Spontaneous Vagabond Trip to Florida…

[Inquisitor]

Just this morning we determined that we were going to be childless from now till the 10th. We are in some dire need for some sun and warmth here in the Atlanta area! Although our college days are far behind us, we believe we’re still up to doing the road-trip thing. In more prosperous times we like staying at small B&B’s but think they are out of our reach at the moment. We are on a shoestring budget these days and are planning on camping, Motel 6ing and even sleeping in the SUV if we have to.

Our thoughts are to let the currents and winds drive us. Something like… taking the Atlantic coast going down and the Gulf coast coming back up… or vice versa. We might make the trip non-stop to/from the Keys or take several days depending on your advice. Eventually making our way down to Key West’s forecast of 76 degrees. I would like to drag the Hobie 16’ down and do a little real sailing (lake sailing here is a little boring). We are not into the high-roller glitz, but prefer to do some scenic hiking, beach walking, snorkeling, sailing and some laid-back parties.
Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated. But things of particular interest are:


Routes to travel or not to travel.
Places to stay or not to stay. Many places appear to be booked, so if you know any beeches we can just “park” next to.
Things to see or ignore.
New Year’s parties we can crash.
Highly secondary… down the road, I’d like to purchase a live-aboard sail boat in the 40-50’ class and am still torn between the classic lines of a mono hull and the comfort of a large Cat. If there are any inexpensive day-sails or maybe even an overnight charter to do some evaluation of either, we’d like to hear about those too.

Thanks for all your help.

[Robjl]

Hi Inquisitor,
Sorry, can't help with "cruising" advice down south of you, (we got the travel guide out though, looks good) ....but if you'd used all those frequent flyer points and come over here...we could help.
Your trip sounds just like yacht cruising, I think you may have the right idea.. all you need is a sound vessel, watch the weather and find a good anchorage at night.
Safe trip and happy new year.
Cheers,
Robjl.

[wdnboatbuilder]

try the campgrounds in the keys. rates don't go up until feb. when the snowbirds show up, oh yea you are a snowbird......lol weather is to be good in the upper 70's and a slight breeze

[gonzo]

Try http://kenneycommunications.com/
They have some information on Florida

[Inquisitor]

...oh yea you are a snowbird......lol

Maybe just a slush bird... we don't get much snow here.

I came from a tourist town and know about Tourons. Sorry to invade your state. :o

[wdnboatbuilder]

I was just kidding. Hope you have a great stay and the weather is great.

[PAR]

The keys will be in the 80's this weekend. I'm near Orlando and we'll be in the high 70's, maybe touching 80 for an hour. God, it must suck being any place else. I've only had to use the slow hardener twice since last winter. I just plucked a couple of oranges of my tree to see if they're ready yet.

Inexpensive daysails are a buddies yacht. This is the time of the year most of the businesses make their money for the season, so deals are far and few. In the mid 90 degree temperatures of the summer, you can find good deals, but now you and every other person in the country want a seat on the tram going to one of the major attractions in Florida.

You can find plenty of information through the usual methods, but the deals will require a clever hand.

Stay off I-4, we call it the parking lot, so take the tip. You don't see much on the interstate, I'd make other plans, though you will not be able to travel at 75 MPH the whole way, it'll be a lot prettier.

When you're close to making your drive, drop me an email, I have my eye on several aging yachts in various states of condition. I routinely keep tabs on many are the state to find deals when they come up. It's decidedly a buyers market in 40 footers now. I don't keep track of modern production vessels because they have little interest to me, but if you'd like a boat with classic lines (how about a 50's vintage fiberglass CCA style yawl) It's in good shape, has new sails and is used reasonably regularly. Stop in Punta Gorda and Sarasota on your way up the gulf side. There are lots of yacht deals over there and it's a really fine area to sail.