Longest Round Trip Tow

[THEFERMANATOR]

Having spent most of yesterday running around gasparilla island, another thing to keep in mind is the actual boating on the water. Are you prepared to lose a prop or lower unit? There is alot of boating to be done down that way, but there are also ALOT of water hazards down there as well. There is also a ferry that does non stop trips all day long from ELDRIDS marina to GASPARILLA ISLAND. Also on another note, it is just plain STOOPID that they have a ferry to bring your car over to the north side of the island, but no roads to connect it to the southside of the island because they decided to make the middle of the island part of Don Pedro Island State Park. Also if you do come down here to boat, I STRONGLY reccomend you have a hand held GPS or something with accurate charts in it. This area can go from deep water of 10-12 feet in the channels, to nothing in less than 3 feet. The ICW isn't marked the best in all areas anymore, and it is sandbars on either side of the channel through much of it.

If you do bring your boat with you, I would strongly suggest stepping up to a tandem axle trailer. Yes the tolls through the socialist north will eat you alive, but the safety factor is nice in having 2 tires on each side in case of a blowout. And when you come down, let us know, I may be able to break away and take the wife and kids to the inlaws in Port Charlotte and bring the skiff with me. Still trying to learn how and where to fish in the area as it is COMPLETELY different than what I am used to up to the north.