MacGregorSailors.com

Looking for suggestions for weather, chart plotting, and navigation for the Florida Keys. Any info would be helpful!! Thanks!!

First off, do you have a VHF radio? NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) alerts over the radio are valuable in letting you know when not to be on the water. There are also weather app’s. I use NOAA and my eyes.

When I first got my , I took a Coast Guard Auxillary sailing safety course. One of the subjects we had drilled into our heads was how to read clouds.

Yes, we have a radio, just wondering opinions on other weather apps...

Go to your App Store and look up NOAA Weather.

+1 for predict wind app.

We use Aqua Maps App for navigation. You can use it on iPhone or even better an iPad. The iPad must NOT be a WiFi model. It has to be a regular iPad with built in GPS chip. Navionics is also a good navigation app. Windy and Predict Wind are wind apps also NOAA weather.
Richard

We have the Garmin GPS 8600 plotter with the GXM 54.

The GXM 54 will overlay live weather and wind direction to the plotter as well as forecasts.

It also has the Active Captain app which is great for Florida cruising.

Although pricey, it is an amazing piece of technology and it has been incredibly accurate.

You can also marry the GXM 54 to several of their less expensive chart plotters.

The following sites will give you the same information that the marine weather channel supplies. Use these before you go out and the radio afterwards. AFAIK all of the weather apps are simply displaying one or more of the automated weather models. They are good for general go/no go decisions and whether or not to put in a reef or two before you leave the dock but I'd recommend something a human has interpreted for my final decision.

The forecasts below have been prepared by experienced, human meteorologists.

https://www.weather.gov/marine/
upper keys: https://forecast.weather.gov/shmrn.php?mz=gmz053
lower keys: https://forecast.weather.gov/shmrn.php?mz=gmz054

At a minimum I would recommend a chart plotter that has the NOAA base maps. If you have a plotter that can use more detailed, private maps, consider purchasing them. There are a lot of ecologically sensitive areas in the keys and just dropping an anchor in them or running aground can get you a hefty fine. Study the maps ahead of time. You will need to know where you are and where you can't touch bottom. Local knowledge will help. You can tell a lot about the depth of the water in the Keys by the color.

+1 on the Coast Guard auxiliary courses.