jarwood
New Member
We are looking at going down to Anna Maria Island this year for vacation. We thought about getting a place with a dock and taking our boat. Anybody with any information on boating in this area? Beaches or fun places to go by boat?
Anna Maria Island
- Thread starter jarwood
- Start date
Sorrento 25
New Member
I love Egmont Key but you need good weather. Weather permitting Tampa Bay and north up the ICW are options. Otherwise south along the ICW or the Manatee River if the wind doesn't cooperate. Depends if you want to spend a lot of time cruising or just find some places nearby to spend your days.
Skeetobite knows the area much better than I do. I know he has anchored at Jewfish Key and we may overnight there Saturday and test out the new dinghy. :grin:
We spent last Saturday anchored a Desoto Point just up the Manatee River from Anna Maria. Nice beach and trails but the water is still only about 64 degrees.
Skeetobite knows the area much better than I do. I know he has anchored at Jewfish Key and we may overnight there Saturday and test out the new dinghy. :grin:
We spent last Saturday anchored a Desoto Point just up the Manatee River from Anna Maria. Nice beach and trails but the water is still only about 64 degrees.
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Mikemapva
Active Member
- Aug 6, 2007
- 631
- Boat Info
- 2001 Chaparral Signature 300
- Engines
- Twin 5.0 Volvo DPs with 7KW Kohler
I would highly recommend bringing the boat to Anna Maria. I may be biased (since we named our boat after the island), but I think it's one of the most beautiful places on the West Coast of Florida. I don't have a trailer for my 250 DA, so we usually just rent for a day. Fun places to hang out on the boat (or sight see) on or near the island running from North to South clockwise are:
Egmont Key
Bean Point and the sandbar just off it (north end of the island)
Rod and Reel Pier
City Pier
Rotten Ralph's (and the marina surrounding it)
Key Royale (you go around it if you go in at the inlet by Rotten Ralph's)
Bradenton Beach Pier and the Bridge Tender
Coquina Park (nice ramp and nature walk there)
At the north end of Longboat Key on the inlet to the gulf is a beach called Beer Can Island that a lot of people beach their boats on.
Once you come around Anna Maria on the Gulf side, you could just anchor near any of the beaches and/or stop at the Manatee Beach County Park.
Longboat Key has a few restaurants accessible by boat, and across the bay, Cortez is an old fishing village with some good seafood options.
Jewfish Key is just east of the north end of Longboat, but I've never been on that island as I think it's privately owned. Two of the seafood restaurants are on Longboat behind Jewfish.
Hope this helps.
Mike
Egmont Key
Bean Point and the sandbar just off it (north end of the island)
Rod and Reel Pier
City Pier
Rotten Ralph's (and the marina surrounding it)
Key Royale (you go around it if you go in at the inlet by Rotten Ralph's)
Bradenton Beach Pier and the Bridge Tender
Coquina Park (nice ramp and nature walk there)
At the north end of Longboat Key on the inlet to the gulf is a beach called Beer Can Island that a lot of people beach their boats on.
Once you come around Anna Maria on the Gulf side, you could just anchor near any of the beaches and/or stop at the Manatee Beach County Park.
Longboat Key has a few restaurants accessible by boat, and across the bay, Cortez is an old fishing village with some good seafood options.
Jewfish Key is just east of the north end of Longboat, but I've never been on that island as I think it's privately owned. Two of the seafood restaurants are on Longboat behind Jewfish.
Hope this helps.
Mike
jarwood
New Member
Michale and Mike,
Thanks for the information. We love Anna Maria island as well. We have not been to the island in years. Hopefully we will be able to make the trip.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the information. We love Anna Maria island as well. We have not been to the island in years. Hopefully we will be able to make the trip.
Thanks again.
blackjack
New Member
When are you planning on going? We are trailering our boat down to St. Pete for Spring break (April 4th-11th). Maybe we will see you. We like the area around Egmont Key, Ft. Desoto, lunch & a brew at Philthy Phils!
wish2fish
Active Member
can you dock at Philthy Phils??????
370Dancer
Well-Known Member
- Oct 2, 2006
- 2,489
- Boat Info
- 1998 370 Sundancer
- Engines
- 380hp MAG MPI Gen VI with V drives
Hey, you forgot Passage Key.... ;-)
Jewfish is owned by Michael Saunder's sister. The house is really cool.
The sandbar on the West side of Jewfish is a local anchoring hangout
On the North side of the "kitchen" (Cortez bridge) is an easy place to dock and lunch. Follow the entrance to Bradenton Beach Marina, but turn South in front of the little fishing pier. go around that, and follow the shore to a set of docks where the Parasail boat docks.
You can tie up there as long as you eat or drink at the Bridgetender. Walk bridge street for a tourist/cool shop experience.
blackjack
New Member
Wish- there is a small dock that you can use while you are eating. It is across the street from the restaurant, but I asked the last time I was there and they said it was OK to use. Sitting on the top deck of the place you can watch the sunset and still keep an eye on your boat. Cold beer, good wings, friendly staff!
Skeetobite
New Member
Geez... never saw this thread until today :-(
We're on all of these waters every week. we draw about 3' and can give pointers on just about anywhere around these areas where you can sneak up on beaches, drop the hook and walk in, anchoring on the gulf side of Anna Maria to eat at the Sandbar, overnight anchorages, larger boats on the gulf side of Egmont, food & bars via your dink, etc.
We prefer to anchor out. Actually, I like visiting marinas, but the Admiral like to swing on the hook. We have scouted and stayed at all the better anchorages from Clearwater down to Cayo Costa.
Any questions at asll, please feel free to PM me. If I don't know, I can find out...
We're on all of these waters every week. we draw about 3' and can give pointers on just about anywhere around these areas where you can sneak up on beaches, drop the hook and walk in, anchoring on the gulf side of Anna Maria to eat at the Sandbar, overnight anchorages, larger boats on the gulf side of Egmont, food & bars via your dink, etc.
We prefer to anchor out. Actually, I like visiting marinas, but the Admiral like to swing on the hook. We have scouted and stayed at all the better anchorages from Clearwater down to Cayo Costa.
Any questions at asll, please feel free to PM me. If I don't know, I can find out...
Mikemapva
Active Member
- Aug 6, 2007
- 631
- Boat Info
- 2001 Chaparral Signature 300
- Engines
- Twin 5.0 Volvo DPs with 7KW Kohler
Oops, missed Passage Key. It's been a couple years since we went north, and I was working from memory.
I'm extremely jealous of you full time residents of that area. Hopefully someday, we'll be down there full time.
Mike
I'm extremely jealous of you full time residents of that area. Hopefully someday, we'll be down there full time.
Mike
Sorrento 25
New Member
Never even heard of Philthy Phil's. We have vacation that entire week as well and planned to go south possibly as far as Ft. Myers depending on weather and ambition.
Any plans that week Jonathan?
blackjack
New Member
Philthy Phils is at the end of the Corey Causeway roughly between St Pete Beach and John's Pass (Corey Causeway is listed as the St Pete Beach Causeway on my map....i'm not sure why...i've always heard of it as Corey??). If you are coming up Gulf Blvd from St Pete beach, the road makes a 90 degree right hand turn that would take you over the Corey Causeway, or continue up Gulf Blvd to John's Pass. If you turn left here instead of right, and go 1 block, Philthy Phils is on the left. If you pass Sea Hags err... Mermaids "gentleman's club" on Gulf Blvd, you've gone too far. (That's another story entirely!) If you are coming by boat, it is just inside of Blind pass. I think the first dock you will see is the one to use while you eat. Dock the boat and cross the street. We usually drop in a few times while we are in town, but never by boat yet. Maybe we will see you there!
jarwood
New Member
Blackjack,
We are looking at going down in June. We would love to head down Spring Break but have too much going on.
Have fun
blackjack
New Member
We will be there again the last week of June, and the first week of July (4th of July on Pass a Grille is a blast...literally!) I'm not sure if we will be bringing the boat back, we'll see how it goes this time.
jarwood
New Member
Skeetobite
New Member
Michael, we have a fishing trip planned for the 3rd and 4th. Probably enter the Sarasota King tourney. First prize is $10k. Big fun whether you win or not.
If the weather allows it, you should definitely run the outside down to Ft. Myers. If you're able (don't know how your boat is configured), you can anchor at Cayo Costa (north of there) and you can also find a great spot to anchor close enough to Sanibel to walk in on the SE edge of the island. That's what we do. If you want a cheap place to anchor out, sometimes we pick up a mooring ball behind Ft. myers Beach. I think it was $18 and you get to use their showers and dinghy dock and walking distance to food, beaches and shops.
If the weather allows it, you should definitely run the outside down to Ft. Myers. If you're able (don't know how your boat is configured), you can anchor at Cayo Costa (north of there) and you can also find a great spot to anchor close enough to Sanibel to walk in on the SE edge of the island. That's what we do. If you want a cheap place to anchor out, sometimes we pick up a mooring ball behind Ft. myers Beach. I think it was $18 and you get to use their showers and dinghy dock and walking distance to food, beaches and shops.
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blackjack
New Member
Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner....trying to get back into the swing of things since vacation ended!
We put in the first day and cruised around the Pier area in St Pete. The Grand Prix of St Pete was running that day, so it was very busy on the bay, with boats moving in and out jockeying to get a glimpse of Danica! The most impressive thing we saw was a yacht (supposedly owned by Bill Gates' partner...according to a local) that had a 30 or so foot boat hanging from the side, and a helicopter on the back. Someone has waaay to much money! We had lunch in one of the inlets, and the kids and I swim while the wife relaxed. We received quite a few stares, as apparently it was too cold for the locals to get in the water!
The second day we put in at Gulfport Marina in Boca Ciega bay. We spotted dolphins within 15 minutes of hitting the water, so my wife and daughter were thrilled! We stopped and shot a bunch of pictures, with the dolphins getting within 10 feet of the boat. Pretty cool for river folk! We continued on, parallel to the Skyway bridge, then turned north to Egmont, with Anna Maria in the distance. It was fairly calm, so the trip was pretty easy. As we anchored off Egmont, we noticed a 20' Trophy beached, being pulled out by another boat. Apparently the tide was going out and they didn't notice. Lesson learned! I stuck with the boat, while wife, sister and kids explored Egmont. After an hour or so we decided to run up the beach to Pass-a-Grille, and head in the pass. As we went past Ft. Desoto beach, I pulled wide, since I knew there was a sand bar according to my chart. I didn't pull wide enough! I noticed white caps on the water, so I slowed my pace. As I was about to stop and back out, we hit the sand bar. We were barely moving, so the impact was negligible, but as the motor died, the bow dropped, and a wave came over the bow. My 5 year old daughter was sitting in the port side seat and got soaked! Instinctively, I hit the starter, but it wouldn't turn over! With a glare from the wife and screaming from my daughter I started to panic. Luckily, I regained my composure, put the gearshift in neutral, started the motor, trimmed up, backed out, and continued on. Since the weather was starting to turn, they decided for me that we would skip the pass and return the way we came in. The trip back was fairly uneventful, we stayed in larger boat's wake, to smooth out the bumps.
The third trip out, we put in at Gulfport again, and tried to go back to Egmont. The water was MUCH more choppy, so we only went as far as the start of the Skyway bridge before turning back. We stayed on the IC up to Pass a Grille, then continued on up to Blind pass. We attempted to eat at Philthy Phils, but there was no dock space. There is a small bit of beach across from Philthy's, so we beached it and let the kids play while we waited, and waited. We decided to just eat in the boat, since they didn't seem to be leaving any time soon. (BTW there is only 4 spaces to dock there). We returned the same way we came, again fairly uneventful.
A few things i've noticed about running the IC and the bay....sand bars suck! I was always afraid of running aground, so I didn't push it much. It was hard to get used to being a mile out from land, and still have to worry about running aground. I can run 30' off the bank of the Ohio and not worry. I guess it takes getting used to. The scenery and sunsets on the Gulf are spectacular! I will definitely be bringing the boat back in June.... maybe a bigger one?!!!
We put in the first day and cruised around the Pier area in St Pete. The Grand Prix of St Pete was running that day, so it was very busy on the bay, with boats moving in and out jockeying to get a glimpse of Danica! The most impressive thing we saw was a yacht (supposedly owned by Bill Gates' partner...according to a local) that had a 30 or so foot boat hanging from the side, and a helicopter on the back. Someone has waaay to much money! We had lunch in one of the inlets, and the kids and I swim while the wife relaxed. We received quite a few stares, as apparently it was too cold for the locals to get in the water!
The second day we put in at Gulfport Marina in Boca Ciega bay. We spotted dolphins within 15 minutes of hitting the water, so my wife and daughter were thrilled! We stopped and shot a bunch of pictures, with the dolphins getting within 10 feet of the boat. Pretty cool for river folk! We continued on, parallel to the Skyway bridge, then turned north to Egmont, with Anna Maria in the distance. It was fairly calm, so the trip was pretty easy. As we anchored off Egmont, we noticed a 20' Trophy beached, being pulled out by another boat. Apparently the tide was going out and they didn't notice. Lesson learned! I stuck with the boat, while wife, sister and kids explored Egmont. After an hour or so we decided to run up the beach to Pass-a-Grille, and head in the pass. As we went past Ft. Desoto beach, I pulled wide, since I knew there was a sand bar according to my chart. I didn't pull wide enough! I noticed white caps on the water, so I slowed my pace. As I was about to stop and back out, we hit the sand bar. We were barely moving, so the impact was negligible, but as the motor died, the bow dropped, and a wave came over the bow. My 5 year old daughter was sitting in the port side seat and got soaked! Instinctively, I hit the starter, but it wouldn't turn over! With a glare from the wife and screaming from my daughter I started to panic. Luckily, I regained my composure, put the gearshift in neutral, started the motor, trimmed up, backed out, and continued on. Since the weather was starting to turn, they decided for me that we would skip the pass and return the way we came in. The trip back was fairly uneventful, we stayed in larger boat's wake, to smooth out the bumps.
The third trip out, we put in at Gulfport again, and tried to go back to Egmont. The water was MUCH more choppy, so we only went as far as the start of the Skyway bridge before turning back. We stayed on the IC up to Pass a Grille, then continued on up to Blind pass. We attempted to eat at Philthy Phils, but there was no dock space. There is a small bit of beach across from Philthy's, so we beached it and let the kids play while we waited, and waited. We decided to just eat in the boat, since they didn't seem to be leaving any time soon. (BTW there is only 4 spaces to dock there). We returned the same way we came, again fairly uneventful.
A few things i've noticed about running the IC and the bay....sand bars suck! I was always afraid of running aground, so I didn't push it much. It was hard to get used to being a mile out from land, and still have to worry about running aground. I can run 30' off the bank of the Ohio and not worry. I guess it takes getting used to. The scenery and sunsets on the Gulf are spectacular! I will definitely be bringing the boat back in June.... maybe a bigger one?!!!
unlvrebel
New Member
LOL!! :smt043 Made me laugh. Glad no one was hurt. They say you just aren't boating enough if you've never grounded in FL...
Sounds like you had a great time. But don't tell anyone up north. We already have enough down here:thumbsup:
Por Fin!
New Member
BlackJack,
So funny!! I hate that same sand bar. I'm a local guy and have gone aground twice!!! can't trust the GPS. I even stuck my JETSKI once! When I launch from Ft. DeSoto I take it slow out to the gulf and wear my sunglasses to look for the change in colors.
So funny!! I hate that same sand bar. I'm a local guy and have gone aground twice!!! can't trust the GPS. I even stuck my JETSKI once! When I launch from Ft. DeSoto I take it slow out to the gulf and wear my sunglasses to look for the change in colors.
blackjack
New Member
I'm soooo glad to hear a local hit it! I thought it was my lack of experience, but I recognized it, just didn't act soon enough. I should have continued around to the pass, but.... small boat, NFL guys perishing weeks before, I didn't have much of a choice!!