TAMPA BAY AND GULF BOATERS...4th of july

[cr0ck1]

Ok this is my first 4th with my boat and every year whatever state im in i allways go to a body of water and look down and tell my wife "now if we had a boat we would have the best seats".. well now im in florida and have no idea where to boat in to , to see th efire works.. any suggestions? im in the st pete, clearwater area.

thanks ahead..

c rock

 

[Duke's Addiction]

Clearwater has an awesome display. Get to bridge early and drop anchor. There are usually hundreds and hundreds of boats. Becareful driving at night though... Hope to see ya there..

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

You need to think about that kind of trip and make plans. Lots of boats, it's pitch black and you have no radar, no GPS, and no idea how to get around down there. :smt018

 

[Larry&Leisa]

What Stihl said! Last year was our first year and we (thankfully!) decided it might be best to catch a ride with someone else and see how the situation was handled. It was totally awesome, the fireworks AND seeing the sheer # of boats congregated.. but I'm glad I was just riding along. Don't be in a hurry leaving... know where you are going.... and watch out for the obvious (the go fast, or think they need to go fast boats who have been drinking...etc)

 

[cr0ck1]

You need to think about that kind of trip and make plans. Lots of boats, it's pitch black and you have no radar, no GPS, and no idea how to get around down there. :smt018

I do havea depth finder, i have a handheld gps (crappy but it works) ... and i am familiar with the clearwater area.. and familiar with all the boeys and shallow spots.. i lanch form seminloe boat ramp.

 

[Morpheus]

I'd like to do that myself but MM still has my boat and I have no experience in night time boating although I think I have everything I need except maybe a stern anchor and the courage to do it

Also keep in mind it will probably Rain on the 4th sometime in the afternoon or evening so you'll be dealing with:

Drunks on boats
Rain
A LOT of boat traffic
Darkness and if it's raining no moon light

I bet the fireworks look great from the water though. Will there be a St. Pete Peir display if so I'm pretty familar with the bay and have GPS.

 

[cr0ck1]

I'd like to do that myself but MM still has my boat and I have no experience in night time boating although I think I have everything I need except maybe a stern anchor and the courage to do it

Also keep in mind it will probably Rain on the 4th sometime in the afternoon or evening so you'll be dealing with:

Drunks on boats
Rain
A LOT of boat traffic
Darkness and if it's raining no moon light

I bet the fireworks look great from the water though. Will there be a St. Pete Peir display if so I'm pretty familar with the bay and have GPS.

hmm the st pete pier.. thats easy... gandy marina and folow left around the bend to the pier! all deep water pretty much..

AND where is the clearwater bridge that yous were talking about? one fo the bridges off the seminole boat ramp.. tha gulf bridge or the causeway?

 

[ylwjacket]

i think they shoot them off from the base of the new memorial causeway bridge. leave seminole, motor slowly over to coachman park, and anchor up. you can see dunedin's display from there too.

 

[Duke's Addiction]

I will admit the first (and last) time we did the 4th of July down there, I had my 320 Sundancer. There was no moon and pretty dark afterwards. Scared the Be-Jesus out of me. There were lots of crazy's out. Plenty of boats with no lights and no brains. If we go this year, we'll wait until most of the boats clear out. Clearwater Memorial Bridge is right by the Seminole boat launch which will make it pretty easy for you.

 

[cr0ck1]

i think they shoot them off from the base of the new memorial causeway bridge. leave seminole, motor slowly over to coachman park, and anchor up. you can see dunedin's display from there too.

so the clearwater memeroal causeway bridge? thats just south east of the ramp going twards sand key area.. (but way before it)

but this park. where do you recomend anchoring? and the dunedin bridge is far north from that.. but not that far.

 

[ylwjacket]

but this park. where do you recomend anchoring? and the dunedin bridge is far north from that.. but not that far.

Coachman Park is the main park on the north side of the bridge in Downtown. Anchor out side of the intracoastal so you don't get runover. There is an ampitheater type thing, and there are concerts all day long. Don't worry, the 200 other boats will let you know exactly where to anchor.

You don't have to move to see Dunedin. You can see it from right there at Coachman Park. You may also some of the other beach communities to the south.

 

[cr0ck1]

but this park. where do you recomend anchoring? and the dunedin bridge is far north from that.. but not that far.

Coachman Park is the main park on the north side of the bridge in Downtown. Anchor out side of the intracoastal so you don't get runover. There is an ampitheater type thing, and there are concerts all day long. Don't worry, the 200 other boats will let you know exactly where to anchor.

You don't have to move to see Dunedin. You can see it from right there at Coachman Park. You may also some of the other beach communities to the south.

and from yoru experience what time do you think i should get to the ramp and to the anchor place..(first time)

 

[wastinaweigh]

Crock,

Just check the weather before you leave. I noticed out my window today that the summer storms are trying to get started, and watching fireworks in a t-storm in an open boat might not be as much fun as you expect.

If you do get out, remember to constantly look around you when you pull up anchor to leave. Having a collision would probably ruin the evening.

 

[ylwjacket]

Honestly, I have no idea.

I won't go to an anchorage like that in my boat. Someone will surely hit me, and I'm a sitting duck.

If we go to watch fireworks, we head out to the Gulf. I won't leave the channel in ICW either.

I have been by there, on my way somewhere else, at like 5 in the afternoon, and there were plenty of people already there.

Call over to MM, they can probably give you some ideas.

 

[cr0ck1]

Crock,

Just check the weather before you leave. I noticed out my window today that the summer storms are trying to get started, and watching fireworks in a t-storm in an open boat might not be as much fun as you expect.

If you do get out, remember to constantly look around you when you pull up anchor to leave. Having a collision would probably ruin the evening.

yep the thunder is rumbling by me right now also.. LOL will do man. thanks.

 

[cr0ck1]

Honestly, I have no idea.

I won't go to an anchorage like that in my boat. Someone will surely hit me, and I'm a sitting duck.

If we go to watch fireworks, we head out to the Gulf. I won't leave the channel in ICW either.

I have been by there, on my way somewhere else, at like 5 in the afternoon, and there were plenty of people already there.

Call over to MM, they can probably give you some ideas.

well tell me where you watch em from and i might go there!

 

[tphinney]

2 years ago I did the St. Pete Pier Show. I headed out around 4 PM and got to St. Pete around 4:30-5:00 PM and there where already 1-2 hundered boats anchored on the north side of the pier. I anchored on the north side between the pier and the channel leading into the marine. Make sure your not in a channel cause the water patrol will come blasting by with out a second thought for where you are. by the time the fireworks finally went off all I could see was boats of every kind heading out into the horizion. I couldn't even begin to count how many where out their.

we toke some dinner with us, so we dropped the anchor and swun on the front anchor like everyone else around us. I though about droping the rear anchor but it would have been a big mistake as I had a 40' next to me that was swinging with the current and wind.

Anyway the show from the water is Awesome, but anything that can float will also be on the water with you. I can't tell you how many boats I saw out thier with no anchor or running lights. and when the show is over everyone and there brother heads out all at once including the boats with no lights.

so coming off the anchor you want to wait a little while to let the idots get out of your way. then once you do get ready to go out go slow and keep a sharp eye out ahead while you have someone else watching your 6 oclock to make sure you don't get run over by someone else.

if you decided to do the pier the best place to put in is the Tampa side of the Gandy where Imperial Marine used to be. this makes it a straight shot over to the pier in deep water. I'm not sure how early you would have to get thier but considering that it's the 4th and everyone will be in the water anyways you might have head out early in the moring just to make it in the water that day.

if you do endup out there give a shout out on the VHF for me i'll be scanning the channels until the show starts, I hope to be out at the same spot this year. Last year I didn't make it cause my job had me tied up luanching the worlds largest bottle rocket (Space Shuttle). So I didn't make it back to Tampa until the Fireworks where already going off.

 

[cr0ck1]

2 years ago I did the St. Pete Pier Show. I headed out around 4 PM and got to St. Pete around 4:30-5:00 PM and there where already 1-2 hundered boats anchored on the north side of the pier. I anchored on the north side between the pier and the channel leading into the marine. Make sure your not in a channel cause the water patrol will come blasting by with out a second thought for where you are. by the time the fireworks finally went off all I could see was boats of every kind heading out into the horizion. I couldn't even begin to count how many where out their.

we toke some dinner with us, so we dropped the anchor and swun on the front anchor like everyone else around us. I though about droping the rear anchor but it would have been a big mistake as I had a 40' next to me that was swinging with the current and wind.

Anyway the show from the water is Awesome, but anything that can float will also be on the water with you. I can't tell you how many boats I saw out thier with no anchor or running lights. and when the show is over everyone and there brother heads out all at once including the boats with no lights.

so coming off the anchor you want to wait a little while to let the idots get out of your way. then once you do get ready to go out go slow and keep a sharp eye out ahead while you have someone else watching your 6 oclock to make sure you don't get run over by someone else.

if you decided to do the pier the best place to put in is the Tampa side of the Gandy where Imperial Marine used to be. this makes it a straight shot over to the pier in deep water. I'm not sure how early you would have to get thier but considering that it's the 4th and everyone will be in the water anyways you might have head out early in the moring just to make it in the water that day.

if you do endup out there give a shout out on the VHF for me i'll be scanning the channels until the show starts, I hope to be out at the same spot this year. Last year I didn't make it cause my job had me tied up luanching the worlds largest bottle rocket (Space Shuttle). So I didn't make it back to Tampa until the Fireworks where already going off.

sounds good man.. thanks

 

[Asureyez]

4th of July & Boating

I can't be of much help on the Tampa Bay Waters and local festivities, but would like to add to the previous comments on timing and safety issues.

Major holidays create several certainties. The first is there will be a thousand drunken skippers by noon, they be in even worse shape by 9:00PM and the entire crew onboard the sodden skippers boat will be blitzed as well. And you guessed it, when the fireworks kick off and they will all want to anchored next to you!

They will be dangerous to be around as they come to anchor close to you you'll have to watch them in getting their hooks down and getting them up. Watch your boat very carefully when other boats are setting anchors that they do not drag you free while getting theirs set. Consider using a anchor bouy attached to the stock of your anchor , a small bumper tied onto a length of line as long as the water depth at high tide will do as well. This will mark your hook and give others some idea of where your rode is, and trust me you'll need to give some of these wizards all the help you can.

Be quick to wave off any skipper that even remotely looks like he's going steam over your rode.

When setting your hook, arrive early, find a spot that is good for viewing that is upwind from the display area to avoid the faling hot ash from the rockets. Find the best spot that has enough room to set your hook w/o messing anyone else up. Set it with 5X the depth of rode out and then as the anchorage gets more crowded you may have to pull in some rode without breaking free.

When leaving allow your self the time to let 30 - 60 minutes go by after the show ends as the drunks pull anchors and play bumper boat getting through the anchorage area at WOT. The ramps will be packed so simply allow time for the evening makes sense. Having, lots of snacks, beverages, dinner and bedding for the little ones aboard will be smart.

All the Law Enfocement agencies will all be on the water snaring as many fools as they can as fast as they can. But sober skippers can find themselves tied alongside a city cops boat to inspect papers ... check to make sure infants are in life preservers and have your papers on board and make sure you've got your safty gear up to snuff, just in case you win the lottery for the courtesey inspection that night.

Even if the day has been a scorcher, make sure you have some warm clothes on hand as things can get chilly at night with wind and water even in the middle of summer.

and remember it's about having fun!

 

[cr0ck1]

thanks for the info..i found it very informative!