Whats your 2010 Special Event on your GW?

[sel1005]

We are looking forward to warmer weather for sure, so tired of all the cold weather and wind...

We are looking at our 2010 schedule and planning, I'm really curious if anyone else is doing the same? We are thinking about the Big Bend area of FL, and looking for anyone that has been there before, cruised there, knows the areas, marinas, charts to buy, etc.

Maybe something west, over toward New Orleans or Venice, LA, but how do you research, what hard copy books / charts / info do you get to do your planning and feel like you know what to expect? Thanks in advance

 

[magicalbill]

Sounds like a great plan for a trip..I have often thought about the Big Bend/Panhandle are, but never have committed.
Marine Navagation out of Chicago has provided my charts in the past. Lady there in the 80's named Laura Cannell was great at it. Her service was nationwide as I recall.
Me??
We go up to Portage Point Inn,,Northern Michigan on the Lake every July. I worked on-staff there in the 70's and have recently re-connected with old friends that still hit the place on their vacations.
Great thing about this place is that there is a protected lake 3 miles long to boat in when Lake Michigan gets too rough. Connecting channel makes access easy to either.
We take my 232, my son's Montauk, his 1967 Whaler 13 and our '66 and our'67 Donzi Ski Sporters.
Our band performs there the 23rd and 24th of July..It has made my dream come true to FINALLY have a gig where I can walk from the stage when we're done down to the dock and sleep on my boat...

 

[Seadog]

Just purchased a 258 and pick up after Easter. Looking forward to taking theh new rig out and testing her out. I have just converted from a Boston Whaler Outrage, so it is going to be interesting to see the differences...
Cannot wait.

 

[megabytes]

o better fishing wx
o add underwater lights

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Sel,
I went to grad school at FSU and spent a fair amount time in the Big Bend from the Suwannee River, fished the mouth and got some big cobes on the shoals there. My kids, the admiral and I love Cape San Blas and St. Joe Bay. It is unspoiled and absolutely wonderful place to boat and fish. You can email me if you like and I can share more with you.

Plans...I plan on getting offshore in SC, maybe knock on Strikezone's door and do some fishing down there this spring with him. Funny, the SC coast is alot further than the SC coast from my doot, maybe one day we fish the fabled OBX.

Maybe make a May/June trip to Fla for some fishing out of Sebastian inlet with my brother and some friends down there.

I plan on getting the outriggers on the boat this spring and definetly before we head to the Keys.

We spend many summer days on the lakes here in the piedmont and mountains. This summer is our 2 week adventure in the Florida Keys and our first with our 228 and first time actually camping at Bahia Honda State Park. Cant wait, I am like a kid a chocolate store :wink:

 

[sel1005]

SmokyMtnGrady,

I was sorta liking you until you mentioned that FSU thing, is that like a high school team or what? Oops, before I forget.... GO GATORS!!!!

We have been to the Keys a lot over the last few years, let me know if we can swap info. We are really interested in the area north of Cedar Key, Swannee River, etc.

We always go on to Key West, been to others but the combination of fishing, stuff to do off the boat and general ambiance drives us there. We have stayed on many of them, but always just cross FL Bay on to KW and then fish out of there. One reason we like it is you have a great combo of being behind the reef or in the stream in less than 20 min from the dock; hard to beat those odds and play the weather any better....

Could also be that we have caught more dolphin and wahoo out of KW than anywhere else, plus for some reason, triple tail (one of our all time favorites) always seems to show up for us there.

Our favorite is the Galleon, but A&B is also good too. Let me know if you need more info on KW or Miami or SF in general

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Yeah, FSU of late is like a high school team. One of the things about the big bend is the sparseness of marinas and other marine services. There is small village near the mouth of the Suwanee, well it is up river from the Gulf with a fuel dock. Their hours were funny though. I would encourage you to head up the Suwanee and explore that river. It is quite scenic and remote too. The Suwanee is very much old Florida and deep south. You will see the rare Gulf Sturgeon leaping from the water time to time. A great place to spend a few days with your kids and get some freshwater running through your outboards too.

You got to check out the Homossasa River although watch the markers closely or you could easily run aground. I went to UCF too and my heart is really a Knight more than a Nole....

:wink:

 

[Average Joe]

The Tdewater Grady White Club event in June. We will do a James River cruise with an overnight stay at Smithfield Station. We did it last year and it was a blast!

www.smithfieldstation.com

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Average Joe,
Have you or the Tidewater club cruised the Dismal Swamp canal or what ever it is called between the Pamlico and Chesapeak there?

 

[Average Joe]

Average Joe,
Have you or the Tidewater club cruised the Dismal Swamp canal or what ever it is called between the Pamlico and Chesapeak there?

Hey Bob,
No we haven't done that yet. There are actually a couple of different routes, one takes you through the Dismal Swamp to Elizabeth City, NC. and the other takes you via the intercoastal waterway down to the Albermarle Sound behind OBX.