FL Keys Anchorages – Inside/Florida Bay Passage, Cross Bank to Channel Five (Statute Mile 1153 to 1170)
PLEASE CAREFULLY READ OUR DISCLAIMER!
Please Note That Anchorages Below Are Listed in A Rough North to South And East to West Geographic Format
PLEASE CAREFULLY READ OUR DISCLAIMER!
Please Note That Anchorages Below Are Listed in A Rough North to South And East to West Geographic Format
46. Cowpens Northeastern Anchorage
Statute Mile:1154.5
Lat/Lon: 24 58.911 North/080 33.300 West
Location: on the northeastern reaches of charted Cowpens Anchorage. This body of water comprises the southeasterly section of Cotton Key Basin and borders on Plantation Key
Minimum depth: 5-feet
Swing Room: unlimited Foul Weather Shelter – fair, open to western, northwestern, northern and southwestern winds
Foul Weather Shelter: Fair, open to western and southwestern winds
Rating:
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47. Cowpens Southwestern Anchorage
Statute Mile:1154.5
Lat/Lon: 24 58.029 North/080 34.371 West
Location: on the southwestern reaches of charted Cowpens Anchorage. west of Plantation Key Yacht Harbor. Cowpens Anchorage comprises the southeasterly section of Cotton Key Basin and borders on Plantation Key
Minimum depth: 5-feet
Swing Room: unlimited Foul Weather Shelter – fair to good, open to northwestern and northern winds
Foul Weather Shelter: Fair, open to northern and northwestern winds
Rating:
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48. Snake Creek Anchorage
Statute Mile:1155.5
Lat/Lon: near 24 57.684 North/080 35.721 West
Location: on the northwesterly arm of the Y-shaped split in Snake Creek south of unlighted daybeacon #10
Minimum depth: 6-feet
Swing Room: sufficient room for vessels as large as 36 feet
Foul Weather Shelter: very good
Rating:
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49. Whale Harbor Channel – Wilson Key Anchorage
Statute Mile:1156.5
Lat/Lon: 24 56.734 North/080 36.567 West
Location: on the charted Whale Harbor Channel offshoot east of Wilson Key, north of the 12-foot fixed bridge
Minimum depth: 6- to 7 -foot depths, but it’s easy to wander into only 4 feet of water
Swing Room: sufficient room for vessels as large as 34 feet
Foul Weather Shelter: good in all but strong northwesterly winds
Rating:
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50. Whale Harbor Channel – Windley Harbor Anchorage
Statute Mile:1156.5
Lat/Lon: 24 56.677 North/080 37.056 West
Location: on the charted Whale Harbor Channel north of Windley Harebor, north of the
Minimum depth: 7 feet
Swing Room: sufficient room for vessels as large as 38 feet
Foul Weather Shelter: good
Rating:
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51. Cotton Key Anchorage
Statute Mile:1157
Lat/Lon: near 24 57.674 North/080 37.313 West
Location: lies off the eastern banks of Cotton Key, southeast of the ICW’s flashing daybeacon #81
Minimum depth: 5-feet
Swing Room: unlimited Foul Weather Shelter – poor to fair – wide open to eastern, northeastern, and northern winds
Foul Weather Shelter: Fair, open to northern, northeastern, eastern and southeastern winds
Rating:
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52. Islamorada Anchorage
Statute Mile:1160
Lat/Lon: near 24 55.534 North/080 38.227 West
Location: found on the correctly charted deep waters northeast of Little Basin, southeast of unlighted daybeacon #86
Minimum depth: typically 6 feet or better, but some boats on the extreme edge of this anchorage are actually lying in the mud
Swing Room: unlimited
Foul Weather Shelter: fair, but open to northern and northwestern winds
Rating:
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Anchored in the Southwestern part of Barley basin in light winds. Good holding and more than adequate depth for 5′ sailboat draft. Took 10 minute dinghy ride into Lor-e-li restaurant dock which was the quintessential beach restaurant/bar experience. Good food and service. Crowded at sunset. Live music on a Tuesday evening. Many more land patrons than boat patrons. All in all a very good experience.
53. Little Basin Anchorage
Statute Mile:1160
Lat/Lon: no specific location – anchor anywhere in Little Basin that has enough depth for your craft
Location: on the waters of Little Basin, southeast of unlighted daybeacon #86
Minimum depth: 3 ½- to 4-feet
Swing Room: unlimited
Foul Weather Shelter: very good
Rating: (due to depth restrictions)
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54. Shell Key Anchorage and Mooring Field
Statute Mile:1161
Lat/Lon: near 24 55.548 North/080 40.264 West
Location: the state of Florida maintains a series of 5 five mooring buoys off the Shell Key’s northwesterly shoreline
Minimum depth: 6-feet
Swing Room: unlimited
Foul Weather Shelter: good, but open to northern and northwestern winds
Rating:
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Steamboat Channel and Shell Key
From Plantation Key we headed towards Steamboat Channel. Prior to the Steamboat Channel, there was some sailor angst about shallow water at low tide even on the ICW Magenta line, but we never touched bottom. Steamboat Channel had adequate depth and we went through without any problems. Spent overnight on the northwest side of Shell Key. Good holding with a Delta plow anchor. There was only one mooring ball visualized and of course taken by late afternoon.
We had good holding here in 5-15 knots from ESE through SW. Nice quiet anchorage that was almost bug-free too.
55. Lignumvitae Key Mooring Field
Statute Mile:1162.5
Lat/Lon: near 24 54.410 North/080 42.246 West
Location: state of Florida maintained mooring field lies off the the northwestern side of Lignumvitae Key
Minimum depth: 6- to 7-foot depths
Swing Room: unlimited
Foul Weather Shelter: fair to poor, sheltered ONLY from southeastern, southern and eastern winds
Rating:
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We spent a night on the western side of Lignumvitae Key due to east winds of 18-20 knots. We were well protected in the lee of this island with good holding in sand with our Delta plow anchor. There was again, only one mooring ball at the northern tip of the key and since it was very exposed to the east wind we decided not to use it.
Victor
Lignumvitae House and Tour continue to be only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. One can visit and walk around the house area only on Mondays and Thursdays. The outside of the dock is available to tie up but watch the depth – I think it was under five feet. We tied to a mooring ball on 3-11-2010 – there are only two left.
56. Matecumbe Bight Anchorage
Statute Mile:1166
Lat/Lon: near 24 52.255 North/080 42.856 West
Location: on the large bubble of deep water known as Matecumbe Bight, south-southeast of the ICW’s unlighted daybeacon #97
Minimum depth: 6 ½ feet
Swing Room: unlimited
Foul Weather Shelter: fair, but wide open to northern, northwestern and western winds
Rating:
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Matecumbe Bight. Anchored here May 5, 2012. Things were good until shortly before dark. Fishing boats started buzzing us. One came so close to our bow that I thought he was going to hit us. One boat stopped by and told us we were in the fishing boats “runway.” So, even though it was dark, we pulled up anchor and moved farther NE behind the mangroves. There apparently is a creek that you can see on the chart, but not the naked eye, the fishing boats use.
This is one of our favorite Keys anchorages. For some reason, the water is always clear, even on the turn of the tides, and the holding is superb. We frequently check our bottom here with the excellent visibility and is a nice place to take a dip. We have rarely seen other boats here. Even if the wind switched from the West, we wouldn’t worry as the most you’d get is a bumpy 2-3 foot chop. There is nothing available here to the cruiser.
June 2009, found good holding and depths as shown on chart.
57. Matecumbe Harbor Anchorage
Statute Mile:1168
Lat/Lon: near 24 51.057 North/080 44.520 West
Location: marked entryway into Matecumbe Harbor lies well south-southwest of the ICW’s flashing daybeacon #98 and unlighted daybeacon #97
Minimum depth: 5-feet
Special Comment: this is a powercraft ONLY anchorage, due to the nearby presence of low-level, high tension power lines
Swing Room: sufficient room for a 39 foot vessel
Foul Weather Shelter: very good, in all but unusually strong northern winds
Rating: (powercraft ONLY!)
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58. Long Key Bight Anchorage
Statute Mile:1169
Lat/Lon: 24 49.697 North/080 47.962 West
Location: on the central waters of Long Key Bight, which lies west of Channel Five’s flashing daybeacon #2
Minimum depth: 4 to 4 ½ feet
Swing Room: unlimited
Foul Weather Shelter: fair
Rating:
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Comments from Cruisers (3)
Anchored 3/31/13 off south west anchorage. We were located right outside Plantation Yacht harbor in about 6 feet of water. A short dinghy ride to the beach at Founders Park.
Great little site, well protected from the south & east. Founder’s Park has a full marina with fuel, ice, and pump out station. There is a nice beach, tennis courts, pool, fields, amphitheater, and even a dog park.
Bill Longstreth
Grassy anchorage. Nothing special. But, the jet skis will drive you crazy.