Headed south to the Keys in Feb. trailering the boat down and staying at Trumbo Point NAS. We have never been there before let alone boating around the area. I have heard about the coral and grounding the boat/Fines. Looking for points of interests, Places to check out. etc. Thanks

Great boating, I assume you have a good GPS plotter, just be aware and play attention. It always unnerving to me the first day because the clear water. It looks like a giant screw up and about to get ugly but then I realize its ten feet deep and just in clear. Sand Key is cool snorkel spot. A sunset cruise is always fun time. Not many cool places to eat via boat and typically we grill using magma at anchor.

I installed a Garmin 740 earlier this year but I still need to get a SD for it. Thinking about doing the plane ride out to the "Fort". How available is fuel? Can probally gas up at NAS. But how about Marathon island if we wanted to take a run there?

Hurricane Hole is a cool place for a lunch stop via boat and has the least expensive fuel,not sure of $ at NAS though. SD card is not needed IMO. Have fun !

There are many threads about the keys. Marathon is great! Dock & Dines include Sparkeys in Vaca Key. Island fish, Latitude 38 ect ect. Of course Gilberts Key Largo. Fuel is everywhere. 93 in KW at both the Shell dock and the Standard. 90 Rec is Non ethanol available everywhere...

Take spare parts of anything that you think might break....there are no spare marine parts to speak of South of Miami. You will find a few things at the larger marinas but you will pay BIG for what ever you do find. Make sure you have one or more spare tires for your trailer.

Give your self lots of extra time to get anywhere on US 1...or "Useless 1" as it is referred to by the locals.

Even though you may have a GPS/Chart Plotter...get the NOAA Chart "Miami to Key West" and familiarize yourself with it. The first day or two you are out...don't run your good props until you familiarize yourself with the area....keep a cheap set of aluminum props for the unknown areas...you probably will run aground at least once. Lots of shallows and shoal areas.

Get a good anchor and a spare. Danforth types anchors work best in the sand. Rig one with 100' of line for shallow areas and one with 200' of line for deeper anchoring. On the reefs where most SCUBA and Snorkeling takes place, there are mooring buoys to tie off to...use them. When you have divers or snorkelers in the water it is State Law that you display a Dive Flag...makes sense and warns other boaters that you have people in the water. Florida Marine Patrol or USCG will cite you if you do not have this flag displayed.

The water is divided up into different areas and most boaters in the Keys use these terms.

"Outside" means out side the reef line in the deep water.
"Inside" means inside the reef line in the Ocean but in water protected from wave action by the reefs.
"Bay Side" or "Gulf Side" means the Bays and GOM (Gulf of Mexico)
"Back Country" means the remote parts of Florida Bay North towards the Mainland and The Everglades.

I have lived in South Florida for 37 years and have been boating here for 35 of those. Once you get a dose of what the keys has to offer you will be spoiled. The only area that I have used my boat in that has nicer boating is the Bahamas and since I live in Palm Beach County the Bahamas are closer to me than the keys...otherwise i would be in the Keys every other weekend!!

There is so much to see and take in by water it's almost overwhelming. Take your time and enjoy yourself....The Florida Keys and Biscayne bay south of Miami has the best boating in the United States...period.