For those who have never ventured north of Clearwater and Anclote Key on the Western Florida shoreline, be advised there is NO protected intracoastal waterway that serves this section of the Florida coastline. So, to cross this section, a basic choice must be made. You can either cut the corner and head straight for Carrabelle and Dog Island (or Apalachicola, or Panama City), or you can follow the Big Bend coastline around, staying SEVERAL miles offshore to avoid the huge shelf of shallows that extend out into the Gulf’s waters in this region. The former route puts you well out to sea (or “Gulf” in this case), and is often undertaken at night by southbounders to avoid arriving at the crab pot infested waters near Anclote Key after dark. If bad weather threatens, you may be out of luck.
The nearer shore, or, as it’s often called, “Big Bend Route” has the advantage of allowing mariners to duck in to the various rivers which penetrate this section of the Sunshine State’s coastline, but all of these have long, sometimes tortuous entrance channels, and none are what could accurately be described as “deep.”
Get four experienced cruisers together to talk about crossing the Big Bend, and you will get at least five opinions, maybe six. So, in that vein, below is an exchange which originally appeared on the GL (Great Loop) mail list.

You have to run out a few miles off shore before running up and down thecoast but otherwise, no special navigation issues are present. Back in the days before GPS and depth sounders, the long low coast was probably much more difficult to deal with. But with a chart plotter and keeping track of where you are on the charts, there is nothing particularly difficult. Cedar Key was the most complicated area and as long as you took your time and stayed in the channel, it wasn’t too difficult.
St Marks Channel is unlikely to be much help as a bail out point. It’s so far off the route, that it’s almost always closer to turn back or forge ahead. Unless the wind and waves left that as the only reasonable direction to travel, but with it being a daytime crossing, wait for a good weather window and it shouldn’t be a problem. Yes, the weather report isn’t always right, but waiting can minimize the chance of problems and it’s not a sin to turn back if it’s worse than expected.
Lose power off just about any coast and you may be in trouble. Assuming you are running in 6-8 ft of water, and conditions aren’t bad, it should be relatively simple to drop the hook and sort things out without running aground.
Unless you want to do an overnight run (or are fast enough to run to Tarpon Springs during daylight), I highly recommend the coastal route [Big Bend Route] for a nice look at what Florida used to look like before it got overbuilt.
Mike & Tammy
Valhalla II

I agree with you Mike. My boat only drafts three feet but it would not have been difficult with a deeper drafted boat. And, the rivers of the big bend should not be missed in my humble opinion. Steinhatchee (rhymes with bean) and St Marks were beautiful!! If I had to do it again I think I’d pass on Carrabelle and stay in Apalachicola. Something had taken the life/hope out of the people I met in Carrabelle (could have just been an off day for the locals).
Besides that it’s not hard navigating and since I was solo and on a slow boat it made sleeping easier!
Ken

There has been a lively discussion over the past several days on the GL (Great Loop) list about cruising the “Big Bend” section of the Western Florida coastline. If you are not familiar with this region, there is NO intracoastal waterway that serves the Big Bend region. So, if you’re northbound, cruisers must either cut the corner and head straight across the Gulf for Carrabelle/Dog Island or Panama City (to name only two possible Panhandle ports of call), OR follow the coastline as it curves to the west, staying WELL offshore to avoid the broad band of shallows that extends well seaward from this section of the Sunshine State’s coastline. Ask any three cruisers what is the best strategy to cross the Big Bend, and you’ll hear four opinions. So, with that in mind, please peruse what our fellow cruisers are saying below, and join in this discussion by clicking the “Comment on This Posting/Marina/Anchorage/Bridge” link below.

Okay, I need to collective knowledge of the group again. It was invaluable leaving the keys. I’m in St Pete for a few days then river hopping up to Steinhatchee River to do the crossing to Carrabelle.
What is the best weather window and easiest way to do this? I really appreciate the help here!! Thanks!!
Ken

Joanne and I did it a few years ago , but opposite from you . We had anchored out from Carrabelle , Early that morning NOAA was saying the seas would lay down around 12:00 , so we started out in rough seas. As we passed Dog Island , we agreed then, that either the seas would lay down or we would anchor at Dog Island , but we were not going to lose sight of Dog unless we got calm water . Just like NOAA promised the seas laid down at lunch time , to the point it was so calm we we even went on plan for a while , to make up time. Except for the shallow spots , it was smooth sailing . Getting into Steinhatchee and not running aground was quite a job . There was very little water even in the channel. Whole crossing was around 12 hours
Glenn

Sea Hag Marina is an Old Florida style marina [in the village of Steinhatchee on the Steinhatchee River]. In fact the whole community is Old Florida . In the evenings the old men wander down to the marina to see what the fishermen brought in . Its a nice laid back kind of place.
There’s only one anchorage in Steinhatchee and its a small one . We anchored there one night and I being worried about letting out to much rode , didn’t let out enough and we dragged a little .
Our next visit we stayed at Sea Hag .
Glenn

We did it Carrabelle to Cedar, and the next day to Caladesi State Park. First day is a long one, left before down in the fall, but 2nd day was not so bad, time wise.
See you on the Waterways!
Capt. Sterling

Have things changed in the last couple years? When we went in there was a well marked channel with 8′ the whole way in. Don’t remeber what the tide stage was but it’s only around 3′ so unless you hit it at dead low tide or you have a 6’+ draft, it shouldn’t be much of a problem getting in.
We enjoyed our stay at Sea Hag Marina. I would recommend calling ahead as all but the outer slips dry out at low tide.
Mike & Tammy

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s Western Florida Marina Directory Listing For Sea Hag Marina

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the Steinhatchee River