Launching from Flamingo in mid March and headed to Islamorada and then further south. How complicated is Florida Bay going to be to navigate? Should I just stay to the far west of all the islands? I am not an outboard man but would consider one for this trip I guess. How much does a thirty pound outboard hanging off the cheetah mount hurt my sailing performance? I guess I could store it mid tramp till I need it but don’t really want to and I heard you should not store outboards on there side

I have a little 2hp honda that is designed to be stored on one of its sides. No problems there.

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Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
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If your boat can handle shallows (ie, no daggerboards or daggerboards & case that you don't mind light groundings and the boat can sail reasonably well with them up, kick up rudders, etc), it'll be easy.

Looking at the map (didn't know Flamingo!) , ICW won't be of help :-/ and you'll be going against the prevailing winds (ESE). If logistics allow, I'd do the reverse route, kick back in a broad reach.

I sail biscayne bay mostly so might be off.

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I heard you should not store outboards on there side

http://www.fishing.net.nz…its-side_topic49713.html

There are three or four banks you need to be careful how you navigate around, but between them there is room to maneuver, and to beat upwind if need be. You might be able to catch a northerner, but martin is right that the prevailing wind is from the south east. is this on a stiletto?

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is this on a stiletto?

No, Gcat 5.7. Planning on making it a round trip so hopefully the return trip will be a breeze. If it turns out to be a one way, I’d rather be stuck in the Keys than Flamingo.

Talk to the Everglades Challenge folks. Flamingo is their last checkpoint before the run into the Keys. This is manageable but there are A LOT of shallow spots that are constantly changing. Also be aware that breeze from the North/North East sucks water out of the bay and you along with it, so having a motor or a backup plan (i.e Key West) are not bad things to consider.

Basin chart

http://coastmariner.com/bin/chart2.php?chartId=11451_7&lat=25.0761&lon=-80.7602&locId=210

Additional Basin Chart

http://coastmariner.com/bin/chart2.php?chartId=11433_1&lat=25.0909&lon=-80.7677&locId=3520

Florida Bay Chart

https://charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11449.shtml