Dock Fever? – Let’s Visit the Florida “Flats”

Ever since we arrived for our month-long stay, it’s been very windy and this has inhibited our plans to explore the surrounding area of Key West by boat; we were getting itchy to push away from the dock. We’re usually not interested in taking random boat rides, so when we do sever the dock lines and head out, we like to have a purpose and a plan. Key West, being the southernmost spot in the U.S., is somewhat at the end of the road and although the cruising options for a day out on the water are limited, the choices are unique. The Dry Tortugas, Marquesas Keys, and the flats, in the Lakes Passage, all sit west of Key West and it was the grassy flats we chose for a day cruise.

We left Key West behind us (above) as we approached the shallow waters of the flats (below).

The Lake Passage area is a 10 by 4.5 nautical mile area that starts a few miles west of Mallory Square. This area is referred to as the flats because the clear, sandy-bottomed, water has a relatively consistent shallow depth of two to six feet. The flats also encompass the Key West National Wildlife Refuge and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and are a big attraction for fishing and snorkeling enthusiasts.

Because of the shallow water in the flats, it’s unreachable by larger boats with deeper keels, ours was about the largest vessel we saw cruising the area. With a draft of two-and-a-half feet, we even had a hard time entering the marked channel off Mule Key, and we were there on a rising tide. Once inside the flats, we meandered through at 6 MPH all the while keeping an eye out for stingrays, turtles, and fish. We saw some of each as we cruised by Archer and Man Keys. We pulled into the lee side of Barracouta Key and dropped the hook to take a break, have lunch and relax while enjoying the surroundings and listening to the bird songs before we pushed on.

With almost violet blue skies and emerald green waters, we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were still in the states and not cruising in the Bahamas or Abaco Islands.

Our goal today was to cruise to Boca Grande Key, situated at the very end of the flats. From there we could just barely make out the east side of Marquesas Keys, which lies only 9 nautical miles further west of Boca Grande Key. Upon arrival to Boca Grande Key, we couldn’t help but marvel at how much the natural white sand beach, on the NW side (above and below) of the island and the turquoise waters below us, resembled the rural Abaco Islands. All this within a boater’s short reach, just a little bit west of Key West.

It was a pretty rocky ride back to the marina but we were glad to have been able to get away for the afternoon and see some new sights.