Scott here. November 14, 2023, our plan is to move from Clearwater Beach to Palmetto which is near Bradenton. I say our plan, because the weather isn’t the best, but we need to move out of this marina as it is way too expensive, and I don’t want to spend the money for another day or two here. Nice place, decent people, just way too much money.

Initial Plan
Date: November 15, 2023
Route name in Aqua Maps: TD: 11/15/23 (Clearwater Beach to Palmetto)
Nebo Link: Click here
Crew: Captain Scott, 1st Mate Rita, & K9 Jazzy
Start at: 10:00 am
End at: 5:30 pm
Total Time: 6:26 hours (5:26 travel time plus 30 min for fueling & 30 min for no wake zones)
Distance: 48.9 miles
Fuel Plan: 24 gallons

Hazards for the day
Shoaling throughout various areas of the marked channel. Just pay attention!

Weather Prediction
Date/Time Check: 11/14/23
Leaving from: Clearwater Beach 11/15/23 @ 10:00 am

Windy (ECMWF):
Wind: 19 mph, gusts to 26 mph, out of the East
Temp: 74 degrees
Waves: 2′ from the south, 0′ swell with 3.9 sec period

We have anchorages picked out every 15 miles or so if we decide that we need to stop due to the wind. We also have multiple routes picked out in case we want to go to “the outside” or stay on the intercoastal. All of our anchorages are protected from the east wind to keep the rocking and rolling down.

“LONG RANGE PLAN”

Right now, our long-range planning is going out a week or two. I think we can get to Fort Meyers in 3-4 days, depending on how far we go tomorrow and Thursday with the weather. Then I think we can get through the Caloosahatchee River to Lake Okeechobee to Saint Lucie Canal to Stuart, FL to prepare for our Gulfstream Crossing to the Bahamas.

We might spend 2 days in the Fort Meyers area. We will play that by ear. I am thinking we will go from Stuart down to West Palm Beach and go to the Bahamas from there. Just need to do a little more research about our final provisioning before crossing to the Bahamas and find a vet to complete our Bahamas paperwork to bring Jazzy to their country.

Enjoy and I will of course let y’all know how the plan turned out!