- Joined
- Sep 14, 2020
- Messages
- 92
- Reaction score
- 43
- Points
- 18
- Age
- 57
- Model
- Canyon 336
So I wanted to post a little inspiration for anyone who every thought about taking their Grady on a long trip to the keys. We left Marco Island on Saturday the 28th of August on a day that most people would have advised against. The Hurricane was still in the gulf on the way to Louisiana and we felt that even thought the ride down to Key West would be bumpy, we would be ok hugging the coast down to Cape Sable before turning West to Key West. I have 33 Canyon and I’m very experienced. More worried about a couple of passengers that aren’t used to that sort of thing. Well, It was sloppy on the way down, but we kept it at about 28 to 30 Kts all the way to Cape Sable with an east wind of around 20 to 25 MPH. We put the canvas windows up and as we got closer to the west turn it got splashy enough to put the wing canvas up. Long story short we made it to Key west (The long way) in about 4.5 hours and everyone was amazed at how well the boat rode including me. I was in a Boston Whaler 33 the week before in far better conditions and the ride is not even in the same league. I’m a true believer in the Grady Ride now and can honestly say that there are very few boats as capable when it gets rough. We had a great week in the keys. It was a trip from my 45 year old baby brothers bachelor party. He’s finally getting married! We had a fantastic time and logged over 500 nautical miles on the boat ( And 600 Gallons of fuel…Ouch). We caught Grouper, Yellowtail snapper ( Big ones and plenty), Cobia, Tuna, Dolphin, and African Pompano. We stayed at a little on water hotel called Harborside Hotel where you can park your boat right next to your room. We ate like kings and did “Cook Your Catch“ at several local restaurants. It was an epic trip that ended today at around 6 PM. Caught our last Grouper off the coast of Marco at 3:30. If you‘ve ever wanted to take a trip on your boat, don‘t wait. Summers in the keys are hot as the sun, but its pretty empty in Aug and Sept and except for the occasional Hurricane, its usually pretty flat calm. Certainly one of the best trips I‘ve ever had and I’ve frequented the keys plenty. Feel free to message me if you need any local details and I’m happy to share .
