


super low tide, wasn't that bad to handle.


public boat ramp / slopping sea wall on the road.

I'm tempted to do the small boat fest myself as a non-racing get away.

Do you have a link?

http://www.cedarkey.org/events.php

28th Annual Cedar Key Small Boat Meet
May 3rd, 2013 to May 5th, 2013

The 29th Cedar Key small boat meet will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd 5th, 2013, the first full weekend in May. It is completely informal. Tides and weather are still the only organization. There are no planned events, signups, or fees.

Cedar Key is on the Gulf a hundred miles north of Tampa, a dozen miles south of the mouth of the Suwannee River. It's an isolated cape of offshore islands separated from the mainland by miles of oyster flats and salt marsh. The great logs of the cedar forests went to pencil makers before & after the Civil War. During the War it was an active Confederate port & railhead. Now its sea and shallows attract fishermen and naturalists, artists and writers. There are no traffic lights, fast food, or golf courses.

All shallow draft boats are welcome: canoes & kayaks, catboats & catamarans; trimarans, rowboats & sailing dinghies; scows, sharpies & sampans; punts, pirogues, prams---& pirates' yawlboats.

Over the last 26 years, weather has usually been mostly sunny, mid to upper 80s in the day, water temperature upper 70s. If it blows, even at lower tides, it's splendid for rowers & paddlers. For sailing canoes Cedar Key is sublime.

Wildlife observers note the food chain at Cedar Key is complete in the water & ashore. The nutrients flowing out with the clean Suwannee mix with oxygenated water riffling through the cape's islands & channels. Birds, bugs, fish, shellfish, turtles, alligators, marine mammals---all thrive.

For information call the Cedar Key Chamber of Commerce, 352 543 5600; Dave Lucas, 941 704 6736, skipjack@tampabay.rr.com, or me, 586 215 7060, huhorton@gmail.com.

Thanks.

Cedar Key sounds like an interesting area! It is at the extreme southern part of the shore area I was asking about. Are the places to the north of there shallow far out from shore? Is this why it appears to be a little used area? Are daggerboards and rudders likely to bottom out? Or is it that the adjacent land is too swampy for development?

Google Earth is your friend, take a close up look at it, see if you can find any roads in/out of there.

I've been hoping to take an isolated trip down the Suwanee in my kayak to end at Cedar Key where I stay for a day or so before returning home. It looks like a gorgeous area.

Que up the banjo music...

Banjo music is right. The South lives on in this part of Florida. And as for the Swannee, I've done this stretch in a small john boat. The gators here are serious. There are two kinds, big and bigger. I had my dog in the boat (gators favorite food, the dog, not the boat). Those bad boys cruised right beside me for 20 minutes looking at dinner. It's the only place I've ever fished that I wished I had a shotgun along.

This part of the coast has no distinct beach, only a slow transition from mud and mangrove swamp to shallow Gulf. If you've seen the old movie Africian Queen you get the idea.

If you like this (I do) you can play here with the right tools. But leave the long daggerboards at home.

lots of neat cavern/cave diving in the freshwater springs over in the "big bend" area, too. You'll need at least a wetsuit (I opted for a drysuit because 70 degree F water is too cold for me)

And they have (or used to have) oysters galore.

Apalachicola is to the west and home of the Stephen C. Smith regatta and yes oysters supreme the home of the best in the world and a great regatta if they still have it, all boats are invited check it out the cats and sail boards used to show up but in the later years there were less and less I haven't been there in about 10 or so years but in the 90's it was one of my favorite regattas

Alex

Yup it's April 26-28 just looked it up same weekend as the Dauphin island race check it out it's a great race and the beer used to flow like water as they bring a truck with 5 taps on the side and it's free all weekend WOW

Snow melting will not be an easy as this winter was very cold.I would tempt to do the small boat fest myself when the season will start.

This part of Florida is very unique, from Cedar Key to St. Marks. Very remote but worth a visit.

I have done parts of this on my Wave and in kayaks.

I wouldn't worry much about gators or snakes. It is the No-see-ums that will take you down in a hurry. They are usually not out over the water, but thrive around boat ramps, mangroves and beaches. They come out in force just before dusk.