LeoCraft

Hi All,
I'm headed down with my 22' Chriscraft CC from Miami to Key West in less than 2weeks. I have never snorkeled nor boated in Key West.. I want to take my friends snorkeling out on some NICE reefs. Something maybe only 20'max depth. My range is about 200miles but i do not plan on going to Dry Tortugas... Something maybe secluded as well, where it's not like we have sight of keywest directly. Where do the tourist catamarans go? Can anyone point me in the right direction? Also, are these areas protected from currents, waves and winds? I have plenty of experience fishing and snorkeling around Key Largo so i know not to anchor on top of them... I'll be launching from the bayside at the Naval Air Station... how far is that???

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22' Chris Craft Cutlass
That's Some Bull

ljk

I don't have a lot of Key West experience, but Sand Key has some nice shallow diving and snorkelling. When we dove/snorkelled there, you could acutally see a small sand beach right around the light at mid tide.

ccboatguy

About 30 miles east of Key West is a great place called Looe key http://www.floridakeys.com/lowerkeys/looekey.htm
On the gulf side, about 20 miles east of Key West is Content Keys. Scroll down to the bottom of the "Florida & Georgia" section and there is a thread about the Content keys. There is some current at times at the Content keys, so pay attention to the tides.

beachbum43

Looe Key is worth the trip. It is like swimming in an aquarium.

Take some wet suits. We were in Islamorada last week and the water is still very cold. I don't think it will be warm enough for me by the end of the month.

CudjoeDon

Looe Key is the best -- and each end is different enough to be "two-stop" enjoyable. Sand Key is pretty good and much closer to Key West. All of the sanctuary areas have mooring balls -- and you'd better use them! All the areas are where the reef and deeper water meet, so winds, waves, and currents can be an issue. Check the forecast [VHF channel 2 down here] and try to do it within a couple of hours of either high or low tide. Water has been colder than normal [70deg at reef], so wetsuits or rashguards recommended.

CudjoeDon

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2006 20' ProKat Suzuki DF140

LeoCraft

Hi guys, Looe key sounds really nice! 30miles is quite far.... an hour for me.... And i dont know if I want to explore the backcountry for Content Key, I dont want to hit shallows. How far is Sand Key? is it protected somewhat? Look at this link... Where's this at??? Supposedly it's near key west??

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22' Chris Craft Cutlass
That's Some Bull

meii

Here is a link and gps #'s for sand key.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=SANF1

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