{"product_id":"florida-gulf-coast-quick-reference-cruising-guide","title":"Florida Gulf Coast Quick Reference Cruising Guide","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFlorida Gulf Coast Quick Reference Cruising Guide\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Florida Gulf Coast Quick Reference Cruising Guide is a topic-organized, scan-in-seconds reference for cruising Florida's Gulf Coast, from the Dry Tortugas and Key West up the west coast of Florida, around the Big Bend, and west to Mobile, Alabama.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuilt for cruisers, liveaboards, and Great Loopers, the guide answers the questions that come up whether you are planning tomorrow's run at anchor or making the call at the helm: which anchorage is protected from the forecast wind, where the next deep-enough pass and fuel dock are, where to reprovision or pump out, and which yard can lift your boat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost evenings aboard start the same way: cross-checking apps, notes, and a stack of guidebooks to build tomorrow's list of fuel, water, groceries, pumpouts, protected anchorages, and bridges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Florida Gulf Coast Quick Reference gathers those answers into one place you scan in seconds, and does the same job underway when the question has to be answered right now. That speed matters most on this coast: so much of Florida's Gulf shore is shoal-prone and thinly marked, and the Gulf ICW does not exist across the Big Bend, so depth, inlet, and staging information carries as much weight as anchorages and lives in its own scannable tables.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eOrganized First by What You're Looking For, Not by Town\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe guide separates information by type into tabbed sections, then orders each section along the coast from the Dry Tortugas east to Key West, north up Florida's Gulf coast to the Apalachee Bay area, and west to Mobile, Alabama. Need a pumpout, groceries, or laundry? Turn to Services and look down the column in the area near you. Need to walk the dog? Turn to Anchorages. Every answer is one tab and one glance away, because the answer is a check mark in a column you scan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are no charts or chartlets, by design: the clean tables are what make the guide fast, and the Florida Gulf Coast Quick Reference is meant to ride alongside the charts and chartplotter or nav app you already navigate with. Every anchorage is listed by its Active Captain name, and Active Captain overlays on Garmin, Navionics, Aqua Map, and most other nav apps, so you can pull the anchorage up on your own screen, see the details, and quickly create a route there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat's Inside\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tabbed sections, each ordered along the coast:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInlets:\u003c\/strong\u003e tide, current, and notes on shoaling, traffic, and which passes need local knowledge.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAnchorages:\u003c\/strong\u003e Active Captain name, depth, tide, wind and wave protection by direction (N, E, S, W), holding, current, wake, and a dog-walking rating.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFree Docks:\u003c\/strong\u003e depth, tide, time limits, and access notes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBridges:\u003c\/strong\u003e clearance, tide, VHF channel, and opening schedules or restrictions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eServices:\u003c\/strong\u003e fuel (diesel and gas), water, groceries, laundry, showers, restaurants, pumpout, and marine supply, plus fuel-dock depth, VHF, phone, propane refills, and walking distance to groceries.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNavigation Alerts:\u003c\/strong\u003e shoaling reports, cuts, algae blooms and red tide, crab and lobster pots, seagrass, and Gulf ICW marker guidance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHaulouts and Boat Yards:\u003c\/strong\u003e travel-lift capacity, maximum beam, maximum length, depth, and whether DIY work or staying aboard is allowed.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDredging and Horns:\u003c\/strong\u003e how to read a working dredge's shapes and lights so you pass on the safe side, and the standard sound signals for meeting, crossing, and overtaking.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Answers Cruisers Reach For Most\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA handful of these are the reason boaters turn to this guide, and each is a single glance rather than a paragraph to read:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWhich anchorage is protected from tonight's predicted wind?\u003c\/strong\u003e The Anchorages section has a Protection column with sub-columns for N, E, S, and W. You'll see a check mark in each column the anchorage provides shelter from. So if you need an anchorage with north protection, just look down the N column in the area near you. Need SW? Look for places with both S and W.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWhere do I fuel, water up, reprovision, and do laundry?\u003c\/strong\u003e The Services section has columns for fuel, water, groceries, laundry, showers, restaurants, pumpout, and marine supply, with fuel-dock depth, VHF, phone, and whether propane refills are available. Again, check marks make it simple to know what's where, and the guide also lists how far the nearest grocery is. Know that the stop you choose will have everything you need.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCan I get the dog ashore?\u003c\/strong\u003e Every anchorage carries a dog-walking rating for whether and how well you can land and walk the dog, with notes flagging where dogs are kept off the beaches or not allowed ashore. On a coast thick with state parks, wildlife refuges, and bird rookeries, that is not something a chart tells you.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHow deep is that pass, and which side of the dredge is safe?\u003c\/strong\u003e Inlets and navigation alerts carry tide, current, and current shoaling reports, and the Dredging section shows how to read a working dredge's shapes and lights so you pass on the safe side.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA free dock for the night, or a yard that fits my boat?\u003c\/strong\u003e Free docks are listed with depth and time limits, and every haulout shows maximum beam and length, so you know which yard can take your boat before you pick up the phone.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eRechecked for Every Edition\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis coast changes fast. Channels shoal and shift, bridges and businesses come and go, anchoring rules change, and an unusually large share of west-coast marinas and docks have been opening, closing, and reopening as the area recovers from recent storms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery entry is reconfirmed for each edition. Details are verified through personal cruising, company websites, charts, reports from other boaters, and direct phone calls to marinas, boatyards, stores, and bridge tenders, with the door held open for late changes right up until the edition uploads to the printer. A dated banner on the cover tells you when the information was last confirmed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eHow the Guide Fits Your Cruising\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Florida Gulf Coast Quick Reference rides alongside the charts, chartplotter, and nav apps you navigate with, and for the day-to-day cruising decisions it is the reference you will actually reach for. Other cruising guides are worth carrying for aerial photos, town history, and sightseeing, but you will not flip through them to find a laundromat or a pumpout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe spiral-bound print edition is 8.5 by 5.5 inches, with lay-flat binding on rugged, glare-free, heavyweight paper and a matte finish, plus colored section tabs so you flip straight to what you need.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eDetails\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCoverage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Florida's Gulf coast, from the Dry Tortugas and Key West up the west coast of Florida, around the Big Bend, and west to Mobile, Alabama, including the Everglades and Ten Thousand Islands, Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay, the Panhandle, and the Gulf ICW (GICW)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOrganization:\u003c\/strong\u003e tabbed quick-reference tables, by topic and then by location along the coast\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSections:\u003c\/strong\u003e Inlets, Anchorages, Free Docks, Bridges, Services, Navigation Alerts, Haulouts and Boat Yards, Dredging, Horns\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAnchorage data:\u003c\/strong\u003e wind-protection direction (N, E, S, W), depth, tide, holding, current, wake, dog-walking rating, Active Captain names\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e spiral-bound print\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePrint specs:\u003c\/strong\u003e 8.5 by 5.5 inches, rugged glare-free heavyweight paper, lay-flat spiral binding, section tabs, matte finish\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBest for:\u003c\/strong\u003e building the night-before plan and answering the at-the-helm question, alongside your charts and apps\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMade in:\u003c\/strong\u003e designed and printed in the USA\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEdition:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 2025, with every entry reconfirmed for this edition and a dated banner on the cover\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"The Boat Galley Store","offers":[{"title":"Spiral Bound","offer_id":50599849394428,"sku":"TBG-FLGULF","price":35.28,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0805\/9043\/8652\/files\/Gulf_cover_only.jpg?v=1784827745","url":"https:\/\/shorelinesocietyco.com\/products\/florida-gulf-coast-quick-reference-cruising-guide","provider":"Shoreline Society Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}