Top 10 Stops: Sailing Florida’s West Coast

Way back in 2009 I bought my Lagoon 410, Guiding Light. I spent the rest of the year learning the boat and living on a dock before I took off cruising in 2010. My first cruising ground was the Gulf Coast ICW and this month I want to share my favorite stops once I got to the west coast of Florida. Here we go:

10. Tampa Bay – Starting this list off is the huge bay with over two million people in the metro area. The bay is well protected and full of great places to get away for the weekend, but the sheer size made me pass through rather quickly. With that said the Tampa Riverwalk was an enjoyable afternoon.

9. Everglades City – This tiny community, at the northern edge of the National Park, really captured my imagination. I love the museum and walking though the Rod & Gun Club I could feel the history. This hotel has been around over 100 years and back when it was much harder to reach several past US Presidents vacationed here.

8. Marco Island – Towards the southern end of Florida is a quiet community that is blessed with nice beaches, a protected anchorage, and more shells that I have seen in one place before. My crew and I spent two days playing in the water and beaches and loving life.

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7. Destin – Even to this day when people ask me where the nicest sand is, I have to say Destin, FL. I have never felt sand that was so soft in my life. It was magical. The other highlights were the completely protected harbor, the night life, being given a pontoon boat for a couple days, and going to Crab Island on the weekend. I know this beach town can get crowded, but I had so much fun hanging out here.

6. Cayo Costa – This barrier island is so beautiful that the state of Florida turned it into a state park to help protect it. Hiking the trails and playing on the beach were fun, but my favorite part was exploring nearby Cabbage Cay. A favorite haunt of the late Jimmy Buffet, this watering hole is a great place for a “cheeseburger in paradise”. Plus, you will never see so many dollar bills on the walls as here. I was told over $10,000 falls off each year and is donated to various charities.

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5. Everglades National Park – They had me at National Park! This is the third largest park in the lower 48 after Death Valley & Yellowstone, so there is a lot to see and do. We spent several days hopping down the coast and I was delighted to see alligators and manatees. I found the entire area fascinating and the idea this large, very shallow river starts flowing from Lake Okeechobee amazes me!

4. Gulf Islands National Seashore – I know technically this is not in Florida, but it amazing and close enough that I wanted to include it. While the barrier islands were beautiful and there were some cool forts to explore, the part that amazed me was the fact the islands have moved seven miles in the last 100 years or so. Think about that. Islands moving, and at a fairly fast rate. Amazing. 

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3. Pensacola – Most of my time in Pensacola was spent at the naval air station because there is so much to see on this historic base. The biggest sight is the National Naval Aviation Museum. This museum is an all-day type of place and a tour of the grounds to see over 150 air crafts is amazing. The coolest thing to see is the Blue Angels practicing since this is their home base. It was amazing to sit on the boat at anchor as these amazing aviators fly in formation overhead. The most historic thing to see is the three forts built during the early 1800’s.

2. Tarpon Springs – What do you get when you mix Greeks and sponge fishing? Tarpon Springs of course. This town is the largest concentration of Greeks in the entire USA. I was told it is because there were a lot of sponge fishermen in Greece and when the industry started up here many, many Greeks immigrated. I never knew how many varieties of sponges there were until I visited Tarpon Springs. Let’s not forget about the delicious Greek food that every restaurant serves. Yummy.

1.  Apalachicola – How could the number one spot not be this unbelievable forgotten town. The charm started from the moment we docked at the city boat basin and continued as I biked along the tree lined streets. A hundred years ago this was one of the most important ports on the Gulf Coast and the magnificence of the homes shows it. I loved the museums and simply hanging out at the Gibson Inn chatting with the locals as they strolled in. Talk about quiet charm, I have yet to find a place that passes Apalachicola. It was magical!

 

Captain Shane has sailed Guiding Light along the Gulf Coast, up the East Coast, through the Bahamas, and around most of the Caribbean during his 15-year career as a charter boat captain. Check out his social media at svGuidingLight to see what he is up to next.

Shane McClellan has written for ALL AT SEA since 2016.