We are looking into chartering out of Key West.
Anyone have any experience down there?

Moorings Key West Link

Good sailing grounds there. We sailed our own boat. Dry Tortugas are excellent. Inside there are lot of draft constraints. Good fishing at the drop and lobstering off the beaten grounds in snorkel depths.

Cheers, RickG

Chartered in 2020 with Dream Yacht who set up a temporary base during Covid. Brought a few boats over from the Bahamas that were sitting idle. Boats were not in great shape, and they've since closed it. This was before the Moorings established an operation. They just have a partnership with Florida Yacht Charters. Might as well go direct to them unless you get extra discounts by booking through the Moorings. Believe the other option is Calypso but I'm less familiar.

We booked a last minute trip in August - definitely don't do that unless you have AC. Very hot, light winds.

Ran out to the Dry Tortugas and back - loved the park. Had to do a lot of motoring, however, to and from. Fishing along the way was great, get down to the drop if you have time as RickG mentioned.

Depending on the time of year, it can be quite frustrating dodging lobster trap buoys. The farther south your route towards the drop, the better.

Did a write up of our trip here if you want to read more.

Feel free to DM me.

We have a base in Saint Petersburg. You can sail down from there.

Gentlemen,

Jay, I am considering your Tampa outfit but would probably keep my itinerary a little further north than the Keys.

Rick, you had your 423 down there? What do you draw?

Matt, Great info on the Yacht Warriers site. Looks like Moorings (aka FYC) Bali 4.2 with genset, A/C and water maker would be a good choice.

Just need to pick a good time to head down.

Thanks for the input.