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1. David Burnham -  December 7, 2014 - 7:56 am

   The three anchor rating of this anchorage is justified with the exception of the poorly marked large sunken poweryacht at the south edge of this anchorage which presents an underwater hazard to vessels drawing three feet or more.

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1. Captain K -  April 8, 2014 - 10:45 am

   McPherson’s Bayou near St. Pete Beach at 27 degrees 42′ 40.77″N, 082 degrees, 43′ 50.25″W. Quiet, out of the way, yet in the middle of a neat residential area. Good holding in about 8-10′.
   Captain K

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1. Captain K -  April 8, 2014 - 10:44 am

   McPherson’s Bayou near St. Pete Beach at 27 degrees 42′ 40.77″N, 082 degrees, 43′ 50.25″W. Quiet, out of the way, yet in the middle of a neat residential area. Good holding in about 8-10′.
   Captain K

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1. David Burnham -  July 22, 2013 - 10:32 am

   I checked out this mooring [St. Pete Beach] and found a few places to come ashore if you decide to anchor here.
   The first is a very small dinghy dock on the south side of the Mary Lou Sheckler causeway on 59th Avenue.
   The alternative is the seawall on 55th Avenue. There are 4 places on the south side of 55th Avenue where your dinghy can rest on the seawall and you can secure it to any of several palm trees. However, if the wind is from the south, these would be an undesireable option except for the most rugged and well fendered dinghy.
   There are resturants and a 7/11 nearby on Gulf Ave.
   The last alternative for landing your dinghy from this anchorage would be just south of the Corey Causeway drawbridge some distance to the north. There are 3 docks there at the end of Corey Avenue with only the one with the white metal shack having a NO Trespassing sign.
   David Burnham

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2. David Burnham -  July 22, 2013 - 10:31 am

   I’m surprised that this area is charted as an anchorage on the chart. It has less than 6 feet of depth at low tide although it is more protected from the south than the area south of 55th Avenue where the water is deeper.
   The closest public boat ramp to this anchorage is at the Gulfport Municipal Marina but it doesn’t even show up on Google Maps. There used to be a boat launch ramp at the end of Corey Avenue just south of the drawbridge north of this anchorage but that area is fenced. I’ll have to check it for no trespassing signs.
   If you want to visit St. Pete Beach, a better anchorage is the one shown on the chart south of the Pinellas Byway where you could dinghy to the Don Ceasar launch ramp.
   David Burnham

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1. Laura -  March 23, 2015 - 12:16 pm

   We anchored here last night March 22 2015 & had a quiet night. This morning a storm rolled in, squall line with winds gusting to 30 & our holding was good. We anchored at the intersection of the canal with the little white bridge, and depths were around 5′-6’2, the closer you go west towards marina, we found to be shallower, 4’5 depending on tide. Nice quiet anchorage, did a dingy ride into 7-11 for ice, trash and a $3 bottle of dressing. 6 oz!! Paying for convenience I know….

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2. Torie Cannon -  June 23, 2012 - 7:41 am

   We have a 37ftO’Day CC with a 5ft draft. We spent a quiet night in this anchorage back on Friday night just before last Memorial Day weekend. It’s just inside the John’s Pass bridge. Well protected. We have a 5ft draft and saw depths to 5ft 2in. The charts show 4 to 6 ft depths with a soft mud bottom. There are a couple of public type parks on the south side of this anchorage if you want to dingy in. It is walking distance to John’s Pass shops and restauarants.

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1. Laura -  April 27, 2016 - 8:36 am

   We anchored here last night and it was beautiful and calm. Lots of room but wide open to southerly breezes. Can be busy on weekends and wave action since it’s in a wake zone and close to Johns Pass, which is a popular inlet for fishing in the gulf. Close to a bridge so there is some traffic noise bur not bad. It was super calm last night which made this a perfect place to drop the hook. We didn’t drop the dinghy to explore but did hear about the dock and mcdonalds and shopping nearby.

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2. Vashon Trawler -  April 8, 2014 - 4:21 pm

   There is the Veterans Hospital Anchorage in Boca Ciega. I just went pass there last week or so. It is close to a McDonalds with a dock as I recall and some grocery stores.
   Vashon Trawler

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1. Laura -  April 1, 2015 - 11:28 am

   We stayed at this anchorage for 2 nights week of March 23rd and it was SUPER nice. We were guided in by the instructions in Claiborne’s Cruising Guide and he was spot on. It is very shallow in the middle of this anchorage, so hugging the Southern shoreline it was plenty deep. There are two restaurants nearby, Seabreeze and Wahoo’s – we ate at Seabreeze one night and the food was good. There is Happy Hour all day every day $2 drafts and they have some inexpensive bar food items ($4.99 grouper cheeks, and some other tasty items as well) There is a public park with a dock to get off and walk across the street to the beach. There is a 7-Eleven within walking distance for ice ($2.99 a bag) and whatnot. There’s a trolley that runs the whole length of the beach as well, if you really want to go exploring, it’s very reasonable. The water was deepest just off the fishing boat fleet, we had no problems. There is a bank of high rise condos to the South but they didn’t bother us, and most people were nice. We even had one guy track us down at the bar as he admired our boat out there, and we met some nice folks. We will definitely be back to this anchorage.

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1. David S. Power -  May 27, 2010 - 11:35 am

   Because of strong westerly winds, we decided to take advantage of the protection offered by the principal Mandalay Channel. The route off the ICW was easy to follow, was marked well, with sufficient depths for vessels with up to six foot drafts. We anchored off the western banks, near the fixed bridge, in 15 feet of water. There was a fair amount of current coming through the bridge. Because this channel is used by fishing vessels during the night, the Coast Guard did come by to make certain boats were not anchored in the marked channel from the bridge. The wind gusted to 25 to 30 knots from the west during the night. There was very little fetch and with 100 feet of chain/rode, there was no threat of dragging. In addition, there were two city supported dinghy docks nearby to give access to Clearwater Beach and to a grocery store. This was a great anchorage with excellent protection from every direction, except the north.
   David & Patty Power
   S/V Two If By Sea

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2. Claiborne -  May 13, 2010 - 1:43 pm

   My boat draws 6′, any difficulty getting to this area following the channel from the Clearwater memorial bridge. I noticed there is an obstruction between marker 8 and 10.
   Debra

   We have been through there 6 or so times now. We draw 4′ and never have had a problem. The obstruction does not appear to be the issue. For what it’s worth, we have not noticed any fluctuations on the depth sounder when traveling over its charted position. The shoaling near R12 is a big problem, though. We were in the 5′-6′ range for depth. Better water is supposed to be on the inside of the No Wake Markers closer to shore. We were @ 30 ft just to the outside of the markers. The tide was @ +1′ MLW.
   Scott
   S/V Jolene

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3. Scott Daniels -  January 24, 2010 - 9:52 pm

   When passing marker number “12” on the way into the channel, the water dropped to 5 feet or so southwest of it. The tide was up about 1 1/2 feet. Is the better water closer to the marker?
   Scott
   S/V Jolene

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4. Claiborne -  August 27, 2009 - 2:24 pm

   You did not ask, but I will comment on the anchorages in the Mandalay Channel just north of the Clearwater Causeway Bridge. This is a really nice anchorage location. The entrance channel was well marked, easy to follow, and mostly quite deep. We saw one spot that was just under 7 feet on the way in (Tide was over 1 foot.) The one interesting difference from your guidebook and from the charts is that we did not find any shallow water near marker 14. We followed the official channel on the way in, but came back out well north of marker 14, with plenty of depth. I explored around marker 14 with a sounder and did not find much evidence of the purported central obstruction.
   In any case this location was very nice. Almost unlimited room, reasonably well protected from directions other than southeast, quiet, and scenic.
   I hope this information is of some interest and use to you.
   Best regards,
   Gene and Sue Fuller
   Punta Gorda, Florida

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