Tampa Bay · Fort Myers Beach
Copacetic is a 36-foot sailing catamaran her captain spent years building by hand in Fort Myers, now carrying 24 guests off Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel. Day and sunset sails by the seat, a Saturday yoga sail, and private charters to Lovers Key and Upper Captiva.
The boat was built rather than bought. By the company’s account, ground broke in 2012 on the Andrews Maritime Boatyard in Fort Myers, the main hull construction took five years, and the finished 36-foot catamaran was moved by road under police escort on a specialised tractor-trailer to docks near Fort Myers Beach for final assembly and sea trials. She took her maiden voyage on 22 October 2018. She is Coast Guard inspected and certified for 24 passengers, and the operator calls her the largest sailing catamaran in local waters.
Seats are sold on a two-hour day sail and a two-hour sunset sail, and on a Saturday sunrise yoga sail with a certified instructor aboard. The private charters are where the range opens up: a four-hour half day out to Lovers Key for up to 24, or a full eight hours to the remote beaches of Upper Captiva for shelling, with a two-hour private sunset sail as the most-booked of them. Capt. Joel takes custom itineraries by request, and the boat also does scattering-of-ashes trips. Home port is Pelican Bay Marina on San Carlos Blvd.
Featured Tampa Bay · Cape Coral
Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound bareboat operator working out of Tarpon Point Marina in Cape Coral. Sister to Florida Sailing & Cruising School. The same fleet runs ASA instruction one week and bareboat charter the next.
Featured Daysail Tampa Bay · Naples
Naples's longest-running sailing catamaran by its own account, a 53-foot Gold Coast cat carrying 44 passengers from the Naples City Dock since 1991. Daily sunset, shelling and sightseeing seat sails and private charters. The company's Sweet Tiki is a motor boat.
Tampa Bay · Bradenton Beach
Gulf-front beach rental on Anna Maria Island, family run for forty years and, by its own account, the only place on the island renting sailboats. Hobie Wave and Hobie Getaway catamarans by the hour or half day, first come, first served, with a short lesson for first-timers.