This Picture Reflect Florida Key Boating!

[JUPITER PULSARE]

I was just going through my Keys vacation photos and this one really stands out. I just woke up and walked out on the balcony to check the weather. Off in the distance to the southeast (you can see it on the horizon in the picture) I easily saw Alligator Reef Lighthouse. To the north was the Postcard Inn Tiki Bar and sandbar. The water was flat calm and begging for boating and snorkeling! My Pulsare 2400 Bowrider was resting peacefully at the dock, ready for a new day of adventure!

 

[karzrus]

Questions from the idiots

Having never driven - captained a boat in the Ocean.

How fast can you get into trouble down there? How possible is it to go out to Alligator reef light house and back in a Checkmate Pulsare? How far away is it, do you even have enough fuel to do it? Beside the regular safety equipment, Is having a GPS unit and a radio enough equipment to get around out there, how far out would you risk going?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, but when it comes to driving in the Ocean, I'm stupid, but not stupid enough to try it with out a guide.

BTW it looks beautiful.

 

[JUPITER PULSARE]

Having never driven - captained a boat in the Ocean.

How fast can you get into trouble down there? How possible is it to go out to Alligator reef light house and back in a Checkmate Pulsare? How far away is it, do you even have enough fuel to do it? Beside the regular safety equipment, Is having a GPS unit and a radio enough equipment to get around out there, how far out would you risk going?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, but when it comes to driving in the Ocean, I'm stupid, but not stupid enough to try it with out a guide.

BTW it looks beautiful.

The only real concern is making it though the shallow waters that surround the islands. Everything else is easy and the channels are clearly marked. If you can see it by eye, there is no need for GPS or radio. People will run skiffs out there when it's calm. The light is about 5 miles out. It's an easy ride. Generally, the morning is calm with 1' seas. In the afternoon, the trade winds pickup and the seas can become 1'-3', nothing too bad. We cruise out to the reef line at about 35-45 mph and enjoy the ride. We've run into schools of dolphin, sea turtles & manatees. When you clear the greenish water closer to land, the waters turn crystal clear as you approach the reef line!