Cruising Guide to Western Florida

Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company Inc, 7th ed
Publication Date: 2008

It is worth repeating, as we did in the review of the 4th edition, that we are dealing with little depth in this cruising ground: "depths of five to six feet are considered quite respectable in Western Florida". One must keep this in mind when reading the text. References to “shallow water” mean considerably less than 5 feet. The incredible detail on depths and facilities included in the guide help avoid a series of groundings and consequently make a cruise of Western Florida potentially much more enjoyable. The guide starts in Flamingo in Florida Bay and goes north to St Marks River in the Big Bend in the north of Mexico Bay. Each of the ten chapters has details of anchorages, marinas and shoreside facilities. The details include depths at the entrance and at the marina. Notes include whether or not they accept transients, together with interesting reference to episodes of local history. Highlighted at the end of each chapter is navigational information for the anchorages covered in that chapter. At the start of each we have a list of the relevant NOAA charts. There are black and white photos and many sketches to show anchorages, harbours, town layouts and so on, all printed on relatively coarse paper. These are placed well relative to the relevant text for ease of use. The volume is no pocket book at 3.5cms in a format of 23.5 x 20cms. But we know of no better basis for pre-planning nor pilot for use on board this area that, we are told, retains much natural beauty and idyllic surroundings away from the blight of over development. Claiborne S Young is acknowledged as a cruising sailor with many published works both of general cruising wisdom and particularly of wide areas of the coastal waters of Florida, the Northern Gulf Coast, Northern Carolina . – Michael Davey