Sail Florida.

Florida is flat-water cruising in warm water, and that suits people who want an easy first bareboat week or a family charter without big passages. From Key West you drop south into the reef line and out to the Marquesas; from Punta Gorda you have the sheltered sweep of Charlotte Harbour and the barrier islands off Fort Myers. Distances are short, the holding is mostly good sand, and you can plan a week around lunch stops rather than tide gates. It isn't a place for serious distance sailors chasing weather — it's a place for shallow-draft gunkholing, snorkelling off the boat, and pulling into a marina bar by late afternoon. We sail it because the season runs long and the water stays swimmable when the Med has gone cold.

Two grounds, and they sail differently. The Keys run south-west from the mainland in a thin chain: Key West at the end, the backcountry flats to the north, the reef and Hawk Channel to the south. Water is thin — a metre or two over grass in the backcountry — so you watch the chart and read the colour of the water constantly. Key West itself is a working harbour with anchorage off Wisteria Island and marina berths in town.

Charlotte Harbour, reached from Burnt Store Marina and Punta Gorda, is the gentler ground: a wide protected bay opening to Pine Island Sound, Cayo Costa, Cabbage Key, and Boca Grande Pass. This is where first charterers should start. Depths are more forgiving, the anchorages sit behind barrier islands, and the run out to the Gulf beaches is an hour, not a day.

The good window is roughly November to May. Through winter you get the north-easterly and easterly trades, 10–20 knots on a settled day, with cold fronts sweeping through every week or so — those bring a wind clock round to the north-west, a day of stronger breeze, then it settles. Watch the front timing and you'll sail fair reaches most of the week.

Summer (June to October) is hot, humid, thunderstorm-prone in the afternoons, and it's hurricane season — that's the honest reason most charter weeks are booked either side of it. Water temperature stays comfortable for swimming almost year-round. If you want steady breeze and dry decks, aim for December through April.

Florida is bareboat country. If you hold the right ticket and have coastal miles, you take the boat yourself — the grounds are well-marked, the distances short, and shore support is easy to reach. Our boats work out of Key West and out of Charlotte Harbour at Burnt Store Marina and Punta Gorda, so you can pick the ground that fits your plans.

We don't run crewed charters here. If you'd rather have a skipper for the week or for the first couple of days to settle in, tell us on WhatsApp and we'll arrange a local one on request. Provisioning is straightforward — full supermarkets near both bases — and the marinas take fuel, water and pump-out without fuss.

A bareboat week in Florida sits in the usual mid-range for a modern monohull or cat, before extras. Expect ranges rather than a single number, and budget separately for fuel, the end-of-charter clean, marina nights ashore, and any cruising permits. Fuel burn is light because you sail short legs and motor little. For a firm quote on your dates, boat and base, message us on WhatsApp — Price on request is honest here because rates move with season and boat.

Rough guide to plan around: the security deposit and a damage waiver are standard, marina berths ashore run a nightly fee, and mooring balls in the state parks (Boca Grande, Cayo Costa) carry a small charge. None of it is Med-marina expensive.

Day 1 — Board at Burnt Store or Punta Gorda, provision, short shakedown sail across the harbour, anchor for the first night behind Pelican Bay.

Day 2 — Down Pine Island Sound to Cabbage Key. Lunch at the inn, then anchor off Useppa or Cayo Costa. Walk the Gulf beach at Cayo Costa State Park.

Day 3 — Boca Grande Pass and the town quay at Boca Grande. Watch the tide through the pass; it runs hard. Anchorage or a marina night.

Day 4 — North into the flats around Bokeelia and the north end of Pine Island. Quiet water, good for a lay day and snorkelling.

Day 5 — Cross to Cabbage Key or Cayo Costa again, or push south toward Sanibel and the causeway anchorages. Sunset from the cockpit.

Day 6 — Slow morning, then back up the sound with a lunch stop, anchoring near the mouth of the harbour for the last night out.

Day 7 — Short leg back to base, fuel and pump-out, off the boat. It's a week you can sail without a single long day.

For Charlotte Harbour, fly into Fort Myers (RSW); it's under an hour by road to Punta Gorda and Burnt Store. Punta Gorda has its own small airport too. For the Keys, fly into Key West (EYW) direct where you can, or into Miami and drive the Overseas Highway down — it's a long but scenic three to four hours.

Non-US charterers should carry passports and check visa/ESTA requirements before travelling. Bring your sailing certification and logbook; the base will want to see them at check-in. Cruising in state parks may need a permit or mooring reservation in the Keys backcountry and Everglades edges — we'll flag anything you need for your route. Hydration, sun cover and polarised sunglasses matter more here than foulies: you read the water by its colour, and glare hides the shallows.