Amazing Sailing from Key West to Coconut Grove: Sailing the Florida Keys
We have arrived in Key West! In the last article, I write about the start of our adventure, leaving out of Mobile, AL sailing the Gulf of Mexico and arriving in Key West. The next leg of our adventure will be sailing from Key West to Coconut Grove. I will discuss the sailing, mooring balls and anchorages we stop at along the way. But first, we will visit family and explore Key West!
Scott’s dad lives just a few hours from here in Homestead, FL so we docked the boat at NAS Boca Chica Key West for a few days and rented a car to drive up and see his dad before adventuring on Key West. We also needed to run some errands we couldn’t do without ground transportation. We were able to top off our propane tanks, buy some fishing and snorkeling gear in Key Largo, and get to a Costco to do some major stocking up before heading to the Bahamas.
NAS Boca Chica Key West
- Latitude: 24° 34’ 36.1N, Longitude: 81° 42’ 32.1”W
- Cost: $2.00 per foot (This is an MWR facility only open to active military, retirees, and disabled vets)
- Slips: Floating Docks
- Power: Yes – Inlcuded with cost
- Water: Yes – Included with cost
- Laundry: Yes
- Pet Friendly: Yes
- Groceries: None nearby
- Restaurants: Yes – Restaurant on-site
Sailing from Key West to Coconut Grove:
NAS Boca Chica Key West to Garrison Bight Mooring Field, Key West
After a nice visit in Homestead, we returned to the boat in NAS Boca Chica and headed 13 nm back west and north to Garrison Bight Mooring Field on the north side of Key West, east of Fleming Key. As we have discovered, mooring balls can be a challenge to get here. The mooring balls are on a first-come, first-serve basis and it tends to stay full with permanent liveaboards and a few derelict vessels. We got lucky and as we were approaching the mooring field a boat was coming out. They told us what ball they just left from, and we were able to secure a ball here.
While it is a bit of a long dinghy ride to get to shore, you are walking distance to downtown Key West. You are also within walking distance of West Marine and the local hardware store.
Note:
There is another mooring field at the eastern end of Key West harbor that has a separate dinghy dock right at the boardwalk in Key West.
What we really enjoyed about this mooring field is that we could snorkel nearby and also take our dog for walks in grassy areas on Sigsbee Island Naval Air Station (thanks to Scott’s access as a veteran).
If you love to snorkel, other places you can check out for snorkeling and marine life are Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.
We found that the bathrooms and laundry facilities were much nicer at Sigsbee compared to the facilities at the city dinghy docks in Key West. In all of our travels to date, I would say that the Key West dinghy dock showers rate at the very bottom, even lower than showers in Bimini with only cold water!
Fun Fact
While exploring Key West, we hit Fat Tuesday on Mardi Gras and enjoyed a free crawfish boil. This sure made us feel like we were back in Mobile, the true home of Mardi Gras!
Garrison Bight Mooring Field
- Latitude: 24° 34’ 25.86”N, Longitude: 81° 47’ 15.13”W
- Cost: $23.57 per day
- Holding: Ball held well, a lot of room between boats
- Wind Protection: Protection from the east, south and west. NO protection from the north
- Depth: 8 feet
- Water: Yes – you can fill up water jugs at the dinghy dock
- Pump Out: Yes – City of Key West has a pump out boat that comes by approximately once a week
- Laundry: Yes – Unsure of price as we didn’t use them
- Bathrooms/Showers: Yes – Individual rooms for toilet, sink and shower. However, we only used the toilets as the rooms were always wet and dingy. The toilets and sinks look like they are from the same stock used by the penal system.
- Pet Friendly: Yes
- Groceries: Publix and Winn-Dixie located on Key West
- Restaurants: Yes, it’s Key West (maybe a few bars as well)!
Sailing Key West to Coconut Grove:
Garrison Bight Mooring Field, Key West, FL to Boot Key Harbor Outer Anchorage, Marathon, FL
After a week of fun and starting to meet new cruisers, it was time to make our way up the Florida Keys. We got 3 good weather days in a row, so our sailing itinerary for the next 3 days is to sail along the islands up to Coconut Grove (Miami), stopping one night each at Marathon, FL and Key Largo, FL.
Due to the height of our mast at 63 feet, we need to stay on the outside, or Atlantic side, of the Florida Keys, sailing in Hawk’s channel. We had a great day of sailing 46 nm up to Marathon, FL in the beautiful water, keeping a close eye out for the numerous lobster traps in the area.
There is a mooring field in Boot Key Harbor, however, it is also very crowded, especially during this time of year (February). We called to see if they had any open mooring balls, and they informed us it was currently a 3 week wait for a mooring ball.
Upon arrival to Marathon, Scott fueled up and filled our water tanks at the Safe Harbor Marina while I walked the dog. By walking the dog here, this allowed us to keep our dinghy on deck. Finding a good place to walk the dog at anchorages is one of the challenges that comes with sailing with a dog. To learn more about sailing with a dog, read the article Living with a Dog on a Sailboat.
Note:
Marathon, FL is the first place we had to pay for potable water. It was $0.15 per gallon.
After fuel and water, we anchored at the Boot Key Harbor outer anchorage, which set us up nicely for an early departure the next morning.
Boot Key Harbor Outer Anchorage
- Latitude: 24° 41’ 49.4N, Longitude: 81° 07’ 08.6”W
- Holding: Good holding in sand and grass
- Wind Protection: Protection from the north and east
- Depth: 8-10 feet
- Pet Friendly: Not very pet friendly, which is why we walked Mangaux when we got fuel
- Groceries: You can reach a Publix if you dinghy up into Boot Key Harbour mooring field
- Restaurants: There is a restaurant a short dinghy ride away that we could have gone to (and likely walked our dog there too) and a few other restaurants as well
Sailing Key West to Coconut Grove:
Boot Key Harbor Outer Anchorage, Marathon, FL to Rodriguez Key
We left at sunrise for our 47 nm passage to Rodriguez Key, located just east of Key Largo, FL. We had an amazing sail, with 95% of our trip under sails alone, hitting 8 knots and an average speed of 6 knots. One thing we have learned along the way, is that it is rare to travel under sails alone. We always seem to have a destination to get to and the winds are rarely the speed and direction you need them to be.
Also, we are starting to notice other sailboats heading in the same direction as us. For our entire passage down the gulf coast of Florida, we felt like the only sailboat heading for the Bahamas.
We anchored on the north side of Rodriguez Key, about a mile from the entrance to the canal leading to the Pilot House Restaurant. This set us up for a very long (and wet!) dinghy ride to get Mangaux to shore.
Rodriguez Key Anchorage
- Latitude: 25° 03’ 20.40”N, Latitude: 80° 27’ 08.34”W
- Holding: Good holding in sand and grass
- Wind Protection: Protection from the southeast through west
- Depth: 7-8 feet
- Pet Friendly: I’d say No. It was ~1 mile dinghy ride in open water, then through a long canal to find shore access.
- Groceries: Nothing nearby
- Restaurants: We docked our dinghy at the Pilot House Restaurant on Key Largo, FL, approximately 2 nm away. This would be the nearest restaurant.
Sailing Key West to Coconut Grove: Rodriguez Key to Dinner Key Mooring Field, Coconut Grove
We had another early sunrise departure for a 50 nm passage past Biscayne National Park and up Biscayne Bay to Dinner Key Mooring Field in Coconut Grove, FL, near Miami. Not much wind on this passage so we had to motor the whole way. We stayed at Dinner Key Mooring Field for a week, as weekly rates are cheaper than daily rates, and had another visit to Homestead, FL to see Scott’s dad and get more provisioning in.
We also took Mangaux to GoodVets in Coconut Grove for his health checkup and to receive his health certificate that is needed to bring a dog to the Bahamas. They are located approximately 1 mile from the mooring field. We were pleasantly surprised with this vet visit and highly recommend them, both in terms of thoroughness in checking Mangaux out and their cost. This vet visit is supposed to take place 24 hours prior to arrival to the Bahamas.
The Dinner Key Mooring Field itself was rather exposed to southeast winds, which we received a couple of days of while we were there. The mooring field is located in Biscayne Bay, while Dinner Key Marina (and a number of perpetually filled mooring balls) are protected behind a small island.
Dinner Key Mooring Field
- Latitude: 25° 43’ 22.0”N, Longitude: 80° 13’ 51.6”W
- Cost: $36.5 per day
- Holding: Good ball holding
- Wind Protection: Protected from west winds
- Depth: 7 feet – We were actually assigned a mooring ball, but could not get to it due to it being in too shallow of water. We selected a different ball and notified the office upon check-in with no issue.
- Water: Yes – water is available at the dinghy dock. Dinner Key also offers slip on a short-term basis. For less than 30 minutes, you can get provisions onboard and fill water tanks before taking off at no additional cost.
- Pump Out: Yes – Pump out boat comes out on approximately a weekly basis
- Laundry: Yes – nice looking laundry room. Unsure of cost as we didn’t use them
- Bathrooms/Showers: Yes – very nice. You receive a card from the office upon check-in for access.
- Pet Friendly : Yes
- Groceries: Yes – there is a Fresh Market approximately 0.25 miles from the dinghy dock
- Restaurants: Yes – Several nearby in Coconut Grove and Miami
Dinner Key Mooring Field, Coconut Grove, FL to Outside No Name Harbor Anchorage, Key Biscayne, FL
After a week in Coconut Grove, and finishing up our provisioning for the Bahamas, we found a good weather window to make our crossing over to Bimini, Bahamas! We sailed southeast from Dinner Key Mooring Field down Biscayne Bay to the anchorage just outside No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne, FL, located just south of Miami beach. We decided to stay outside of the harbor as we were only staying one night, and it looked full from the number of masts we could see from the outside.
Be on the lookout for day sailing and regattas in this area. Sailboats were everywhere and it was a fun sight to see! This set us up for an early departure to cross the gulf stream and arrive in Bimini.
Outside No Name Harbor Anchorage, Key Biscayne, FL
- Latitude: 25° 40’ 31.75”N, Longitude: 80° 10’ 01.34”W
- Holding: Good holding in sand and grass
- Wind Protection: Protected from the east
- Depth: 10-12 feet
- Pet Friendly: Yes – You could take your dinghy into No Name Harbor
- Groceries: Yes – on Key Biscayne
- Restaurants: Yes – on Key Biscayne
Conclusion
On this leg of our adventure, we traveled a total of 161.9 nm in 20 days. We spent a total of $804.92 on marinas and mooring balls in the Florida Keys and Coconut Grove, FL. We filled one of our 5-gallon diesel jugs in Homestead, FL and filled our diesel tank in Marathon, FL for a total cost of $160.61. We also filled our water tanks with 50 gallons of water in Marathon, FL for $7.50.
We really enjoyed taking our time and sailing in the Florida Keys. We felt like we got away from the cold fronts that were hitting us every 3-5 days on the way down to the keys. The weather was warmer, the water was clearer and we were able to get some great sailing in. We also started to meet wonderful cruisers and sailors out and about in the Florida Keys.
The next article we will detail the next leg of our adventure in the Bahamas!
Live your dream,
