Anna Maria Island
 

How is the boating in this area? Is the water clear and is there any good snorkling around? Many secluded islands in the area? Many restaurants to go by boat?

welcome to my home,
A.M.I.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...olmesBeach.jpg
Egmont
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...6si/beach1.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...t0505OT-19.jpg
Holmes Beach
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...i/original.jpg
Skyway
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...i/skyway02.jpg

i would post a picture of passage key but its not PG friendly

a friend of mine had a house out on North Shore, been a while since i was down there but i remember it being great. Crystal white sand and plenty of place to go around there.

My fathers condo is right on the beach there. Great place. A little step back in time, just what he likes about it. Beutiful beaches and great restuarants. Wish i was there right now, just looked at my weather forecast!! misery

Awesome place!
Have a brother in Brandenton. Wish he had a boat :(
Any decent places to rent a boat for a partial day?
We are down in 3 weeks for a wedding.
Staying 3 days in Siesta Keys and the rest in Tampa

Ami
 

I have a place on AMI. The boating is great. The channel in Bimini bay is pretty wide and deep and easy to follow. Offshore the water deepens pretty quickly, so you don't have to stay off too far EXCEPT for Bean Point which is on the north end of the Island facing Egmont Key. Take the turn in and out of that cut very wide, there is significant underwater 'real estate' just south of the cut.

The Rod and Reel pier is the first restaurant on your starboard after you come in past Bean Point. Great food, inexpensive, very casual, very 'Old Florida Cracker shack' feel.

Feel free to e-mail me if you want more info.

Barry

It's one of my places in Florida.

Are you allowed to anchor and swim into Edmont Key and walk the island with out getting ran off? What is on the sw side to snorkle around?

Egmont Key
 

Yes, you can anchor off the West side and it's fine. Basically, Egmont is divided in about three uses. 1/3 third public, 1/3 Coast Guard/military, and 1/3 bird sanctuary. On the East side of the Island there is a pier and a small working commercial area. There was or is a sign on about the Southern tip of the island that indictes where the bird sanctuary starts. Every now and then you'll see a wayward Flamingo there that has escaped from a zoo. But back to the Southwest side there are the pretty large underwater remains of an old concrete military pier. Freediving there I have seen Ocean Trigger, Pinfish, Sheepsheads and the like. On the island it is pretty cool, sort of like a Gilligan's Island feel because you can't see any structures on the West side. There are paths through the palm trees towards the interior and lots of critter holes in the sand, which I believe are from land crabs.

Enjoy! Barry