Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

[FredGarvin]

I have an 18 foot 1999 Sea Ray bowrider with a 130 hp I/O.

I took it out of Ft Desoto today and started to head out of Bunces Pass, with the intent to take my family to Egmont. I don't have a GPS or anything, just a simple depthfinder, so I can't chart the way, but I know that the areas off shore from Ft Desoto are shallow. I've gone out there one time before and anchored off Ft Desoto and goofed around....so I know you have to kind of go out a ways before hanging a left to go south toward Egmont. Well, today, we headed out around noon and as we got in to the gulf, the swells were so high that it was miserable...my wife was shrieking and every other swell was WHAM. If it was just me and some buddies, I might have pushed ahead but I didn't want to make this a miserable experience for them, so we turned around and just hung out on shell key.

I thought it was a slack tide, but the tide might have been coming in, if that matters. Wind was negligible.

Are there times when it's smooth going out to Egmont? Is it a crap shoot? Or is my boat just not big enough? I've seen pics of boats about my size there, and even jet skiers...did I just have bad luck today?

 

[marcortez]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

No matter where you are...South/North or out West......if your boat is doing the WHAM WHAM thing on every swell......it's either too damn rough or your pushing it to hard for the conditions.

Turning around and going back to calmer waters was the wise choice.
Your boat will love you, your wife will thank you and at the end of the day, you can go home and toast yourself for making the right call.

Good job skipper!!!!

 

[JJJ]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

Probably late June, July, and Aug. would be good. Just need a calm day. We go to the Keys every summer, some days it is like glass, others not so much LOL - and wind chop just sucks if it is from the wrong direction.

The wind is the key, need it low and from the right direction. Also early morning and late evening seems to be calmest times.

 

[Triton II]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

Or is my boat just not big enough? I've seen pics of boats about my size there, and even jet skiers...did I just have bad luck today?

Hey Fred, tide will make a difference in shallow water - with tide against wind especially. Even if there's only a couple of feet of variation between high and low tides it can get nasty in estuaries with an outgoing tide and an on shore wind often resulting in a steep, short frequency chop, which makes life miserable for all and painfully miserable for the fairer sex unless they're wearing a sports bra.

As for the size of your boat, it should be big enough for at least six foot waves providing you keep the speed down to around minimum planing speeds - probably 12-15 mph in that type of boat. Steep, short-frequency choppy wind/tide generated conditions will lessen the comfort factor compared to long, tall, lopping swell. My 20-footer copes wonderfully with big slow rolling swells, but HATES little short chops, which are more the norm here in Bayside Brisbane Australia. So, to answer your second question, check the tides, the wind strength and direction and choose wisely for the sake of your marriage!

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

I sure would not want to be in a 18 ft open bow in 6 ft swells...
Stuff the bow in a wave one time and game over....
You made the right call turning around.

 

[FredGarvin]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

Bumping this as I seem to recall reading a post by someone on here who has my model boat and makes this trip a lot...

 

[capt sam]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

the boat doesn't matter, it's the conditions, I'm not sure how far you're talking about going but pick a day with no wind or an offshore breeze and try then. I've run my 18' flats boat 20 some odd miles out south of the Keys and fished for sails before, pick your day.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

I hope you won't take this negatively, but here's my take based on what you wrote:

You can't plot a course because you don't have GPS. Do you know how to plot a course on a chart, using a compass and local variation? What do you do when (not if, when) you're out in the Gulf and visibility goes away?

You didn't know if it was slack tide, incoming, outgoing, etc.

If I'm wrong feel free to set me straight, but it seems to me that you're boating 'over your head' in terms of your knowledge and experience.

My .02

 

[FredGarvin]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

I hope you won't take this negatively, but here's my take based on what you wrote:

You can't plot a course because you don't have GPS. Do you know how to plot a course on a chart, using a compass and local variation? What do you do when (not if, when) you're out in the Gulf and visibility goes away?

You didn't know if it was slack tide, incoming, outgoing, etc.

If I'm wrong feel free to set me straight, but it seems to me that you're boating 'over your head' in terms of your knowledge and experience.

My .02

I'd say you're partially right, except that I've gone out of this pass once before without much problem, and the island that I'm talking about is a fairly common boating destination. Tide shouldn't matter too much with this run, and I did check winds (and weather) but they picked up more than was projected, I think.

I do plan on buying a GPS soon...but the question I'm asking is a pretty specific inquiry, and anyone who boats in the Tampa Bay area will know it.

 

[mikeneal]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

I live in St Pete and have been boating along time in this area. My 1st boat was similar to yours (18' searay bowrider) and I went to Egmont a fair amount early on. The key is the weather, what you have to watch is the weather changing. I personally made too many trips there where is was glassy in the morning but sea breeze kicks up and not as fun ride home. Can your boat "safely" make it there, yes, most days. But the mouth of the channel and areas around skyway get ugly at times. The comfort level of a boat is mostly based on the crew AND vessel. The fact you were uncomfortable and turned around is in your favor. I now own a bigger boat and still tend to not go where I get beat up on crappy days, makes it easier on you, the boat and passengers.

 

[FredGarvin]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

I live in St Pete and have been boating along time in this area. My 1st boat was similar to yours (18' searay bowrider) and I went to Egmont a fair amount early on. The key is the weather, what you have to watch is the weather changing. I personally made too many trips there where is was glassy in the morning but sea breeze kicks up and not as fun ride home. Can your boat "safely" make it there, yes, most days. But the mouth of the channel and areas around skyway get ugly at times. The comfort level of a boat is mostly based on the crew AND vessel. The fact you were uncomfortable and turned around is in your favor. I now own a bigger boat and still tend to not go where I get beat up on crappy days, makes it easier on you, the boat and passengers.

OK that's what I figured...I had a feeling I just hit a bad day. We left Ft DeSoto around noon, maybe leaving earlier in the morning would help too, when it's calmer. I've gone out of Bunces Pass once before and just anchored off the beach at Ft DeSoto, so I figured it would be to get to Egmont, but never been. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

I don't know you, so please take this with it's full intent: safety, not critism.

Get a GPS and paper charts of the area. Charts are inexpensive and so are basic GPS units. I would never go offshore without preplaning a course. That includes directly out our inlet to fish. Here's what you can do with a decent GPS/charts:

1) Set a course according to the weather (weather forecasts are available on the new GPS/chartplotters

2) Plot your course according to the tides (tide charts for almost all areas are available on even the most inexpensice GPS units)

3) Preplan any food/fuel stops and plan for the unforeseen items such as mechanical issues (ship stores). Let a friend/family member know when you are leaving and when you plan to be at your destination. Get in contact with them at a scheduled interval so they can contact the authorities if you don't show or don't answer your cell.

The fact that you went out your pass "once before" really means that you have minimal experience with that trip. By all means, plan accordingly and have a blast. That's what it's all about. You can also follow another boater with experience to make sure there are no hidden hazards. Most, if not all, collision hazards will be listed on charts. Study your route before hand to make it easier for you to identify landmarks.

I also found Google Earth a tremendous help preplanning a 200 mile trip I took. After reviewing the aerial photos a half dozen times, I could actually tell exactly where I was as I was passing landmarks. It was almost like I had been there before.

Best of luck on your trip. I hope it's the first of many safe excursions.

 

[txtoyman]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

Sounds to me like you are in to deep for your knowledge and experience level. Take a CG Aux or Boat US course, learn what tides do and how to read/use charts. Your family will appreciate your effort.

 

[JJJ]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

Don't let the fact that you saw jetskiis there fool you. They can handle most any waves and weather - only real limiting factor is fuel.

No one has mentioned it, but I would probably also get a VHF radio and antenna. NOT a handheld as they don't have the distance, this and a gps can save your life in the event of an emergency.

As a plus most decent ones also have the weather bands on them - a big plus

 

[glengold]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

I think a lot of the people replying to your post have no clue where egmont is and they think you are trying some huge offshore adventure or something. I've run to egmont many times from maximo park (its right before the skyway bridge on the st. pete side). Last time was in my 16 ft flats boat. After fishing around the island we attempted to head back towards the shell key cut, too rough. We headed east towards the skyway down the main ship channel, then cut north along the channel right before the bridge. This has happened several times, the cut north of desoto gets nasty because of the shallow water and exposure to the gulf. If you run the channel along the skyway you are protected from the islands, then the only rough water you'll hit is in the main ship channel. We spend most of the time on the inland side of egmont because it is much much calmer but I've had my boat anchored out in front of the key and walked the beach and it was fine. Just my two cents, I think most people believe you were trying to run somewhere down in the florida keys off the beaten path! By the way, the ramp at Maximo is free, but fills up fast, so get there early.

 

[FredGarvin]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

GlenGold, yeah, I've kind of taken a few of the comments here with a grain of salt as I think the people who don't know the Tampa Bay area are doing what you're saying...assuming I'm going out in the middle of the ocean or on some long voyage or something.

I figured I could make this run in my boat but didn't know about Maximo Park...I'll put in there next time. For some reason I would have assumed that going out under the Skyway bridge would be rougher.

One my main concerns with going out of Bunces Pass was all that shallow water off the beach of Desoto. If I knew I could just run through that, I'd just hang a hard left coming out of the Pass and I'd be halfway to Egmont before I hit deep water.

Gonna check out Maximo...thanks for the tip.

 

[glengold]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

no problem, however, you can still get there from the desoto ramp without going into the Gulf. After launching at Desoto go right (east) under the bridge you had to come over to get to desoto. You're gonna have to head towards the skyway channel. then when you reach the channel that runs along the skyway head south. when you reach the main ship channel that goes under the skyway you'll head west towards egmont. I've stopped along the sandbar (edge of the no combustible motor zone) to your north when you are in the main ship channel and caught plenty of seatrout and makerel there if you're interested. You can stay out of the zone and cast into the shallows.

 

[Beefer]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

I'm also in St Pete (Largo), and I've gone out to Egmont in a 16' bowrider a number of times. Weather is the key. Check baynews9's weather and marine forecast, and "pick your days". I don't go into the Gulf unless they say 1-2' swells or less. But yes, you just picked a bad day that day.

 

[Bob's Garage]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

After reading the various posts and the OP's response and his original post I have come to the conclusion that his boat can make the trip but he should pass.

His experience level falls short of what he should have before leaving the protected waters of the ICW.

Not only does he need a GPS, but he should have a compass, at the very least. He should also have a LEAST looked at a chart to get an idea of what and where everything is.

I agree that he needs a boating course, and so does the State of Florida, if he was born after 1988. And it sure sounds like it.

Just reading "between the lines" reveals the huge amount of knowledge that he doesn't have.

Please take the appropriate steps to correct your short comings. Then you will not have to ask this type of question again.

 

[mikeneal]

Re: Can my boat make it safely and comfortably to Egmont Key?

Just a local note: Bounces Pass moves constantly so if after you get a GPS plotter pat attention the depth and ignore the electronic chart, my Garmin is WAY off the channel last time I looked at thru there.