SAIL.SailMagazine

There’s nothing quite so liberating as being on charter. Not only are you on vacation, you’re on a sailing vacation, with the express mission to explore, enjoy and relax. Except, of course, when things get serious.

The waters off Southwest Florida are one of those places where looks can be deceiving. At first glance, it’s “water, water everywhere,” until you look at the depths and then it becomes “nor any drop to, uh, sail.” But don’t give up.

Sailing alongside Florida’s Overseas Highway, the road that follows the route of Flagler’s historic East Florida Railway from Miami to Key West, it’s easy to picture the turn-of-the-century developer pushing to expand his vision of Florida.

Narragansett Bay is an ideal charter locale, but it’s also my home port. So when I found myself planning a charter out of nearby Bristol, I wasn’t expecting any surprises.

We’d been watching the weather all week and couldn’t have been more pleased. Not only was the sun out, it was downright hot as we checked out our Bavaria 32 at the Horizon Yacht Charters base in the Yacht Haven Marina in Eastport, Annapolis.