Yup,
Just keep posting thread or pm me.
I've been wanting to do key run but happy to take you around Miami waterways.
Even have extra ski...
re: maimi...south
is stilts ville just south of south beach ?, (and don't you have to sneak into the no wake to see it?) i've launched from the ramp downtown right near monument island, and we headed south, I thought stiltsville was still south of there .. is it ??? is WAS cool to ride around near the cruise ships, and the riding conditions were perfect, long slow rollers and once we turned south is was a wonderful ride. I'd do it again, although my xp isn't the perfect ski for it, but I do have a 12 gal tank although I tend to avoid ocean distance rides in my ski I get beat up after an hour.
back on topic...
the keys...
somebody might chime in with specifics, (i launched from x marina and headed south (map)) but in general ...
you can't go wrong sir, there are some incredibly beautiful ride spots in the keys...
well, hold on...
let me correct that,,, a whole crap can bunch of things can go wrong, you'll be in the ocean and there's a lot of sandbars and some long distances between fuel, but if you've got a good ski and
don't go out alone (or even in pairs IMO), and with a ride plan , you'll be just fine. IMO if your not going to be tooling around in high traffic areas's I'd recommend a ride group of 4 + and with luck, a rider in the group that knows where to go, its not a cake walk down there, some great spots to ride but some risk and an organized plan is involved. (the water will be purty...) ...
and yes yes yes, snorkeling, diving is excellent there, we just prefer that you make it there and back in one piece.
there's a group called the soflariders that rides the keys probably 20 times a year on the weekends but lots of 4 strokes in the group but you can google them and see some of the snorkle/ski key west trips they've done, its been pretty awesome. I'm a member but I don't do those rides on the other coast, too far away and the rides are generally 50-70 miles so i'd have to pack gas. quite honestly it would be worth it to join just to do a weekend ride with them if thats on your bucket list, they know how to ride key west. note: your ski might has some issues keeping up, well, your ski Will have some issues keeping up, the conditions can be interesting down there and if your not the slowest ski in the group, you'll be just barely in front of the guy that is....
on the subject of your ski is the GS the 717 version of the gsx? if it is... you've got a ski that will handle the chop ok and probably have pretty good fuel range but you'll be fairly slow, you'll have to push the ski pretty hard to get through long distances of chop.
its nice riding around sanibel, but it can be a bit choppy, 2-3 foot seas are pretty much the norm around the island, and 1-2 even on the leeward side, but plenty of area's to go. I actually have a hard time getting my ride group to do that area, 3 of us are on X4's and two of them (the ones not named spim) complain about getting bounced around too much.. When I had my big yamaha, sanibel was my favorite ride spot because I could cut thru the chop and it didn't bother me, but I have to admit after about 30 minutes on 3 foot seas, i'm ready for a break on my XP, i'm wet, sweaty and breathing hard.
